Smartphones have become a necessary appendage in our digital lives. They’re our cameras, GPS navigation, alarm clocks, wallets, personal assistants, trainers, and favorite time killers. But if someone suddenly finds themselves without one, a cloud of worry and confusion overtakes them. “How do I check my email?” “Is it going to rain?” “That would have been a perfect Instagram shot!” “What do I pretend to look at if I want to avoid an awkward situation?” Essentially, when we lose our phones, we are lost.

“Apple does not currently offer a way for the device

to reach back out to its owner when it is lost.”

Apple has done a good job of helping iPhone owners locate a lost phone with the Find My iPhone service. For the most part, it is a great way for the user to reach out to a misplaced ‘iDevice’ and attempt to locate its whereabouts. But that only solves part of the problem. Apple does not currently offer a way for the device to reach back out to its owner when it is lost. When someone finds a lost phone, they may try to reunite the phone with its owner by accessing recent contacts, but that is a guessing game and puts the burden on the would-be do gooder to go through a lot of effort. Plus, searching recent contacts only works if the phone doesn’t have a passcode enabled, which is something Apple started pushing with iOS 7.

So, what’s a good samaritan to do?

Some solutions have emerged with apps that offer a way to bake in contact info with the lock screen image, but that muddies up an otherwise flawless background image. No one wants an “if lost, call xxx-xxx-xxxx” message covering up a photo of their kids or cat. Other solutions basically mimic what Find my iPhone already does, leaving the lost phone unable to help a person assist in its return. So we’re back at square one.

For all the things a smartphone can do, its primary way to help reunite itself with its owner is essentially a high tech version of marco polo. Cue the overused phrase: “there has to be a better way.”