(This was actually drafted a few months back and it never posted. I figured I still publish this to deliver the message.)
Today was both stressful and relieving at the same time. I went out to visit a buddy of mine I haven’t seen in quite awhile. I had a wonderful time and was glad to catch up on old times. Everything was great except for one thing… I lost my phone.
It was uncertain if I dropped by or just left it somewhere completely forgetting about it. For people that know me, I tend to be forgetful of personal belongings (the typical small items like wallet, keys, etc.) but over the years i’ve improved. Also with the amount of time I use my phone i keep a good track on it. As like anyone else in this situation, I was pretty upset. I tried looking with no success. I wasn’t going to let it ruin my night so i tried to enjoy my night. I was at a point that I was going to either drop some money for a replacement or go big and just upgrade. I did have one trick up my sleeve. With my apple id, i was able to login into iCloud and use the Find My iPhone feature.
For those of you who aren’t fully aware. This feature is used for iPhones to be able to locate your phone. There are a few features that i utilized in searching for my device. I won’t explain everything since Apple does (link here: https://support.apple.com/explore/find-my-iphone-ipad-mac-watch). I was able to trigger Lock Mode so my personal information wasn’t compromised and indicates to the individual who finds the device that someone owns it and is trying to find it. The web page pinpoints where your device is as long as it’s on. I was able to have the phone display to the user a message which allowed the user to actually contact me to make arrangements. If my phone was truly not recoverable, i can enable a erase function to wipe the phone and just cut my losses.
Though i explained my relief, there were some obvious frustrations. I use my navigation heavily and it works using my phone. Going through security of parking was slightly more difficult (i used the Spothero app). I have my work email that I look at. Many transportation passes are used from my phone. Was it the end of the world? No. Was i able to go about my day? For the most part yes. But, because today was a true testament of what it’s like to not have a phone. That sounds very exaggerated i know. However, it did paint a picture of how much of my day really involves my phone.
So why did i make a post on this. For two reasons. If it weren’t for cool and powerful features like this
- Technology advancements can truly resolve big predicaments in such a quick efficient. I honestly didn’t think I would find my iPhone and something that was simple at the surface truly was remarkable to bring the device back to me
- It was a wake up call on how reliant I am on such a small device. There are so many things that would quickly go from convenience to hassle since my phone was the answer to it. My job, my services, communication with others, and the way I prioritizing my time were instantly affected. The last point on my list I wanted to elaborate. It ended up being nice to not have the device to not quickly use it, which would distract me from tasks I wish to actually accomplish. I’m keeping a more honest effort and have a conscious alert to put the phone down when not using it productive and find ways to detach.
I can confirm now that i have received phone back from the person that found it.