I Lost My Blackberry, now what?

While visiting a customer today, I noticed a flyer posted near the elevators that read something similar to this....
"Blackberry 9730 Lost near Dilworth Plaza this past Monday. Device is locked.
Visit room 796 to claim it. Must be able to unlock the device."

I immediately checked to make sure I had both of my Blackberry devices (don't ask) even though I don't have a Storm. Once I knew my "babies" were safe, I thought about the proactive measures I have used over the years to ensure the safe return of my devices.

1. I set a password for all my devices (Options - Password) with the number of attempts set at 5 instead of the default of 10. I also set it to lock when I holster it.

2. Under the Owner section, not only do I put my name and company information in, I also add the statement, "If found, please call for reward: ###-###-####"

3. I set the Security Timeout to 5 mins as well.

4. Finally, I make sure I back up my device weekly so that if it is lost and is accidentally wiped due to 5 incorrect passwords, at least I have the information that I can restore to my replacement device.

I am sure that if you have lost your device, the first thing you did was place a call to it to see if someone answers. I had a consultant lose his device and we called it every 15 minutes for 8 hours until someone finally answered. Turns out he left it on a bus and the driver turned it in to the dispatcher. She answered because the ringing finally annoyed her. LOL

I urge you to think about these tips and if you have a corporate Blackberry on a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), remember that your device can be wiped remotely by the BES Administrator if it has been lost and no one calls for the reward.

Also, the BES policies may override the settings mentioned above. Check with your BES Administrator if unsure. His/her job is to ensure the safety of the corporate information on your device so the BES policies at your company may be more stringent that what I recommend.

By the way, the reward should be reasonable and worthwhile considering the fact that replacing a lost Blackberry that is still under contract can cost between $300 and $500.

If you find yourself in this situation, let me know. I have a few spare devices I can loan you until you are up for renewal.

LNS

P.S. Check back next week when I post my results from my 30-day trial of my Sprint HTC EVO. Will it replace my Tour and my 4G WiMax Card??? Time will tell.