Lost your laptop? What Lost mode does, minute by minute

01Why a "mode" and not just a button

When a laptop disappears you rarely know what happened. Maybe it is still on the café table. Maybe someone picked it up by mistake. Maybe it was taken. Each case needs a different tone: a friendly note for an honest finder, quiet evidence for a thief, and a firm lock for everyone.

Lost mode bundles those reactions into one switch in your MoLock Account. Instead of sending five separate commands while your heart is racing, you turn on one thing, choose how often you want photos, type the message you want a finder to read, and MoLock keeps doing the right thing until you switch it off.

02Minute by minute

Here is a realistic sequence. The times are illustrative — what matters is the order of events and who sees what.

1. 0:00
   You notice the laptop is gone You open your MoLock Account on your phone (or any browser) and sign in with your password and the code from the official bot. A "trusted" browser keeps you signed in, so this often takes seconds.
2. 0:01
   You switch on Lost mode You type a short contact message — for example "This laptop is lost. Please call 010 1234 5678" — and choose how often MoLock should take a photo. Your request is sent to the PC immediately if it is online, or queued if it is not.
3. 0:01
   The PC locks and shows your message If the screen was unlocked, it locks at once. A clear banner with your message appears on the lock screen. An honest finder knows exactly how to reach you; nobody can get past the lock.
4. 0:02
   The first photo MoLock takes a photo with the camera and stores it, encrypted, in your account. The official bot sends you a short text message with a link — the photo itself never travels as a plain picture through the chat.
5. 0:03
   Find my PC When the PC is connected to the internet, MoLock reports an approximate location, which appears in your account. Wi-Fi-based locations are approximate: good enough to tell "same building" from "across the city", not to point at a seat.
6. 0:05+
   Photos at your interval Further photos follow at the interval you chose, each one added to your account. If you want an immediate look, take an extra photo or a screenshot from the account or from the official bot's device list.
7. any
   Siren or a message, if it helps If the location suggests the laptop is nearby, a siren can help you find it in a room. An on-screen message can speak directly to whoever holds it. Use these with judgement — see the safety note below.
8. later
   You get it back You switch Lost mode off from your account. The banner disappears, photos stop, and the PC stays locked until you unlock it with your own password, as always.

03What if the PC is switched off or offline?

This is the most common situation, and it is not hopeless. Two things keep working while the laptop is dark:

• The official bot still answers. @MoLockOfficialBot lives on MoLock's service, not on your PC. Send /devices and you see each PC's status and when it was last seen — even while that PC is off.
• Your commands wait. Lost mode, a lock, a photo request: anything you send is kept and delivered the moment the PC comes online again. You don't need to stare at your phone waiting for the right second.

Your account also keeps the history you already have: earlier photos, the last reported location and the record of every action. That is often exactly what a police report needs.

04Protecting what is on the disk

Finding the laptop is one goal; keeping your data private is the other — and the one you control completely. A few MoLock features matter here:

• The lock itself. MoLock covers the whole screen, resists being closed from Task Manager and comes back locked after a restart.
• Your Vault. If you keep sensitive files in the MoLock Vault, it locks together with MoLock, and you can lock it remotely from your account. Locked, it is just scrambled data.
• Restart or shut down. In some situations turning the PC off is the safest choice — for example if you suspect someone is trying to copy files while it runs. You can restart or shut down remotely with a delay you choose.

05A realistic first-hour checklist

Lost mode handles the PC. These steps handle everything around it — and many of them matter even more:

1. Switch on Lost mode with a short contact message and a photo interval. Do it first: it takes a minute and starts collecting evidence.
2. Retrace your steps calmly Call the café, the taxi company, the office reception. Many "lost" laptops are simply left behind.
3. Change your most important passwords from another device: email first (it resets everything else), then banking, social accounts and any work systems. Sign out of other sessions where the service allows it.
4. Check your MoLock security page In the official bot, /security lists your account sessions and offers a "sign out everywhere" button.
5. Tell your employer if it is a work laptop. Their IT team may have their own steps to follow.
6. File a police report with the serial number if you have it, plus the photos and locations from your account. Save copies; they are your evidence.

Lost mode handles the PC. The checklist handles everything around it.

06Five minutes today that help tomorrow

Lost mode works best when it was prepared before anything went wrong:

• Link the PC to your account. Settings → Account shows a short code; send it to the official bot with /link. It takes seconds and is the only way to reach the PC remotely through the account.
• Keep the camera available to MoLock, and keep "Send device stats" on if you want health and status in your account.
• Use a strong lock password and set up your recovery code — Lost mode never unlocks the PC for anyone, including you.
• Write down the serial number of your laptop somewhere outside the laptop.

07Where to go next

Read how Approve unlock lets you let a trusted person in from your phone, and how end-to-end encryption keeps the photos in your account private. The MoLock Account page explains every remote action, and the user guide walks you through linking your first PC. Not using MoLock yet? Download it free — and prepare before you need it.