All may not be lost if you lose your phone while you’re on the road
On a recent trip to London, Logan Abbott’s phone disappeared. Although he’s one of thousands of travelers whose gadgets go missing on the road, his story is remarkable.
That’s because Abbott is the CEO of Wirefly.com, a company that helps consumers select a cellphone calling plan – an industry insider. You’d think a sophisticated phone user such as him would know how to prevent a loss. But it turns out anyone can lose a phone, even Abbott. The trick is in the recovery.
More than 29 million phones vanish each year according to Asurion, a company that insures smartphones, tablets and other electronics. Only 50 percent of people back up the data on their devices, and 28 percent of users said if they lost their gadget they would never be able to recover the data on it, according to research from Kaspersky, a cybersecurity and antivirus company.
If you lose your phone when you travel, you can take quick steps to recover it. And if you fail, you can at least restore your data and find a new device quickly.
Abbott’s recovery plan was simple but effective. “I went to the Apple Store and bought a new iPhone,” he says. “Because I do daily backups to iCloud and my laptop, I was able to get back up and running with all my data without skipping a beat.”
His advice? Remember to do a daily backup of your data.
“It’s also critical that you have a passcode on your phone so that whoever finds it can’t access the data on your phone,” he adds.
If your phone’s gone, you’ll want to go through the painful process of remotely wiping and bricking it. Call your mobile carrier as soon as you confirm your phone is lost so that they can disable the account. That way, you won’t be responsible for any data use or phone calls made after the loss.
Replacing the phone is pretty straightforward. Just visit the nearest phone store, buy a replacement, get a new SIM card – a smart card inside the phone that identifies you – attach the phone and SIM to your account, and you’re back online. Mobile companies have different requirements. For example, AT&T requires a number called the IMEI and the SIM card serial number to activate a new phone. T-Mobile needs the SIM card number.
“Data recovery is a different story,” says Andy Abramson, a frequent traveler who runs a Los Angeles communications agency.
Apple’s iOS backs up to iCloud all the time, but it’s not automatic. You have to set it up to perform the regular backup. If you’re on Google’s Android, everything is already backed up to the cloud, so you have to get online, and your contacts and data are synched. Abramson says it’s important to understand your phone’s backup mechanism before you travel, instead of trying to figure it out it after you’ve lost your phone.
Keep your cellphone close. At home, you can leave it lying around, but on the road, one careless moment could lead to a permanent loss. One solution is a new product called a Murray Belt ($50), a belt worn around the upper body that allows you convenient access to your phone and other travel documents. “I wanted to develop a product that would provide a habitual location to keep my phone and put my mind at ease while I’m on the road,” Murray Belt inventor Margaret Murray Bloom says.
Another storage idea: The PortaPocket WaistBelt & Pocket Kit ($26.95), a belt with interchangeable modules for storing your valuables.
If your phone goes missing, don’t panic, says Lysa Myers, a security researcher at ESET, an antivirus software company. Your first step should always be to “text or call your phone,” she advises. “That way, if it’s not really lost but just stuck in the couch cushions or something, you can locate it quickly.”
There’s one foolproof way to avoid the panic that happens after you lose your phone when you travel. “Carry a spare phone,” says Andrea Woroch, a consumer expert.
That’s what I do. My kids inherited my old Pixel phone, and if I lose my phone, I’ll borrow theirs.
Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or visit elliott.org.