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.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 1 hr
Read: 2 min

Short answer

Use Find My iPhone or Find My Device immediately to locate and lock it. Then change your email password, contact your network to block the SIM, and report it to the police for the crime reference. Act on accounts before you worry about the handset.

The handset is replaceable; the accounts it can reach are not. A phone is usually the second factor for banking and email, so the priority order is lock the device, then protect what it can access, then deal with the hardware.

What you'll need

Another device with internet access
Your account passwords (optional)
IMEI number (optional)

Step by step

Use the find-my-device service straight away.iCloud.com/find for iPhone, android.com/find for Android. Locate first, while it may still have battery and signal.
Put it into Lost Mode and lock it.This locks the screen, shows a contact message, and on iPhone disables Apple Pay. Do it before considering an erase — erasing usually ends your ability to track it.
Change your email password from another device.Email is the recovery route for everything else. This is the most urgent account action, ahead of banking.
Contact your mobile network to block the SIM.This stops calls and texts being made, and stops SMS two-factor codes going to whoever has it. Ask them to block the IMEI too.
Sign out of sessions on your main accounts.Most services have a 'signed-in devices' page where you can remotely revoke access. Do this for email, cloud storage and social accounts.
Report it to the police and get a crime reference number.Insurance claims require it, and it is needed for any dispute over fraudulent use.
Tell your bank if banking apps were on it.They can watch for unusual activity. Card details in a wallet app are tokenised and can be suspended remotely.
Erase it remotely once you have given up on recovery.Last step, because it usually ends tracking. Do it before letting the trail go cold entirely.

Tips

Set up find-my-device and record your IMEI now, before you need them. Dial *#06# to display the IMEI and save it somewhere else.
Never go to a location shown by a tracking app to confront someone. Give the location to the police instead.
Backup codes for two-factor authentication stored on paper are what let you into your accounts when the phone is gone.

Common mistakes

Erasing the phone immediately — It usually stops location tracking. Lock it first and give recovery a realistic chance.
Dealing with the handset before the accounts — The phone is worth a few hundred pounds. Access to your email is worth considerably more.
Not having find-my-device enabled — It cannot be turned on remotely after the phone is gone. Setting it up takes two minutes and only works if done in advance.

Questions people ask

Can I track a phone that is switched off?

You will see its last known location before it went offline. Some recent iPhones can be located for a period after power-off, but generally a switched-off phone cannot be tracked live.

What is the first thing to do if my phone is stolen?

Lock it remotely using find-my-device, then change your email password from another device. The email account is the key to everything else, so it comes before the bank or the network.