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?
I assume in your case the vast majority of phone thefts are to resell the device, not to obtain any information of the device.
I wouldn’t see this as keeping it secure, It will not prevent theft. It may prevent the resale of the phone but that just means they will destroy it in short order.
If theft of data is the issue, they still have physical possession of the device…
True, the vast majority are to resell or sell for parts, but there are data breaches occasionally as well. My idea is to keep the phone online with the SIM inside long enough for me to login to find my remotely and wipe the phone, that way it’ll be wiped and locked down, only useful for parts in that scenario
I am still not sure that it will help.
If they are smart enough to know to pull the sim immediately, caring a faraday bag would be my go to as a thief. Lift phone, immediately place in bag. Open while inside a shielded space. Strip phone for parts.
Job done.
If it is a data breach you are worrying about, the only real solution (and it is a terrible, incredibly limiting one) is to store nothing sensitive locally on the phone that is not encrypted.