What should I do when my phone is lost or stolen?
The order to act in — locating, locking, protecting accounts and reporting — and the preparation that makes it work.
beginner1 hr2 min read
Phones
Storage, battery, backups and setup.
84 guides in Technology
How do I set up a new phone?
The order to set up a new phone in so nothing gets lost — backup first, migration, then the settings worth changing on day one.
beginner2 hr2 min readHow do I stop my phone autocorrecting badly?
Teaching the keyboard the words you actually use, clearing the mistakes it has learned, and turning off the parts that are not helping.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat do I do if a second-hand phone is locked to the previous owner?
A reset phone that asks for someone else's account before it will finish setting up. What the lock is, why it cannot be removed, and the order in which to pursue a refund — including your rights under UK consumer law.
intermediate35 min6 min readWhy are things missing after I restored a backup to my new phone?
A restore carries most things and never carries everything. The predictable gaps are authenticator codes, passes, downloaded media, some app data and anything the app stored only locally.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy does my phone lose signal indoors?
Why buildings block signal, turning on wifi calling as the real fix, and the settings worth checking first.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy is my mobile data not working when I have signal?
Signal bars measure the connection to the mast; data is a separate thing layered on top. Work through the switches, the allowance, the per-app restrictions, then the network configuration.
beginner25 min5 min readWhy did my battery get worse straight after a software update?
Most of it is the reindexing and re-optimising a major update triggers, which settles within a few days. What remains after a week is a real change, and there are specific things to check.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I keep my mobile number when I switch network?
The UK text-to-switch process: one text gets you a code, the new network does the rest, and the number moves the next working day.
beginner20 min3 min readShould I offload an app or delete it?
Offloading removes the program and keeps your data; deleting removes both. Which one you want depends entirely on whether the app holds anything that exists nowhere else.
beginner10 min5 min readShould I replace my phone battery or buy a new phone?
How to tell whether the battery is genuinely the problem, what a replacement costs against a new handset, and when the phone is the limiting factor.
beginner20 min2 min readWhat is Wi-Fi calling and should I turn it on?
It routes calls over your broadband instead of the mobile mast, so a house with poor signal gets reliable calls. Same number, same billing, and it costs nothing.
beginner12 min4 min readWhy will my text messages not send?
A red exclamation mark, a message stuck on sending, or texts that go to some people and not others. Three different messaging systems share one app, and knowing which one failed tells you the fix.
beginner25 min5 min readHow do I set up a new phone when the old one is broken or lost?
The transfer routes that need the old phone are closed, so you rebuild from the cloud backup and re-establish your second factor. Do the account recovery first.
intermediate1 hr5 min readHow do I stop apps draining my battery?
Finding which app is actually responsible and restricting it, rather than changing settings at random.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I check a second-hand phone is not blocked or stolen?
The four checks worth making before handing over money for a used phone: the IMEI against the blocklist, the account lock, the network lock, and the phone's own state. What each one costs and what it actually proves.
beginner25 min6 min readHow do I stop my screen cracking, or fix a cracked screen?
What to do immediately, whether a repair is worth it, and the protection that actually prevents the next one.
beginner30 min2 min readMy phone says IP68 — is it actually waterproof?
IP68 means water-resistant under controlled laboratory conditions, not waterproof in use. The rating degrades with age, does not cover salt water or pressure, and is not covered by warranty.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat is optimised or adaptive charging, and should I leave it on?
It holds the charge partway overnight and finishes just before you wake, because hours pinned at full is what ages a lithium cell. Leave it on; override it on the nights you need a full battery early.
beginner12 min4 min readWhy does my phone say storage full when it is not?
Where the invisible space goes, the categories that never show up in the obvious place, and clearing it properly.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I move an eSIM to a new phone?
Newer phones offer a direct transfer during setup. Otherwise the network reissues the profile, usually free and within minutes — but never delete the old profile first.
intermediate30 min5 min readWhy have some apps stopped working on my old phone?
Developers raise the minimum operating system version their app supports, and your phone can no longer go high enough. It is not a fault and there is no fix on the phone itself.
beginner20 min4 min readCan I move my WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone, or back?
Yes, but only during the new phone's first setup, using the official migration route with a cable. Miss that window and you erase the new phone or accept a fresh start.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I make my phone last longer?
The habits that genuinely extend a phone's usable life — battery care, storage, protection and knowing which limit you will hit first.
beginner30 min2 min read
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