I know it’s an odd question, but where I live phones get stolen often. My phone doesn’t have the option for an eSim, which is a problem because 90% of the time when a thief steals a phone they take out the SIM card immediately, meaning I wouldn’t be able to remotely lock or wipe my phone.
Should I consider glueing the SIM tray shut? Or are there alternative less permanent measures I can take to keep my device secure?
No. It’s the Apple or Android account that is logged into the phone and whether it is connected to a mobile or WiFi network that will determine if you are able to remotely wipe it or not. They could remove/replace the sim but the next time it connects to one of those networks and has an internet connection, the remote wipe command will activate.
Your phone should always be locked with a pin, Face ID etc. if it isn’t the person can just log in to it and access all of your data or factory reset it.
See I’m worried they’ll keep the device offline and try to access it before it can be wiped remotely with find my.
Depending on how old the phone is, this is less of an issue than you or others here think it is. Starting a few years ago, android at least can’t simply be wiped and set back up from scratch. Manufacturers/Android did this in response to the increase in phone thefts. Iirc, this had a significant impact on the number of phones being stolen as an opportunity theft. If someone targets you, that’s a different story.
As others have said. Make sure encryption is turned on and that it’s setup with a pin. If you really are concerned then make sure the time out to lock is set to as low as possible and never have it unlocked if it’s not in your hands.
It’s a Samsung A34, so not old at all. Thank you for your response!
That’s a possibility, but if it’s locked they won’t be able to log into it to access your data or factory reset it, which will make it essentially worthless to them.
Gluing the SIM card tray will add to that worthlessness but will also prevent you from being able to legitimately sell, trade or give away the phone.
A Faraday cage is a pretty low tech and ubiquitous way to keep anything offline regardless.
They come in convenient travel bag formats these days, but an old metal can will do.
Chip bags work a treat as well.
Newer phones aren’t worth stealing anymore (for the most part). New features at the bootloader level (pm android at least) prevent you from simply wiping the phone and using it. When you wipe it, you still need to have the pin that the last owner/user setup or else it’s just a paper weight.
I dealt with this myself not long ago. I gave my step daughter my pixel 5a when I upgraded to a 7pro and she still needed my pin to set it up.