You reach for your phone on a metro platform, or turn back to the café table where you left it, and it is gone. That phone held your boarding pass, your bank apps, your maps and both of your lines: your home number and your travel eSIM. Now even a simple call has to start on someone else's phone.
This guide covers what to do if your phone is lost or stolen abroad: how to locate, lock and erase it, block your home SIM, secure your accounts and cards, report it, and what happens to your travel eSIM. It ends with what to prepare before you travel.
Key facts for a lost or stolen phone abroad
- Locate, lock, erase: Apple's Find My and Google's Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) can do this remotely, if they were switched on beforehand
- Home SIM: your operator can block the SIM or number and arrange a replacement; call it from another phone
- Accounts and cards: change your main passwords, check your banking apps and ask your bank to freeze cards stored on the phone
- Police report: usually needed for insurance claims
- Travel eSIM: contact Telcomia support with your order details; support is available in 30 languages
Phone lost or stolen abroad: what to do in the first hour
If you were threatened or hurt, call for help before anything else: 112 reaches emergency services in every EU country from any phone, and elsewhere you need the local number. Then borrow a travel companion's phone or use a computer at your accommodation.
If Apple's Find My (on an iPhone) or Google's Find Hub (on an Android phone) was switched on beforehand, sign in to it and:
- see where the phone is, and play a sound if it may be close by;
- lock it or mark it as lost;
- erase it remotely if you do not expect to get it back.
If the phone was stolen and the map shows where it is, pass that information to the police rather than going there yourself.
Block your SIM and secure your accounts
Call your home operator from another phone: it can block the SIM or number and arrange a replacement. Do this early, because many banks and apps send verification codes by text.
Then change the passwords of your main accounts, starting with your email, and check your banking apps for anything unusual. Payment cards stored on the phone can be frozen with your bank. If you use a borrowed device, sign out of every account when you finish.
Report it, and what happens to your travel eSIM
Report the loss or theft to the local police and keep a copy of the report: it is usually needed for insurance claims. If you noted the phone's IMEI number before the trip, give it to the police, as it identifies the handset itself.
For the travel eSIM, contact support with your order details. Some eSIMs can be installed only once, so moving a plan to another phone is not always possible; ask support what can be done for your order.
How Telcomia helps
Support is available in 30 languages; have your order details ready when you get in touch. If you replace the phone during the trip and need data again, the plans page has country plans, multi-country zone plans and plans by the gigabyte.
If your passport went with the phone, or you need help locally, the safety page shows your embassy or consulate, an official 24/7 consular emergency line verified against official sources, directions to the embassy and emergency numbers, once you choose your nationality and destination.
Before you travel
- Switch on Find My on an iPhone or Find Hub on an Android phone, and make sure you know the password of the account it uses.
- Dial *#06# to see the phone's IMEI number, and note it somewhere other than the phone; a dual-SIM phone may show two, so note both.
- Write down your home operator's and your bank's contact numbers on paper as well.
- Make sure you can open the email with your eSIM QR code from another device.
- Back up your phone before you leave.
Questions travellers ask about a lost or stolen phone
What should I do first if my phone is stolen abroad?
If you are in danger or hurt, call for help first from any phone you can use: 112 in every EU country, the local number elsewhere. Then, from another device, use Find My or Find Hub to lock the phone or mark it as lost, if they were switched on beforehand, and call your home operator from another phone to block the SIM. After that, change your main passwords and report the theft to the police.
Can I get my travel eSIM back on a new phone?
Not always. Some eSIMs can be installed only once, so contact Telcomia support with your order details and ask what is possible for your order.
How do I block my SIM from abroad?
Call your home operator from another phone, such as a travel companion's or one at your accommodation. It can block the SIM or number and arrange a replacement. If you do not have its number with you, look it up on the operator's website from another device.
Do I need a police report?
For an insurance claim, usually yes. Report the loss or theft to the local police, keep a copy of the report and give the IMEI number if you noted it.
The short version
From another device, lock or erase the phone with Find My or Find Hub if they were switched on, ask your home operator to block the SIM, change your main passwords and report the theft to the police. For the travel eSIM, contact Telcomia support with your order details. Before you travel, switch on these tools and note the IMEI number.
Find your embassy and emergency numbers →
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