Lost Your Phone? What to Do First

Lost Your Phone? What to Do First — and When to Treat It as Stolen

H Pavel Volkov · howtolive.guide · 20 April 2026

If your phone is missing but may simply be lost, start by finding it, not by wiping it. From another device, open Find My (iPhone) or Find Hub (Android, formerly Find My Device), check the map and play a sound. If it is not nearby, mark it as lost: the phone locks with your passcode and can show a message with a number where you can be reached, so whoever finds it can get it back to you. Erasing cannot be undone, and on Android it stops Find Hub from tracking the phone — leave it for later.

If the phone does not turn up soon, ask your carrier to suspend the SIM so nobody receives your calls, texts and login codes, and keep an eye on your email and bank. Have the IMEI or serial number to hand: keep your device serial numbers.

If the phone was taken from you, or you think it was stolen, follow the full theft steps — carrier, accounts, bank, police, and when erasing makes sense: what to do if your phone is stolen.

The point

Lost your phone? Check the map and play a sound first, then mark it as lost with a contact message. Leave erasing for later, and if you think it was stolen, follow the theft steps.

Lost Your Phone? What to Do First — and When to Treat It as Stolen

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