Losing your phone can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. All you need to do is take some proactive steps and enable some forgotten features.
Losing your phone can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. All you need to do is take some proactive steps and enable some forgotten features.
"I've lost my phone three times. I was so scared. It was a brand new phone and I wasn't sure what to do in the situation," Devra Gelman said.
Gelman took the obvious first step.
"I tried to use 'Find my iPhone,' but by the time I had gone back to look for it, it was nowhere to be found," Gelman said.
There are things you can do now to make life easier if you lose your phone.
"It doesn't need to be the end of the world," said security expert Robert Siciliano.
The "Find my iPhone" app didn't work for Gelman, but experts still swear by it. They say you have to take the extra time to set it up properly and to make sure it works.
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"Have it set up on your spouse's phone or on your computer so you can remotely access it. If you put your phone on 'lost' mode it will send the last location of the device before the battery kicks out," Siciliano said.
One idea is to change the wallpaper.
"Take a photo of your contact information and have that as your home screen," Siciliano said.
If you don't like how it looks, there's an inexpensive app called "ICE" – as in, In Case of Emergency. It makes it easy for anyone who finds your phone to easily find you.
Another way to get your iPhone back is through the Apple health app. Just be sure to enter your contact information, and if someone taps it on your home screen, even if it's locked, they can get your phone back to you.
Also, if you have your contact information up to date on your phone, Siri can be a savior.
And if all that fails and your phone isn't found, there's another very important step.
"Back up your phone's data. Whether it's through Google Play or iCloud, make sure you are automatically backing up your data every single day. If your phone is lost or stolen and you don't get it back, you can easily restore all your personal information," Siciliano said.
The process is a little different for Android phones. Android automatically lets you leave a message on your lock screen with your contact information on it by going into Settings, Security and then tying into the screen lock message.
Android phones include apps that are similar to Apple's "Find my iPhone" app.
