Losing Your Smartphone Outdoors

Discussion in 'Gadgets & Tech Talk' started by Nancy Hart, Apr 10, 2019.

  1. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    This new smartphone (Galaxy S10e) is so slippery. It almost has a mind of its own in your pocket. It will move around and climb out eventually. I've dropped it already a half dozen times and I've only had it a week or two.

    I can fix the slippery with some grip tape, but what do you do if you drop your phone outdoors, in the woods? This has happened to me twice before with a dumb phone, and I just got very, very, lucky.

    It looks to me like I need a second device that would call the phone and hope the battery doesn't die before you find it.

    Is there something short of getting a second phone? They had an offer of buy one get one free. Maybe I should have taken that. I assumed there was a catch.

    I'm rambling because I'm not sure what to ask. :p
     
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  2. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    What about these Tile Mate things from Amazon?

    tile mate.jpg
     
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  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    We pretty much buy covers for all of our portable devices because they are soooo slippery. My IPad pro has a type of suede cover and my IPhone has a leather wallet like case.
    When Robin (Yvonne’s daughter) gifted us our IPAD Pro’s, neither one of us messed with them until we bought a suitable cover so we wouldn’t accidentally drop it.

    Beyond having to employ some drastic measures like installing velcro on your pockets and phone, a phone case with some type of substance that can provide some friction such as leather or whatever might be your best bet.
     
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  4. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    My hubbys hands can't hold on to certain slippy things..like his small android phone. So got him the soft rubber case to go around it. That helps him.
     

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  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Now that we both have the Apple Watch, there is really no reason to carry a phone around in our pockets, but there are several kinds of phone cases that might work for you, @Nancy Hart . If you check on Amazon, they carry ones that Velcro around your arm like an armband, and also ones that go around your waist, like a fannypack does.
    I am not sure what would help you find it if you lose it and can’t call the number or use another device to track it, but Amazon probably has solutions for that, too.
    Since we have enough other devices to locate one when we misplace it, we have not needed anything special for that; but I can see how you might want something if it is in your pocket and easily lost.
     
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  6. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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  7. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    After looking at that picture, it reminded me that my daughter has a similar thing that she uses when she is concerned about her phone falling out of a pocket. Hers is on a much shorter clip that is barely obvious when she is wearing it; but when she has to be climbing around in the training helicopters, she needs to be sure that her phone stays safe.
    The main problem that I see with the one in Bobby’s picture, is that the phone is still going to fall on the ground, and could hit a rock or something hard, and break it, where the short one does not allow the phone to hit the ground even if it should slide out of the pocket.
     
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  8. Al Amoling

    Al Amoling Veteran Member
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    When I got my iPhone I bought a case and a holster for it. The holst goes on my belt and keeps the phone safe. Amazon products.
     
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  9. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    I might go with that. If you could slide it around to the back out of the way, instead of the front or side.
     
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  10. Al Amoling

    Al Amoling Veteran Member
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    I wear it at my side but there's no limitation imposed.
     
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  11. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    The belt pack, or the chain with a phone cover, should do the trick, as long as they don't get in the way while you work.

    I'd like to rule out this Tile thing. It says you have to have Bluetooth activated, I guess on your phone, and a Tile app running in the background. Would those drain your phone battery quickly? Does Bluetooth cost anything? I'm clueless about Bluetooth.

    I was thinking of putting a Tile in the golf cart. What I do is take off in the cart and may travel a mile through the woods. I've even been known to stop and check something with the phone, and forget to put it back in my pocket and leave it laying on the ground. :rolleyes: I was thinking I might be able to retrace my path and keep hitting the Tile thing until I can hear the phone ring.

     
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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2019
  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I had never heard about the tile things before, so I looked up your link on Amazon, and I do think that it might be of use to you if you lose the phone, Nancy.
    Bluetooth is simply a connection and it does not cost anything, and your smartphone probably is Bluetooth enabled, since most of them are nowadays.
    From what I can see, you adhere the tiles to the phone and at least one other device, could be your car keys or your golf cart (or both). If you lost the phone, then you press the tile and the phone will ring. For this to work, you have to be in range of the Bluetooth connection (100-300’, depending on which one you buy) and also able to hear your phone ringing.
    If you lost your keys, then it would be good because you can find them with your phone, and the map on the app can spot where the keys are at, or where they were last used.

    I think that just getting a safe holster type of containment for your phone is the best choice, but having the little tile as a backup is not a bad idea either, although you will have to keep the batteries replaced in the tiles.
     
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  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Nancy, just thought I'd mention that if you got a second phone, even if the phone itself is free, you'll have to have it activated and pay for another line to use it. So that would turn out to be a more expensive option.

    There is an app on iOS (Apple) called "find my iPhone", so Android devices likely have something similar. I believe that only gives a general location and not pinpoint, though.
     
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  14. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    That's what I figured. Thanks.

    You would have to have a base station, to check the location wouldn't you? I guess I could get a laptop and take it along. I should probably get one anyway, but I spend too much time on the computer as it is. :rolleyes:
     
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  15. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Yeah, that would be the problem; what type of device to use as the actual tracker. It would have to be a device with connectivity... such as another phone. :oops:
     
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