What to do if your iPhone is stolen

Updated 2 November 2026 · By the FirstHour team

Take a breath. You can start all of this without your phone, though some accounts may ask for a code sent to your number. You don't have to do it alone. Borrow a phone or a computer, and ask someone to help.

In the first few minutes

1. Mark your iPhone as lost. Go to icloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple Account email and password. If you're asked for a code you can't receive, tap Find Devices. Then turn on Mark As Lost. This locks the iPhone with your passcode and suspends Apple Pay cards. It may offer to show a contact number on the screen. If your iPhone was stolen, leave that out: Apple warns a thief could use it to trick you. If your iPhone isn't listed, Find My wasn't on and you can't mark it as lost. Carry on with the next steps.
2. Call your network and ask them to block your SIM, so nobody else can receive your login codes. Ask how you can get your own codes or a replacement SIM, because your number stops working for you too. Find My may also update less often without mobile data, which is why you mark the iPhone as lost first.
3. Call your banks and e-wallets, and ask them to block your cards and app access.

In the next 10 minutes

1. Change your Apple Account password from another Apple device you're signed in on, if the thief may know your passcode. No other Apple device? Try account.apple.com. It may ask for a code sent to the number you've just blocked, and if Stolen Device Protection is on, some changes can't be made on the web. If you can't get in, or your password has stopped working, go to iforgot.apple.com to start account recovery. There's a waiting period. Check that nobody has added a new trusted device.
2. Change your email password. Your email can reset almost every other password, so do it straight after your Apple Account.
3. Sign the phone out of your other accounts, such as Google and Facebook, from their security settings.

In the next 30 minutes

1. Report it to the police. They may ask for your serial number or IMEI. Here's where to find them, even without the phone.
2. Ask your network about blocking the phone's IMEI, so it can't be used on mobile networks.
3. Claim on insurance if you have it. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, keep the iPhone in Find My and your Apple Account until your claim is approved.

Once you're sure it's gone

Erasing your iPhone is a last resort, because it can't be undone. Do it only when you're sure it's gone, by choosing Erase This Device in Find My. Even then, don't remove it from Find My. That keeps Activation Lock on, which makes it harder to resell.

Please don't

• Don't remove the iPhone from Find My. That takes off Activation Lock, which helps the thief.
• Don't trust a message saying your iPhone was found. Apple says it won't contact you about this. Here's how that scam works.
• Don't pay anyone who offers to return it, or to track its IMEI.
• Don't go after the phone yourself. If Find My shows where it is, tell the police.

Where you are matters

The steps above work anywhere. For the people to call, pick your country. We also have longer guides for the Philippines and the US.

How FirstHour helps

This is hard to work out while you're upset, so Plan B gets it ready in advance. It builds a first-hour plan with the providers you tick, and helps you send it to someone you trust or print it as a wallet card. FirstHour can't lock your bank accounts or find your phone: your bank does the locking, and Apple's Find My tracks the phone.

Questions

Sources

• How to find your lost iPhone or iPad, Apple Support
• About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone, Apple Support
• If you forgot your Apple Account password, Apple Support
• Suspend wireless service or block a device, AT&T
• Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes, Apple Support