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?
There isn’t really a point to that. The very first thing thieves do is turn off the phone so you can’t track it. They’ll then usually format your phone and sell it. Best you can do is set up a secure password and not show any info on the lock screen so they at least wouldn’t be able to access your stuff.
Samsung devices require the unlock pattern/code to be shut down.
Amd what do they do if the battery runs out? Suspend to disk?
Have you thought about using a strong unlock method, so they can not gain access to your data in the first place (if all you want to do is wipe it)?
I might recommend using something like tape. Extra Strong Clear Tape.
You may also want to invest in a phone case; preferably an opaque and waterproof one that is difficult to remove.
There are apps available on F-Droid like PrivateLock which might help too; this will automate locking your phone if it’s snatched from your hands suddenly.
- PluckLockEX: (No longer maintained) https://f-droid.org/packages/xyz.iridiumion.plucklockex
- PrivateLock: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.wesaphzt.privatelock
Last thing I can say is to use a short screen timeout and a strong password to unlock the phone.
Do not use privatelock! It has the possibility to permanently lock your phone! For me it had a bug with the sensor and it was very hard to remove
