How to Find a Missing Phone

Getting your phone back from the ether is often just a few steps away.

A missing phone can easily wreck a day, weekend or vacation. While the cost of the device may be high, the value of connectivity and the contents of your phone could be priceless. The best way to find a missing phone is to prepare for that moment when a mobile device serendipitously makes its way from your pocket to the floor of a taxi. The best thing that you can do if you lose a phone is to remain calm and think things through.

Instructions

1. Check your home, office and vehicles for the lost phone. Focus on one room at a time and move systematically through each room as you would during a normal day. Look in between cushions, under beds or anywhere else that you might have set it. You may find it easier to find your device if you call the phone to listen for it ringing.

2. Contact your IT department if the phone lost is a company-issued device. It may be able to locate the device or wipe any sensitive data from the device to prevent further damages. If the lost phone is a personal device, move to the next step.

3. Contact your mobile phone line provider and inform it that you have misplaced your mobile phone. Ask if your carrier is able to assist you in locating the device; some carriers may be able to locate your phone for you by using GPS. If it is unable to locate your phone, ask it to temporarily suspend service to your device until you contact the company about reactivation.

4. Call your phone. Although a fairly obvious step, it is often the most direct path to victory (unless your phone is on silent). If anyone answers, be sure to explain the situation and work to arrange a meeting in public to retrieve your phone.

5. Send a text message to your phone. In the message, state your name, intent to recover the phone and contact information.

6. Think back to the last time you saw your mobile phone and call every business or establishment that you visited after the last sighting and before you realized that it was lost. This is where remaining calm really pays off; you need to methodically check each location from the oldest to the newest.

7. Report the phone missing to the police if you are unable to locate your phone. In most cases, they will need the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number from your phone to properly identify it. You can retrieve the IMEI from the mobile phone packaging or through your mobile provider.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep written documentation of your phone's IMEI number, which is often located under the battery. This information is a unique identification number that you can use to report your phone as lost or stolen.

References

• PCMag: How to Find a Lost Cell Phone