Lost your phone at the beach?

Asked by a neighbor

"Someone lost a phone on the beach. What do they do?" asked by a neighbor at Black's Beach, Oct 9
From a friend's phone: icloud.com/find or google.com/android/find, play a sound, turn on Lost Mode; beat the next high tide; ask the lifeguard tower. City of San Diego lifeguards: 619-221-8899.

Got one? Text PJ your question: he answers, and with your OK it goes here (first name or anonymous) so the next person finds it. More neighbor questions.

Do these in order, from a friend's phone or any computer.

1. iPhone: sign in at icloud.com/find. Play a sound if you're close, check the map, and turn on Lost Mode: it locks the phone and shows a number where you can be reached.
2. Android: sign in at google.com/android/find (Google's Find Hub). Play a sound, see the location, and secure the device with a message and a callback number.
3. Call it from your friend's phone. Someone may answer, or you'll hear it in a bag or the sand.

The tide clock: the next high tide is 10:33am today (5.7 feet at La Jolla). A phone left on the sand below the last high-tide line can be underwater by then: start where you sat, and look along the wrack line (the line of kelp and debris). Today's tides.

• La Jolla, Black's, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach (City of San Diego beaches): the City's Lifeguard Service, 619-221-8899 during business hours, 619-221-8800 after hours and weekends. Headquarters: 2581 Quivira Ct, Mission Bay.
• Any beach: walk to the nearest lifeguard tower before you leave. People hand found phones to the tower, and towers talk to each other by radio.
• Black's Beach: it's a long walk back up the trail or down from the Scripps side, so ask the tower first.

1. Report it to the police. They may ask for the serial number, which you can look up without the phone. In the City of San Diego: SDPD non-emergency, 619-531-2000. In Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas: the Sheriff's non-emergency line, 858-565-5200.
2. Call your carrier to report it, disable the account, and file a claim if your plan covers loss.
3. Erase it last. Erasing can't be undone, so try everything else first.
4. Never remove it from Find My. Apple says removing it turns off Activation Lock, which makes it easier for a thief to unlock and resell.
5. Change your Apple or Google password and check your accounts for anything you didn't do. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, file the claim before you change anything in Find My.

Text PJ from a friend's phone: he'll walk you through Find My or Find Hub on the spot, and help with the carrier call and the report. Tech help is what he does. Text PJ.

Is your next phone still getting security updates? · beach day today

Sources: Apple Support, If your iPhone or iPad is lost or stolen; Google Account Help, Find, secure, or erase a lost Android device; City of San Diego Lifeguard Services; NOAA tide predictions, La Jolla (Scripps Pier). Checked October 13, 2026.

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