Is It Still Worth Searching for a Phone Lost Seven Months Ago?
Asked by
MellowPine7
I lost my Samsung Galaxy S23 sometime in late January or February and am only now revisiting the search. I made a list of businesses I visited and planned to call them to ask whether it was turned in, but I never finished going through the list. My lease recently ended, so I'm also wondering whether my landlord might have found it. A coworker thinks someone probably took it and sold it by now. The phone could possibly still be somewhere in my car or house, too. Is it worth calling the businesses and checking my location history, accounts, or backups?
Answers
If you still have access to the associated account, check the phone-finding service and review its last known location. Also look through automatically backed-up photos or other account activity, since that might reveal when and where it was last used. Keep your expectations realistic, though—seven months is a long time.
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It’s worth doing a quick, organized search of your home, car, location history, and the businesses you visited, but after seven months the odds of recovering it are pretty low. Someone may have found it, sold it, or taken it apart for parts.
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If the phone is still connected to your account, mark it as lost and remotely lock or erase it. You can contact the businesses and your former landlord, but I wouldn’t delay securing your accounts while you search.
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MellowPine7: I did look around when it first disappeared, but I never checked every place on my list. I’m going to make sure the car and house are completely ruled out before giving up.