No need to panicHow to find your lost cell phone again
4.11.2024
Can't find your phone or left it on the train? Annoying, but not the end of the world. We show you the best way to proceed if your smartphone is gone.
04.11.2024, 08:24
14.11.2024, 16:15
Carlotta Henggeler und Dirk Jacquemien
The commuting time on the train is perfect for working. Put your laptop on your knees, use your cell phone to log into the company network in an instant and off you go: Answering emails, checking appointments or working through pending tasks until the final stop approaches and you leave your smartphone on the train in the heat of the moment.
A scenario that probably happens on Swiss trains every day. But not only there. It's also easy to forget your cell phone in a restaurant and sometimes you simply look for it in vain in your home, where it has made itself at home in a crevice of the sofa.
But there's no need to worry. In the meantime, you can quickly find your cell phone again and, in an emergency, lock it to prevent unauthorized access. Here are the most important tips if you can't find your cell phone.
Call yourself, ping yourself
It's so obvious and yet even this is often forgotten in the heat of the moment. Even if your cell phone is set to silent, you can often find it again quickly when it vibrates. Alternatively, you can also use your smartwatch to ping your phone. However, this only works as long as the devices are no more than 100 meters apart.
Google Maps can help
A possibly lesser-known trick for finding a lost iPhone is to use Google Maps Timeline. This feature monitors your iPhone's location history and location services if it is enabled on the device.
To access this feature, users can open Google Maps Timeline in a web browser and log in to the Google account they use on their phone.
The timeline will then display the iPhone's location history, allowing users to quickly view the current or last known location of their device. This can go a long way towards getting the iPhone back in your possession.
iCloud
If these attempts are unsuccessful, you can try to locate your iPhone using iCloud. Before losing it, you should have activated this in the iOS settings under "Apple ID" --> "Where is?". To find your iPhone again, you can either use the "Where is?" app on another iOS device in your possession or visit www.icloud.com/find with a browser. Devices connected to your Apple account can be located on both platforms.
If the lost iPhone is still switched on and has an internet connection, its current location will be displayed here. If this is not the case, the last known location is shown. You now have the option of marking the device as "lost". This locks the iPhone and disables sensitive functions such as Apple Pay. Here you can also specify a phone number and a message (such as the offer of a finder's reward), which will be clearly displayed on the lock screen.
And what do you do with Android phones?
As the owner of an Android phone, you can also find your lost smartphone in a very similar way. Visit the website www.android.com/find, where you can locate the devices connected to your Google account in the same way as the Apple version.
Here you have to select "Lock device" for your lost smartphone. Here you can also enter a phone number and message to be displayed on the lock screen.