Have you lost your phone? Here’s how to retrieve it

Nowadays, smartphones have become an important part of human lives as their use is humungous. From digital payments to work to entertainment, we rely on it for everyday essentials.

However, if you lose a smartphone, it becomes really difficult to perform certain tasks. It could also bring both personal and professional life to a halt.

But that nowhere means it is the end of your road as you didn’t lose it purposely. It happened by mistake or just negligence. 

Here are a few steps which can help you retrieve personal and professional data:

Call and Text the Phone

Once you lose your phone, it is important to call your phone number in the first place. Notably, make sure that you keep your family members’ names stored with some complementing common nouns – ‘mom’, ‘dad’, ‘wife’, or ‘sister/brother’. 

It is important to do so because a good samaritan might get your phone and would definitely return your device. Besides that, you can also send a text message with a mobile number to contact to return the phone. 

Activate Find My Device

Every Android smartphone comes with an in-built feature called Find My Device or Find My Mobile. This feature helps users to track, ring, lock, or erase your smartphone remotely, in case it is stolen. This feature is in the Settings tab under Security and you simply need to toggle it on.

It is important to know that you should Turn the Location on and then go to Google’s Find My Device page to play a ringtone on the device, even if it is on silent, secure the phone, or erase the device entirely. Also you have to sign in with the same gmail account registered on the phone to take help from this feature. You can also get an option to change the password or lock the device using this feature. 

With the help of this feature, you can also track your phone via GPS. 

Bluetooth Tracker, Smart Speaker

A Bluetooth tracker can come in handy when it comes to tracking your smartphone but it only functions within a particular range. After you buy a Bluetooth tracker, just sync your phone to it. Then push the button and it will open an alarm on the phone. 

Besides that, a smart speaker can also come to your rescue as you will have to say, “Okay Google, find my phone” and the device will ring even if it is on silent or vibrate.

Lock Screen Message

Several lock screen messages can be set up on your phone if it is stolen. Without a password, no one can enter into your device. In addition to that, you can also get a combination of location tracking and lock screen messages to send intimidating messages to anyone who has stolen the device by constantly reminding them that you know where the phone is and are tracking their movements.

Safeguarding your Accounts

It is important to safeguard your social media, gmail and several other accounts that are logged into your phone. You can also choose to remove your entire device using Find My Device, although you won’t be able to track it once you do that.

Report the Theft

It is always important to file an FIR (First Information Report) in India for the theft of a device. This can be done online or by heading to your nearest police station.