Don’t make this stupid (and expensive) Kindle mistake

My Kindle Paperwhite goes everywhere with me. It doesn’t matter if I’m walking across the street to my favorite café or flying to Milan to cover a laptop release — my trusty e-reader is guaranteed to be jostling around somewhere in my bag. Out of the dozens of devices I review and write about here at Pocket-lint, I’m always quick to tell my colleagues that my Kindle Paperwhite is by far my favorite device.

That makes it all the more tragic when I accidentally leave it behind somewhere. I usually never take my eyes off it, but once or twice have left it sitting on the airplane seat beside me. If a kind flight attendant hadn’t saved my behind each of those times, I’d be down an e-reader. Sure, I could check the airport’s lost and found or even race back to the terminal to ask a gate agent if anyone had turned it in, but if I’m racing to make a connection or don’t realize it’s gone until it’s too late, I’m halfway up the creek without a paddle.

My Kindle Paperwhite is $160. That’s not as expensive as an iPhone, but it’s surely still a dent in my wallet to replace. While some people might run off with a free Kindle, there are plenty of Good Samaritans out there who would be willing to mail a found Kindle to its respective owner. But unlike a phone, where you might be able to pick up a call or easily track down the user, a Kindle isn’t as versatile. Heck, most users don’t even lock the device. But luckily, there’s a feature that most Kindle owners don’t even know about that could make returning your device infinitely easier for the finder. Here’s how to leave a contact message inside your device.

So your device can make its way back to you

There’s an option on your Kindle to leave a personal message. Amazon specifically added this so that someone could help return it in case you lose it, but it’s admittedly a bit buried under layers of different settings. Here’s how to find it:

1. Start on your Kindle’s home screen.
2. Tap the stop-light menu (three dots) in the top-right corner.
3. From the dropdown, tap Settings.
4. Choose Your account.
5. Select Personal info.
6. Add your information.

For your safety, please don’t add too much information that will give away sensitive details about your person or location. A phone number or an email address should suffice, which the person who finds it can use to get into contact with you and then come up with a plan to return it.