6 Simple Tricks to Prevent Losing Your Cell Phone

If you’ve ever lost your phone—or thought you lost your phone—you probably went into panic mode. Your entire life is likely connected to this device. You use it to manage your finances, research information, communicate with friends and family and get work done. It’s no wonder why misplacing your phone can be a nerve-racking experience.

Cell phones are smaller devices, thus easier to leave behind or overlook. But there are simple ways to never lose your phone again.

1. Use a timed silent mode app.

Nothing is worse than losing your cell phone while it’s on silent mode. Fortunately, there are apps that will automatically disable silent mode after a certain amount of time. Some people put their phones on silent mode before a meeting or other important event and forget to turn on the ringer back on. As a result, their phone remains in silent mode for hours or days. With a timed silent mode app, you can turn on silent mode from inside the app, and then choose a time for silent mode to expire.

2. Put your name and information on the home screen.

Using a passcode or touch ID is an excellent way to keep your phone and information private, especially if it’s lost or stolen. But if you lose your phone, using a passcode also makes it harder for honest individuals to contact you.

Here’s an option: rather than choosing a scenic photo for your locked screen, take a picture of your name, email address and an alternative number, and then set this picture as the background for your locked screen. Include this message under your information, “Call or email if lost or stolen.”

If someone finds your phone before the battery dies, this message will appear on the screen. This gives the person an opportunity to contact you and return the phone.

3. Keep your phone fully charged.

Make sure your phone is fully charged before heading out. A fully charged battery alleviates charging your phone while in public, and you’re less likely to leave your phone unattended. Taking your eye off your phone for a split second gives someone an opportunity to run off with it.

Obviously, you can’t always control when your cell phone battery dies. So take steps to keep your battery charged. Turn off automatic refresh options, put the phone on airplane mode or low power mode and turn down your phone’s brightness.

4. Keep your phone locked in the car.

If you’re headed out for the evening and you’re not expecting any phone calls, keep your phone locked in the glove box or in your trunk. When partying and having a good time with friends, you could accidentally leave your phone unattended somewhere, thus increasing the likelihood of theft.

5. Keep your phone on a dock.

Get into a routine of keeping your phone in the same place when you’re not using it. By doing this, you’ll never search for your phone again. You’ll always know its location when you are ready to make or receive a call.

6. Don’t put your phone in your back pocket.

Not only can putting your phone in your back pocket damage the screen, this also makes it easier for someone to steal your phone. This could happen if you’re in a crowded area and occasionally bump or brush against other people. Someone could swipe the phone from your pocket without you realizing it.

Many people use their cell phones for just about everything. So losing your phone can be a major burden—personally and financially. Utilizing the above steps, however, reduces the risk of having your phone stolen or lost. At the same time, it doesn’t hurt to look into insurance that covers theft in addition to accidents and defects.