On Thanksgiving, I went to my parent's house. After leaving and coming back to my apartment, I realized that I left my cell phone at their house.
My apartment doesn't have a landline. I do have an extra cell (a flip-phone) but the SIM Card that connects the phone to the network was in my smartphone at my parent's house.
Lucky for me, I had a desktop computer where I could
- log-in to my Google account to "Find My Device" (this is for Android phones)
- email my mom after noting the "Find My Device" located my phone is my parent's neighborhood.
The following day, I got my phone returned!
If this happened 15 years ago, I would be out of luck. Back then, I didn't have a desktop computer at home (I had to use the libraries to do internet things) and I didn't have a landline or an extra phone.
There are fewer pay-phones in the public now, and most of the ones that remain are vandalized. Plus, I don't feel comfortable speaking into a public device that attracts a lot of germs from users with poor hygiene.
I'm also grateful my phone was with someone I trust.
Some people have to deal with the nightmare situation of losing their phones in public places and never seeing it again.
One piece of advice: Put a label with your name on the back of your cell phones.
I remember hearing that advice at a school office when I heard 2 staff members saying "we tell the kids to put their names on their items, but we don't even put our names on our cell phones"
Being that smartphones are expensive, it's definitely a good idea to place a label with your name on it, so in case you lose it and someone finds it, they'll have an idea of who to return it to.
