Lost or stolen phone
Lost your phone or had it stolen? Lock it, protect your number and money, secure your accounts, then restore everything to a replacement in a safe order.
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Start with the basics
We never ask for phone numbers, card numbers, passwords or codes. Names of providers or nicknames are enough.
Your plan so far
17things this change touches
- critical5
- high8
- moderate3
- low1
Updates as you answer. Every item will explain why it’s there.
What could break
In a typical lost phone plan, these are the most serious things to get right.
Right now: mark the iPhone as lost in Find My
Critical · Devices
An unmarked phone gives whoever has it more time with your apps, messages and codes.
Right now: erase the phone remotely
Critical · Devices
A stolen phone that isn't erased leaves your data exposed to anyone who gets past the lock. Erasing too early can cost you the chance to find a phone that was only misplaced.
Call your carrier to suspend the line
Critical · Phone & internet service
Someone could use your number to reset your accounts or run up charges on your bill.
Ask the carrier to block SIM swaps and number transfers
Critical · Phone & internet service
Weak carrier security makes SIM-swap fraud easier, which defeats text-message codes.
Your banks: tell them the phone is lost
Critical · Banking & payments
Payments can be blocked when a fraud alert can't reach you, and you may be locked out of online banking.
Cards in Apple Pay, Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet
Critical · Banking & payments
Someone who gets past the lock could make tap-to-pay purchases.
Secure your main email first
Critical · Core accounts
One open email app is enough to reset banking, shopping and social logins.
Apple Account: check for changes and update your password if needed
Critical · Core accounts
If the details on your Apple Account stop working, signing in on a new device or recovering the account can stall.
Google Account: sign the lost phone out and secure your account
Critical · Core accounts
Outdated recovery details make it much harder to get back in if you're ever locked out.
Password manager: sign the lost phone out
Critical · Sign-in & recovery
If you're locked out of the password manager, every account inside it becomes harder to reach.
Before and after the change
Before you change it
- Right now: mark the iPhone as lost in Find My
- Right now: erase the phone remotely
- Call your carrier to suspend the line
- Ask the carrier to block SIM swaps and number transfers
- Your banks: tell them the phone is lost
- Cards in Apple Pay, Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet
- PayPal: sign out the lost phone and change your password
- Secure your main email first
- Apple Account: check for changes and update your password if needed
- Google Account: sign the lost phone out and secure your account
- Password manager: sign the lost phone out
- Shopping, delivery, ride and social apps
After the change
- Ask the carrier to block the phone itself
- Report the theft to police
- Carrier or manufacturer device protection: check your cover and start a claim
- Get your number onto a new SIM or eSIM
- Find your backup codes and other ways in
- Start account recovery for accounts you can't get into
- Apple Account: how you'll get sign-in codes without the iPhone
- Google Account: sign in without the lost phone
- Warn friends and family about messages from your number
- Set up the replacement phone from your backup
- Google Authenticator: restore synced codes or set them up again
- Microsoft Authenticator: recover from your cloud backup
Your own plan adds or removes items based on your answers, and explains why each one is there.
The safe order
Doing things in the right sequence is what keeps you from getting locked out halfway through.
Before the change
Step 1: Right now: locate, lock or erase the phone
Use another device or a web browser. Lock it first, then erase it if you don't expect it back.
- Right now: mark the iPhone as lost in Find My (critical risk)
- Right now: erase the phone remotely (critical risk)
Step 2: Right now: suspend your line and block SIM swaps
Stop anyone using your number to receive your calls, texts and sign-in codes.
- Call your carrier to suspend the line (critical risk)
- Ask the carrier to block SIM swaps and number transfers (critical risk)
Step 3: Right now: protect your money
Call your banks and card issuers, and sign the phone out of payment apps.
- Your banks: tell them the phone is lost (critical risk)
- Cards in Apple Pay, Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet (critical risk)
- PayPal: sign out the lost phone and change your password (high risk)
Step 4: Within the hour: secure your email and main accounts
From another device, change passwords and sign the lost phone out, starting with email.
- Secure your main email first (critical risk)
- Apple Account: check for changes and update your password if needed (critical risk)
- Google Account: sign the lost phone out and secure your account (critical risk)
- Password manager: sign the lost phone out (critical risk)
- and 1 more
Step 5: Tell your employer's IT team
Work data on the phone is their responsibility too.
- Tell your IT team: work apps were on the phone (critical risk)
During the change
Step 6: Report the loss or theft
Police, a carrier device block and any insurance claim.
- Ask the carrier to block the phone itself (high risk)
- Report the theft to police (moderate risk)
- Carrier or manufacturer device protection: check your cover and start a claim (moderate risk)
Step 7: Get your number and accounts back
Replacement SIM first, then backup codes and account recovery.
- Get your number onto a new SIM or eSIM (critical risk)
- Find your backup codes and other ways in (critical risk)
- Start account recovery for accounts you can't get into (critical risk)
- Apple Account: how you'll get sign-in codes without the iPhone (high risk)
- and 1 more
Step 8: Warn people about messages from your number
Stop anyone using your phone to ask your contacts for money or codes.
- Warn friends and family about messages from your number (moderate risk)
Immediately after
Step 9: Set up the replacement phone
Restore from your backup, or recover what synced to your accounts.
- Set up the replacement phone from your backup (high risk)
Step 10: Restore authenticator codes, passkeys and work sign-in
Bring back your second sign-in steps on the replacement phone.
- Google Authenticator: restore synced codes or set them up again (critical risk)
- Microsoft Authenticator: recover from your cloud backup (critical risk)
- Passkeys: check which ones came back (high risk)
- Work sign-in: register the replacement phone with IT (high risk)
Step 11: Set up messaging apps again
Register each app on the replacement so it moves off the lost phone.
- WhatsApp: register on the replacement phone (high risk)
- Signal: register on the replacement phone (high risk)
- iMessage and FaceTime: check them on the replacement (moderate risk)
Step 12: Set up banking apps and wallet cards again
Do this after your replacement SIM works, because banks often verify by text.
- Banking apps: set them up on the replacement phone (high risk)
- Add your cards to the replacement phone's wallet (moderate risk)
Verify
Step 13: Check for unusual activity and test your sign-ins
Look for changes you didn't make, and prove codes reach you.
- Check your accounts for activity you don't recognise (critical risk)
- Check calls, texts and codes reach the replacement (high risk)
Clean up
Step 14: Tidy up your device lists
Remove the lost phone where it's safe to, and keep it where it protects you.
- Remove the lost phone from your accounts' device lists (high risk)
- Leave the iPhone in Find My (high risk)
Later
Step 15: Watch for fraud and follow up
Statements, claims and what to do if the phone turns up.
- Watch for fraud for the next few months (moderate risk)
- If the phone turns up (moderate risk)
Why this change needs a plan
A phone is the key to most of your digital life. It receives your sign-in codes, holds your authenticator app, stays signed in to email and banking, and can pay for things with a tap. When it goes missing, the risk isn't just the phone; it's everything the phone can unlock.
The order matters. The first hour is about containment: lock the phone, stop anyone using your number, and close the doors to your money and email. Recovery comes next, starting with getting your number back on a new SIM so codes can reach you again.
Most people get through a lost phone with nothing worse than a lost afternoon, especially if the phone was locked and backed up. This plan helps you work through it calmly, in the right order, without forgetting the things that only become a problem weeks later.
Why it matters
Your phone receives the codes that prove you're you, and is often signed in to email, banking and payments. Whoever has it, and whoever has your SIM, may be able to reset your accounts unless you act quickly.
What makes it risky
Risk is highest when the phone was stolen, wasn't locked, or someone may have seen the passcode. It also rises when authenticator codes lived only on that phone, when Find My or Find Hub was off, or when there's no recent backup.
Common mistakes
- Waiting to see if the phone turns up before calling the carrier, leaving the SIM free to receive your sign-in codes.
- Removing the iPhone from Find My or the Apple Account, which turns off Activation Lock and makes a stolen phone easier to resell.
- Changing passwords without signing out other sessions, so the lost phone stays signed in.
- Forgetting that authenticator codes lived only on the lost phone until the moment they're needed.
- Going to the location shown on the map to confront a thief instead of passing it to police.
- Setting up the replacement as a new phone instead of restoring from the backup.
- Not warning contacts, who then get convincing messages from your number asking for money or codes.
- Erasing straight away when the phone was locked and probably just misplaced, losing the chance to locate it.
Frequently asked questions
Should I erase my phone remotely straight away?
If it was stolen, wasn't locked, or someone may know your passcode, yes, once you've noted its last location. If it was locked and probably just misplaced, lock it and mark it as lost first; you can erase it later if it doesn't turn up.
Will I lose my phone number?
No. Ask your carrier to suspend the line, then get a replacement SIM or eSIM on the same number. Suspending stops anyone else using it; it doesn't give the number away.
How do I get two-factor codes if my authenticator was on the lost phone?
If the app synced or backed up its codes, restore them on the replacement. Otherwise use backup codes, a security key, another signed-in device or a text code once your replacement SIM works. For anything left, use each provider's account recovery.
Can someone use Apple Pay or Google Wallet on my lost phone?
Not without getting past the lock, and Lost Mode on an iPhone suspends Apple Pay. To be safe, ask each card issuer to suspend the card on the phone; your physical card can usually keep working.
Should I remove the lost iPhone from my Apple Account?
Apple says not to remove it from Find My, even after erasing it, because that removes Activation Lock. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, don't remove it until your claim is approved.
What if the phone wasn't locked?
Assume anything signed in on it is exposed. Erase it remotely, change your email password and sign out other sessions, call your banks, and warn close contacts about messages from your number.
Is a stolen phone covered by insurance?
Sometimes. Carrier and manufacturer protection plans, home or renter's insurance and some credit cards can cover theft or loss. Check the policy's deadline, deductible and required documents before you replace the phone.
What should I do if I find my phone again?
Tell your carrier, insurer and police if you reported it. If it was out of your hands while unlocked, erase it and restore from backup rather than carrying on as before.
Regional notes
General information, not legal advice. Check the official source where you live.
- Canada
- Under the CRTC's Wireless Code, your provider must suspend service at no charge when you report a lost or stolen device. You're still responsible for charges made before you report it.
- United States
- If someone uses your accounts or personal information, report it and get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.