For many of us, it's the nightmare scenario. Not only are they very expensive pieces of equipment, we tend to carry our entire lives on our smartphones: emails, contacts, browsing history, messages, important files, call logs, and more.
After the sickening panic sets in and you've frantically looked for your phone in every possible place it could be, it's important to not give into the dread. Don't fall apart over your smartphone loss – there are things you can do to protect your identity and potentially recover your smartphone. It's important to have a process in place for when you lose your smartphone. Don't just read this article if you've lost your iPhone – read it if you're worried about losing your smartphone, or want some help in ways to prevent loss or theft of smartphones.
Follow the steps: stay safe and stay smart!
This is a step that requires a bit of forethought – you need to have this sorted before you lose your phone. There are a range of great apps out there, from SecurEnvoy to iLocalis. A little bit of Googling will help you find the right app for you. Make sure to read reviews and check that the app is secure – if it appears in the Apple App Store or the Google Android Market, chances are that it's been properly checked out.
Tracker apps can help you with a range of things. Most of them offer a certain amount of basic services:
- Basic GPS tracking that can help you locate the phone.
- Setting off an alarm that you can follow if you're near the phone.
- Calling or sending a text message remotely from the phone, so that you can find the number if someone is using the phone with a new SIM card.
- Alerts when a phone has been connected to a new computer.
- Lock your device remotely.
- Wipe your device remotely.
Different apps offer a different variety of features, but you should be able to find one that offers the best features to suit you. You might decide to pay a little bit per month for one of the more comprehensive premium deals, but there are great free apps that will be able to offer you the most important features.
A tracker app can help you find your phone, or, if you decide it can't be found, will wipe it remotely. The remote wipe is an important thing to do – it means that nobody will be able to access your private information. Usually the apps provide a place to back up your information, so that if you relocate your phone you can get it back, but it's likely that someone else will pick up your phone when you've lost it.
This is the first step in making sure your identity and personal details stay safe.
It's important to let your provider know that you've lost your phone, once you're sure that it's a big deal and not just you misplacing it.
The most important reason is that your provider will be able to freeze or cancel your SIM and send you a new one. This means that a stranger who has found or stolen your phone will not be able to use it to run up a huge bill.
If you have insurance on your phone, your provider may offer you a new one. This is a great reason to consider getting insurance when you first sign up for a plan – it's usually around $10 a month.
Otherwise it's unlikely that your provider will be able to offer you a new phone. If you're lucky, a provider might take pity on you and put some money on your account towards getting a new phone, but don't pin your hopes on getting a replacement. It's not a provider's fault if you lose your phone, and even if it was stolen there's no way for you to prove that to your provider. Unfortunately, if providers replaced phones every time someone rang up and told them it was lost, they'd be bankrupt in months, so there's not much they can do for you besides cancelling your SIM card and perhaps giving you some advice on what to do next.
Your email password, your banking passwords – really, any password for any site that you've used on your smartphone should be changed. It may seem frustrating, but it's better than a thief finding that your password information is stored in the browser, where a remote wipe can't affect it.
In the chance that the remote wipe fails somehow, too, or only works partially, you'll have protected yourself twice. Updating passwords is something you should do regularly, and this is a good chance to make sure you're secure online.
Do you have insurance for your phone? Do you have household insurance that's good enough you can claim your phone on it? Now's the point to check out what your insurance can do for you.
It's a good idea to go to the police station and file a missing or stolen report in person. It only takes about ten minutes, and it means you have an official piece of documentation to prove that this isn't a simple case of having mislaid your phone.
It's time to bite the bullet: your original smartphone, no matter how loyal you are to it nor how beloved and part of the family it became, is not coming back. Hold a wake for it, try going a few more days without it, and then it's time to find the next best plan for you.
Again, you'll want to talk to your provider and see what your obligations are with regard to the contract you may still be on. If it's going to be expensive to leave the contract, you might want to see whether they'll offer you any discount phones – otherwise, check out our guide to buying a phone outright.
There are some great plans out there. Check out the best cap plans and have a look at some of the plans available for some of Australia's favourite smartphones: the Apple iPhone 4S 64GB, the Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB, or, to try something different, the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note.
If you're still having trouble finding a plan, or have any further questions, please don't hesitate to call us on 1300 850 518 and we'll be happy to help you further.