Are You Prepared In Case Your Phone Is Lost Or Stolen?
You come home after meeting friends at a bar or club nearby and you notice that your smartphone is not with you. Or worse, you’re robbed of your smartphone. Your whole life or a good part of it is now potentially in a stranger’s hands. Personal information such as your contacts, credit card information, and other personal information such as pictures of your passport may be accessed by a stranger. Your identity is at risk to a potential identity thief.
The time to start thinking about what to do should your phone get lost or stolen is before it happens. One way you can minimize the chance of your information being accessed by an unauthorized person is to put a passcode on your phone. I wrote about this last year. Click for article. A Consumer Reports survey from 2014 showed that 1/3 of all smartphone owners do nothing to secure their smartphone. I know it’s a pain, but the pain of losing your phone and having your personal data so vulnerable would be much worse.
The second thing is to have contact information on your phone. My Android phone allows me to leave the phone number of a trusted person who can be reached in the event my phone is lost or stolen. I have a case for my phone and inside the case is that same phone number. On an iPhone, the Find My iPhone app allows you to place a message on the home screen with a contact number.
However that is not all, you need to be proactive should your phone get lost or stolen. Depending on whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, the steps you need to take below your phone goes missing are below:
Be Proactive With Your iPhone
·Go to “Settings” and select “iCloud”
·Turn “iCloud Backup” and “Find My iPhone” on as well as “Find My iPhone”
·Tap on “Find My iPhone” and when you see “Send Last Location” turn this on as well.
·It is a good idea to bookmark/favorite “iCloud.com” on all of your computers and know your log on
information for it.
Be Proactive With Your Android Phone
·Go to “Settings” and select “Backup and Reset”
·Select “Backup My Data” and “Automatic Restore”
·It is a good idea to bookmark/favorite “Android Device Manager” on all of your computers and know
your log on information for it.
By following the above, you are now being proactive in the event your phone is lost or stolen.
What To Do If Your Phone Does Get Lost Or Stolen – Should your phone get lost or stolen, here are the steps to take after it happens:
·Android Phone
·Log into “Android Device Manager” from a computer.
.If you believe you are in the area where your phone is lost select, “Ring”. Your phone will ring for 5
minutes at full volume. Should you find your phone within the 5 minutes, pressing the power button
will stop the ringing.
.You are not where you believe the phone is lost or stolen:
·Select “Lock” and follow the instructions.
·You also may wish to select “Erase” as well.
·To find your phone, type “Find my phone” in the address bar of your browser. Note: Your location
needs to be turned on for it to be found by the Android Device Manger. Whether you leave your
location on or not is a matter of personal choice.
·iPhone
·Log into your “iCloud” account from a computer.
.If you believe you are in the area where your phone is lost select, “Ring”. Your phone will ring for
several seconds.
.You are not where you believe the phone is lost or stolen:
·Select “Find My iPhone” and select the lost device.
·Select the “Lost Mode” which locks the iPhone and shows its location. You can send a message on
your iPhone to call you at the number you designate. Note: If your location is disabled, it may not
be found. When your battery is very low, your phone will automatically send its last known location
to Apple if you have enabled “Send Last Location”
·Decide whether to select the “Erase iPhone” option to completely erase the settings and content
on your iPhone. The reason I say decide is because if you choose this option your iPhone will not
be able to be tracked.
If phone is turned off your phone will not be responsive. On an Android phone, once the phone is turned on, it will do what you requested. For an iPhone, check the "Notify me when found" box. As soon as the iPhone is turned back on and connected to a cellular or wireless network, you will receive a notification at your Apple ID email address.
The erase function should be used only if you do not believe you will be able to find your phone. When my wife or I misplace our phones in the house, we simply call it from another phone. It has yet to fail.
If you are unfortunate to have your phone stolen, call the police ASAP. Don’t try to chase the thief/thieves yourself. Your life is too valuable to risk.
If your device lost is an iPad or Android tablet, follow the instructions for an iPhone or Android phone respectively.
Some of us may remember and still have a list of emergency numbers near their landline phone. After a loss has occurred, panic may set in, and/or we may search frantically for what to do . Set up a bookmark/favorite on your browser to the following link so in the event your phone is lost or stolen, this guide is handy. Click for Link. This will open the site for you to bookmark/favorite. Please feel free to pass this on to friends and family so they can be proactive should their phones be lost or stolen.
Hopefully you will never lose or have your phone stolen. But just in case, you need to take precautions before it happens.
If you want to know more about using your smartphone or other computer issues, email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .
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P.S. if you like this post, please click a "Like" "Thumbs Up" or other like feature. Please share on Facebook, Twitter or another social media site. Be sure to follow me on Twitter on @mklubok and “Like” my Facebook page at Computer Concierge NY LLC .
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Lake Success, Manhattan, Mineola, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside and Forest Hills NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
The time to start thinking about what to do should your phone get lost or stolen is before it happens. One way you can minimize the chance of your information being accessed by an unauthorized person is to put a passcode on your phone. I wrote about this last year. Click for article. A Consumer Reports survey from 2014 showed that 1/3 of all smartphone owners do nothing to secure their smartphone. I know it’s a pain, but the pain of losing your phone and having your personal data so vulnerable would be much worse.
The second thing is to have contact information on your phone. My Android phone allows me to leave the phone number of a trusted person who can be reached in the event my phone is lost or stolen. I have a case for my phone and inside the case is that same phone number. On an iPhone, the Find My iPhone app allows you to place a message on the home screen with a contact number.
However that is not all, you need to be proactive should your phone get lost or stolen. Depending on whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, the steps you need to take below your phone goes missing are below:
Be Proactive With Your iPhone
·Go to “Settings” and select “iCloud”
·Turn “iCloud Backup” and “Find My iPhone” on as well as “Find My iPhone”
·Tap on “Find My iPhone” and when you see “Send Last Location” turn this on as well.
·It is a good idea to bookmark/favorite “iCloud.com” on all of your computers and know your log on
information for it.
Be Proactive With Your Android Phone
·Go to “Settings” and select “Backup and Reset”
·Select “Backup My Data” and “Automatic Restore”
·It is a good idea to bookmark/favorite “Android Device Manager” on all of your computers and know
your log on information for it.
By following the above, you are now being proactive in the event your phone is lost or stolen.
What To Do If Your Phone Does Get Lost Or Stolen – Should your phone get lost or stolen, here are the steps to take after it happens:
·Android Phone
·Log into “Android Device Manager” from a computer.
.If you believe you are in the area where your phone is lost select, “Ring”. Your phone will ring for 5
minutes at full volume. Should you find your phone within the 5 minutes, pressing the power button
will stop the ringing.
.You are not where you believe the phone is lost or stolen:
·Select “Lock” and follow the instructions.
·You also may wish to select “Erase” as well.
·To find your phone, type “Find my phone” in the address bar of your browser. Note: Your location
needs to be turned on for it to be found by the Android Device Manger. Whether you leave your
location on or not is a matter of personal choice.
·iPhone
·Log into your “iCloud” account from a computer.
.If you believe you are in the area where your phone is lost select, “Ring”. Your phone will ring for
several seconds.
.You are not where you believe the phone is lost or stolen:
·Select “Find My iPhone” and select the lost device.
·Select the “Lost Mode” which locks the iPhone and shows its location. You can send a message on
your iPhone to call you at the number you designate. Note: If your location is disabled, it may not
be found. When your battery is very low, your phone will automatically send its last known location
to Apple if you have enabled “Send Last Location”
·Decide whether to select the “Erase iPhone” option to completely erase the settings and content
on your iPhone. The reason I say decide is because if you choose this option your iPhone will not
be able to be tracked.
If phone is turned off your phone will not be responsive. On an Android phone, once the phone is turned on, it will do what you requested. For an iPhone, check the "Notify me when found" box. As soon as the iPhone is turned back on and connected to a cellular or wireless network, you will receive a notification at your Apple ID email address.
The erase function should be used only if you do not believe you will be able to find your phone. When my wife or I misplace our phones in the house, we simply call it from another phone. It has yet to fail.
If you are unfortunate to have your phone stolen, call the police ASAP. Don’t try to chase the thief/thieves yourself. Your life is too valuable to risk.
If your device lost is an iPad or Android tablet, follow the instructions for an iPhone or Android phone respectively.
Some of us may remember and still have a list of emergency numbers near their landline phone. After a loss has occurred, panic may set in, and/or we may search frantically for what to do . Set up a bookmark/favorite on your browser to the following link so in the event your phone is lost or stolen, this guide is handy. Click for Link. This will open the site for you to bookmark/favorite. Please feel free to pass this on to friends and family so they can be proactive should their phones be lost or stolen.
Hopefully you will never lose or have your phone stolen. But just in case, you need to take precautions before it happens.
If you want to know more about using your smartphone or other computer issues, email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. if you like this post, please click a "Like" "Thumbs Up" or other like feature. Please share on Facebook, Twitter or another social media site. Be sure to follow me on Twitter on @mklubok and “Like” my Facebook page at Computer Concierge NY LLC .
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Lake Success, Manhattan, Mineola, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside and Forest Hills NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
