Lost or Stolen Phone? How to Keep Your Number (and Lock Your Accounts)

A lost or stolen phone doesn’t mean a lost number. Your number lives with your carrier, not inside the phone, so you can keep it. Lock the phone with Find My or Find Hub, ask your carrier to suspend the line and block the phone (don’t cancel it), then have the number moved to a replacement phone and change your important passwords.

Here’s what to do about a lost or stolen phone, in order, with the steps checked against Apple, Google and carrier help pages in October 2026.

Lost or stolen phone? The first hour, step by step

1. Try to find it. On an iPhone, sign in at iCloud.com/find from another device. On Android, use the Find Hub app on another Android device or go to google.com/android/find. Both work only if the feature was turned on before the phone went missing.
2. Mark it as lost. On an iPhone, choose Mark as Lost, which locks it with its passcode. On Android, choose Mark as lost in Find Hub, which locks it with your PIN, pattern or password and hides notifications. If the iPhone was stolen, Apple says not to add your contact details to the lock screen message, and not to remove the phone from Find My.
3. Suspend the line and block the phone with your carrier (steps below). This stops someone else from running up charges or using the phone on your carrier’s network.
4. Change your important passwords from a computer or another phone, starting with your email and Apple or Google account.
5. Report a theft to the police. If the map shows the phone somewhere you don’t recognize, Apple says to contact local law enforcement rather than go get it yourself. They may ask for the serial number.
6. Erase it only when you’ve given up on getting it back. Apple warns that erasing can’t be undone, and Google says an erased Android phone no longer shows up in Find Hub.

Apple’s step-by-step guide is If your iPhone or iPad was stolen. For Android, see Google’s guide to finding, securing or erasing a lost Android device.

Suspend, don’t cancel: how to keep your number

The phone is gone, but the number isn’t. It belongs to your account with your carrier, and a suspended line keeps it. T-Mobile says you’ll keep your number and monthly plan while the line is suspended.

Cancelling is the mistake to avoid. Verizon, for example, lets you suspend a line for a lost or stolen phone for up to 30 days. Reconnect within that time, with the same phone or a replacement, and you keep the number. If the 30 days pass, the line disconnects and you lose the number.

Verizon

Use the Suspend or Reconnect Service page in My Verizon (from a computer or tablet is fine), or call 800-922-0204. Verizon also blocks the phone from its network. While a line is suspended for loss or theft, Verizon doesn’t bill voice, data or feature charges, but device payments keep billing. Only one lost or stolen suspension is allowed per line every 12 months.

T-Mobile

1. Sign in to the T-Life app or T-Mobile.com and open Account.
2. Scroll down, choose the device and tap Report device lost or stolen.
3. Pick the line, tap Continue, and choose lost or stolen.
4. Tap Block my device, choose whether to suspend the line, then Accept and continue.

On T-Mobile.com, only the Primary Account Holder can suspend a line. T-Mobile sends the phone’s IMEI to an international database, which blocks it on most carrier networks even with a different SIM. Your bill is still due as usual.

AT&T

AT&T says to try to find the phone first, then lock or wipe it, then use its online Suspend service and block your device tool, or submit a ticket to get help from an agent. AT&T Prepaid customers sign in and go to My Device, then Report a Lost or Stolen Device. Choosing lost suspends service; choosing stolen blocks the phone. On prepaid, monthly plan fees continue while the line is suspended.

On other carriers, call customer service and ask for the same two things: suspend the line and block the phone.

Get your number working on a replacement phone

When you have a phone to use, whether it’s an old one in a drawer, a new purchase or an insurance replacement, ask your carrier to put your number on it with a new SIM card or an eSIM. Then reconnect the line: in My Verizon or the My Verizon app at Verizon, or with Restore suspended line in T-Life at T-Mobile. If your plan includes device protection, Verizon and T-Mobile both say to file a claim for a replacement.

If you turned on a SIM lock, plan for it

The same locks that stop SIM-swap scammers also block your own move to a new SIM, so they have to come off first:

• Verizon SIM Protection blocks SIM swaps and device upgrades. Store and customer service staff can’t turn it off for you, so sign in to My Verizon from a computer, turn it off and wait 15 minutes.
• T-Mobile SIM Protection gives an error if it’s still on when you move to a new SIM or eSIM. On postpaid accounts, only the Primary Account Holder can remove it.
• Cricket Account Lock sends a one-time PIN to a phone when you turn it off. If your phone is lost, another member of a multi-line account can turn it off; single-line customers have to call Cricket Care.
• Google Fi Number Lock blocks moving your number to another phone and is managed on the Fi website, so you’ll need access to your Google Account.
• AT&T Wireless Account Lock blocks SIM and eSIM swaps, and AT&T says to change it in its app on a device that’s active on your wireless account. Its help page doesn’t cover a lost phone, so contact AT&T if you can’t do that.

Turn the lock back on once your number is working again. Our guide on how to lock your phone number against SIM swaps has the steps for each carrier.

Lock down your accounts

• Change passwords. AT&T says to change the passwords for accounts that were on the phone, such as your Apple Account, social media and email, and to report any credit cards saved on it as lost.
• Check your Apple Account. From another trusted Apple device, open Settings, tap your name and review the device list and Sign-In & Security. Apple says to change your Apple Account password right away if Find My wasn’t turned on.
• Plan for text codes. Login codes sent by text go to your number, so you won’t get them on a new phone until the number is working there. The FTC says an authenticator app is safer than text codes because it isn’t exposed to a SIM swap.
• Watch for charges. Verizon and T-Mobile both say to contact them about charges you didn’t make after the loss, and they’ll investigate.
• Move your chats. Once your number works on the new phone, you can reinstall your apps and restore their backups. If you’re also changing numbers on WhatsApp, see how to change your number on WhatsApp.

Set this up now, before it happens

• Turn on Find My or Find Hub. Neither one can help after the fact if it was off.
• On an iPhone, turn on Stolen Device Protection: Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection. Away from familiar places, it requires Face ID or Touch ID for some actions and adds a one-hour delay before key security changes. It needs iOS 17.3 or later.
• Add a SIM PIN so a thief can’t use your SIM in another phone. On an iPhone, it’s Settings > Cellular > SIM PIN. Apple warns never to guess the PIN.
• Write down your carrier’s support number and your account PIN somewhere safe that isn’t your phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I keep my phone number if my phone is stolen?
Yes. The number belongs to your account with the carrier, not to the phone. Suspend the line instead of cancelling it, then have the carrier put the number on a replacement phone.

How long can I keep my line suspended?
It depends on the carrier. Verizon allows up to 30 days for a lost or stolen phone, and the number is lost if the line isn’t reconnected by then. AT&T Prepaid keeps the line suspended until you reactivate it. Ask your carrier for its limit.

Do I still pay my bill while the line is suspended?
Often, at least partly. T-Mobile says your bill is still due as usual, and AT&T Prepaid plan fees continue. Verizon stops voice, data and feature charges during a lost or stolen suspension, but device payments continue.

Should I erase my phone right away?
No. Mark it as lost first. Apple says erasing can’t be undone, and Google says an erased Android phone no longer shows up in Find Hub. Erase only when you’ve given up on getting it back.

Can a thief use my SIM card in another phone?
Not once the line is suspended: T-Mobile says a suspended line is inactive and can’t be used. A SIM PIN also stops anyone from using the SIM without the code. That’s why suspending the line quickly matters.

Will I get my two-factor codes on a new phone?
Text codes will arrive once your number is working on the new phone. If you use an authenticator app, check how it moves to a new phone before you need it.

Bought your number from 212areacode.com?

Once you’ve transferred a number from us to your carrier, it’s part of your account with that carrier, so your carrier is the one to suspend it and move it to a new phone. If your phone went missing before you finished the transfer, sign in from any computer: the account number and transfer PIN appear in My Numbers, and the PIN doesn’t expire. Your new carrier sets the transfer date, and you can reach us at support@212areacode.com with questions. You can also browse available numbers.