More phones are lost in summer, but you can increase the chance of finding yours

Want free Samsung credits? Here's $50 worth to get you started.

Reserve your interest in Samsung's new Galaxy lineup with your email—no purchase required. Enjoy up to $1,250 savings and a chance to win $5K in Samsung credit.

Reserve Now

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Summer – a time where you purposely put yourself out in the hot sun for “enjoyment.” It’s also a time that shows a 50% increase in lost and stolen phones, according to Asurion, a global tech solutions company. According to the study, there are also certain cities that you have a better chance of having the phone returned, as well as one tip that can drastically improve your chances of getting the lost device returned.

The study looked at three cities: Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta.

From the study,

• Phones are most likely to be lost/stolen in Los Angeles, most likely to be returned in Atlanta
• Consumers are nearly 4x more likely to have their device returned to them in Atlanta vs. Los Angeles
• Consumers are 1.3x more likely to have their device returned to them in Atlanta vs. New York City

In addition to geographic data, one factor made it three times more likely to have the phone returned, and that was including contact information on the lock screen. You can do this on both your iPhone and Android-based devices, but Android makes it much easier.

iPhones require a third party app like Over, which allows you to add stylish text to a background image.

On Android, it is much easier, and only requires a quick trip to Settings, then Security & Location. Beside “Screen Lock,” you’ll find the Settings gear and here is where you’ll find a place to edit your lock screen message.

Have you ever lost a phone or multiple phones? Did you get it back? Tell us your stories in the comments below.

For other tech news, see:

• Five examples of Totino’s Pizza Rolls besting technology
• What David thinks about the state of social media
• Tesla is suing a former employee over alleged sabotage

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.