How To Find Your Lost Or Stolen Smartphone?

Losing a Smartphone is a very nasty experience. You spend so much time putting information into your phone, and spend so much time with it, and then it disappears and you feel a little lost. When you think that it has been stolen then the feeling is all the worse, as you know you will not see it again, and you know someone else may be looking through all of your private information, contacts, images and videos. Here are a few tips to help you through either losing your phone or having it stolen.

Search the area you think you lost it

This is the most obvious piece of advice and one that you are probably going to do anyway. However, instead of trying all of the places where you think you have lost it–simply try everywhere. If it were actually in the place you think you lost it, then it would not be lost.

When you search your car, do not just search under the driver seat and in the glove box. Search in the back seats and in the boot; the same is true in your house. Do not just search in the kitchen and living rooms, search down the back of your bed, in the closet and in the kitchen cabinets.

Ask the people around the area such as shopkeepers

If you lost it in a public area then someone may have handed it in. This may be true if you lost it in a shop, as sometimes a person will hand it over the counter, so ask around about the contents of the lost property box, etc. You may have lost it in a place such as a bus station, where they may have cameras that could be reviewed to catch if you were robbed.

Call the phone to see if anyone picks up

This is one of the more horrible things about losing your phone, if you call and someone picks up. But, you may be in luck, as you may call and a friend picks up because you left it at their house. It may also be picked up by the person who found it as he/she is on his/her way to the police station to hand it in.

Call the phone in the places you think you lost it

Calling your phone is a common trick that you are probably going to try anyway. Call the phone in the area you think you lost it. It is a great relief to think you lost your phone, and then you hear it ringing in the coat you left in your car.

Make a report to the police for lost/potentially stolen

You should make out a report to the police, as you may have been robbed without knowing it. This may help in a number of ways, as police do have property handed in to them. Tell the police where you think you lost it or where it may have been stolen, and give them as many details as possible, including the phone number. If it is recovered during a routine police raid, or is handed in, then there is a chance you will get your phone back.

Inform your insurance company

Once you have made out a police report, then keep the designated number and tell your insurance company about the theft (or loss). Discuss the circumstances with them, and give them any reference numbers found thanks to your police report. Record your ESN for insurance purposes.

ESN is your electronic serial number and is often needed for insuring your phone. It is also handy to have this number if you are making a claim or applying to a company to try to track your phones location.

Smartphone tracking software comes in handy

This is the sort of software that you can download as an app, but you may also be able to sign up for a service that tracks your phone. This is one of those things that you do need to do in advance, although, there are some networks or affiliated companies that may track your mobile phone based upon your SIM card, phone number or ESN.

Offer a reward for its return

This is a bit of a kick in the teeth if you have lost your phone, as you are already a significant amount of money down. But, some people find phones and throw them in a cupboard to be forgotten about. If you put up posters offering a reward for its return then you may get lucky and discover that a penniless school kid picked it up and turns it in for the reward.

Register your phone with a legitimate immobilizer service

There are services out there that will immobilize your phone for you if you sign up with them. It often involves downloading an app in order to do it, but it means that your phone locks up if you call the immobilizer company. You can unlock it again if you find the phone or if it is handed in somewhere. In addition, it is a good idea to place a strong security PIN on your phone so that people cannot access its information if they find it.