Lost or stolen phone abroad: what to do, step by step

First: locate it and lock it

On iPhone, use the Find My app on another Apple device or go to icloud.com/find from any browser. Apple points out a detail that matters when the lost phone is your only trusted device: signing in to icloud.com/find does not need a verification code, and if one is requested you can choose the Find Devices button instead. From there, Mark As Lost locks the phone with your passcode, suspends the cards you use with Apple Pay and shows a number and message on the screen.

On Android, Google's tool is Find Hub, which older guides call Find My Device. Open the Find Hub app on another Android phone, sign in as a guest on a friend's, or use android.com/find in a browser. Play sound rings the phone at full volume for 5 minutes even on silent, and Mark as lost locks it and shows your contact details on the lock screen.

Both only work if the phone is switched on and connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, which is one reason to keep a travel eSIM active.

Then: block your home line

Apple's advice for a phone that is gone for good is to contact your wireless carrier, report it missing and ask them to disable your account. That stops calls and texts on your number from reaching whoever has the phone, which matters because your bank codes and account recoveries go to that number. Google adds that your operator can use the phone's IMEI to disable the device itself; Find Hub shows the IMEI in the device's settings, even when you no longer have it in your hands.

Ask your operator at the same time for a replacement SIM or eSIM for your number. Google lists exactly that as a way back into accounts protected by SMS codes: transferring your number to a new phone or SIM card.

Report the theft to local police too. Apple notes they may ask for the serial number, which you can find even without the device.

Secure your accounts from another device

• Google: sign out of the lost phone from your account's device list and change your password.
• Apple: review your Apple Account on another trusted device, under your name and then Sign-In and Security, and change the password if anything looks wrong.
• Banks and payment apps: call or message your bank to block cards that were stored on the phone.

To get back into a Google account without the phone, Google lists another phone signed in to the account, a second number, a saved backup code, a security key or a passkey on another device. If you use Stolen Device Protection on iPhone, Apple says Face ID or Touch ID is needed to turn off Lost Mode, so a thief who knows your passcode is still locked out.

Erase last, not first

Remote erase is the step you cannot undo. Apple asks you to try everything else first, and warns not to remove the device from Find My even after erasing it, because that removes Activation Lock and makes the phone easier to resell. If the phone is offline, the erase starts the next time it connects.

On Android, Find Hub's factory reset permanently deletes the data on the device, may not delete an SD card, and leaves the phone no longer visible in Find Hub. Once you erase, you stop being able to locate it. That is why the order matters: lock, block, secure, and erase only when you have given up on getting it back.

What happens to the travel eSIM

A data-only eSIM has no number, so nobody can make calls or read texts through it. What a finder can do is use its data while the plan lasts. It also cannot be moved: with Snoozim, once an eSIM is installed it stays on that phone, so the replacement phone needs a new one. If you need anything about the order, write to us from the email you bought with.

Apple's eSIM guidance describes erasing an eSIM from the phone's own settings and says that if you erase one, you need to get a new one from your provider. Treat the travel line as gone with the phone, and use the time before you have a replacement to sort out the line that really matters, the one with your number.