- The order to act in once you notice the phone is gone
- What Find My on iPhone and Find Hub on Android can do
- What to consider before erasing remotely
The short answer
When you realize your phone is missing, do not rush to erase it. Work in this order: locate it, mark it as lost to lock it, contact the carrier you have a contract with, check your accounts, and report it to the police. Erasing cannot be undone, and Apple advises trying everything else first. Whether a phone is found depends on the situation, so these steps do not guarantee you will get it back. The police and carrier parts of this article describe how things work in Japan.
The order to act in
| Step | What to do | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locate the phone or play a sound | Another device, such as a family member's phone or a computer |
| 2 | Mark it as lost to lock it | The same other device |
| 3 | Ask about suspending the line | Your carrier's support desk |
| 4 | Check your account sign-in activity | A browser on another device |
| 5 | Report the loss to the police | The nearest police station or police box |
For example, in a made-up case where you left the phone on a station bench, you would first check its location on a family member's phone, and if it is at the station, contact the station.
Use Find My on iPhone and Find Hub on Android. Erasing cannot be undone, so try everything else first.
On iPhone: Find My and Lost Mode
According to Apple Support, you can use the Find My app on another Apple device, a family member's device, or Find Devices at icloud.com/find to play a sound, mark the device as lost, or erase it. Marking it as lost locks it with your passcode, suspends Apple Pay cards and similar passes, and lets you show a phone number or message for whoever finds it.
Two cautions. Apple says that removing the device from the Find My list turns off Activation Lock, which makes it easier for a thief to unlock and resell it. Apple also says it will never contact you to say your iPhone has been found, so treat such messages as a likely scam.
On Android: Find Hub
Android Help calls this feature Find Hub. It works when the phone is powered on, connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi, signed in to a Google Account, and has Find Hub turned on, among other conditions. Play sound rings at full volume for five minutes even if the phone is set to silent. Mark as lost locks the phone with your PIN, pattern, or password and can show contact details and a message on the lock screen.
If you erase the phone with a factory reset, it can no longer be used with Find Hub. Android Help also notes that carriers may use the IMEI, a number unique to each device, to disable it.
Your line, your accounts, and the police
Apple advises reporting the loss to the police and notifying your carrier to suspend the account. The steps for suspending a line or reissuing a SIM differ by company, so contact the carrier you have a contract with to confirm them. For your Apple Account, check Sign-In and Security on a trusted device for changes you do not recognize, and change your password if you find any. For Android, Google advises having backup codes for 2-Step Verification ready.
In Japan, for example, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department says you can file a lost-item report at any police station or police box. Check the guidance from the police where you live, too.
If it is still not solved
If the location does not appear, work through Apple Support's article on finding a lost iPhone or iPad, or the Android Help article on Find Hub. For your line and contract, talk to your carrier. Screen names in the English interface may differ from the Japanese help pages cited here.
Checklist
- Did you try to locate the phone from another device?
- Did you mark it as lost to lock it?
- Did you contact your carrier?
- Did you check your accounts for changes you do not recognize?
- Did you report it to the police?
- Did you leave erasing until you had tried everything else?
One thing to check today
Check that Find My on your iPhone, or Find Hub on your Android phone, is turned on.