What to do if your phone is lost or stolen

Losing your phone—or worse, having it stolen—is stressful. But it's a real risk and can happen to anyone. In fact, according to Asurion data¹, 7.3 million phones were lost or stolen in 2024—that's nearly 11,000 phones each day.

If your mobile phone suddenly disappears, use these tips to help protect your data and hopefully recover your device quickly.

7 steps to follow if your phone is lost or stolen

Step 1: Call your phone or make it ring remotely

Start simple: use another device to call your phone. Even if it's on silent, you might hear it vibrate against a hard surface.

If that doesn't work, you can use your phone's built-in finding service to make it ring, even when it's set to silent:

• iPhone: Visit iCloud Find Devices, sign in, select your phone, and choose Play Sound.
• Android: Visit Google Find Hub, sign in, select your phone, and choose Play sound.

Step 2: Text your cell phone

If your phone displays message previews on the lock screen, sending a text may help someone return it. Include a short message with an alternate phone number or email address where you can be reached.

Keep in mind that message previews may be hidden when the phone is locked. For a more reliable option, use your phone's lost-device feature to display contact information directly on the lock screen.

Step 3: Use your phone's built-in find my phone feature

Your phone has built-in security features that can help you locate, ring, lock, or erase it remotely—as long as the service was enabled before the device went missing.

On Android™, Google's Find My Device is now called Find Hub. On iPhone®, the feature is called Find My™.

Here's where to start:

• iPhone: Open Find My on another Apple device or visit icloud.com/find. Select your missing phone to view its location or activate Lost Mode.
• Android: Open the Find Hub app on another Android device or visit android.com/find. Select your phone to see its current or last known location, then choose Mark as lost to secure it.
• Samsung Galaxy: You can also use Samsung Find if it was set up on your phone.

Both Apple's Lost Mode and Google's Mark as lost feature can help protect your information while displaying a message for someone who finds your phone.

For more details, see our guides to finding a lost Android phone and finding a lost or stolen iPhone.

Step 4: Remotely erase the data from your phone

If you've tried locating and securing your phone but believe it won't be recovered, remotely erasing it can help protect your personal information.

We'd save this for a last resort. Erasing your phone permanently removes its data, and it may affect your ability to continue tracking it. If the device is offline, the erase command generally takes effect when it reconnects.

To remotely erase an iPhone

1. Visit icloud.com/find on another device and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Select All Devices, then choose your missing iPhone.
3. Select Erase This Device.
4. Follow the prompts to confirm the erase.

Don't remove the iPhone from Find My or your Apple Account afterward. Keeping it associated with your account helps preserve Activation Lock, which makes it harder for someone else to reactivate the phone.

To remotely erase a Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel

1. Visit android.com/find or open the Find Hub app on another Android device.
2. Sign in with the Google Account linked to your missing phone.
3. Select your phone from the device list.
4. Open Settings > Factory reset device.
5. Review the warning and confirm the reset.

This permanently deletes data stored on the phone, although SD card contents may not be erased. Once the reset is complete, you won't be able to track the phone through Find Hub.

Step 5: Lock your phone & change passwords

If your cell phone can't be located quickly, use your phone's find my phone feature to remotely lock your phone from any location. Also, be sure to take this opportunity to change the passwords on any accounts you regularly accessed or had an app for on your—especially financial accounts, email, and social media, just in case.

Step 6: Contact your mobile carrier

If you've had no luck locating your device, after erasing and locking it remotely, reach out to the carrier for your consumer cellular plan. They can disable service to your phone, and can typically mark the phone itself as unusable, even with a new SIM card or new carrier. This not only helps protect you, but someone who may unknowingly purchase a used phone that's been stolen.

Step 7: Alert the police

You may or may not get your phone back, but you could potentially need a police report if you have to protest fraudulent charges made with your device. 

Will insurance cover my lost or stolen phone?

Depends on your provider. Asurion offers cell phone insurance that covers not only loss and theft, but protection from everyday mishaps like cracked screen repair and coverage for water damage, with you receiving a replacement device in as little as 24 hours. Read reviews from actual customers we helped recover from lost, stolen and damaged smartphones.

¹ 2024 Asurion Claims Data