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If I'm sitting down to pee, I put the phone inside my pants. Perhaps crude for some people, but I don't forget it and i can use it without dropping it, too.

Place the phone somewhere where you have to see it on your way out.

One such place is the door handle of the cubicle / toilet. If there's an old-fashioned handle there, you can carefully lay the phone on top. Now it's impossible to forget your phone.

But not all toilets are build that way. You can:

• Lay the phone on top of the toilet paper dispenser (if it has a horizontal top)


• Lay the phone over (or right next to) the button to flush the toilet


• Lay the phone on the floor right in front of the door (if the floor is clean). If you have a booklet-style phone case, you can stand it up like an open book to minimize the area that comes into contact with the floor.


• Balance the phone on the top of your shoe or put it in your shoe like an ankle knife.


• Just hold it in your non-dominant hand

Remind you with the phone itself in your way

Get a small loop, strap, or lanyard which can attach to your phone or otherwise hold it (such as in a small bag). When you enter the stall, hang or clip the phone/bag onto the lock, handle, or knob that you must use to exit.

1. Forget phone.


2. Exit restroom.


3. Whoa, what's that thing on the door handle? Oh yeah, my phone.


4. Leave with phone, not without.

Attach the phone to you securely

Alternately, get such a loop, strap, or lanyard, that can clip onto your pants or belt loop or attach to your wrist. Attach it before you sit down, either holding the phone to the side of your pants or in your pants pocket or in your hand, as convenient per attachment location.

Remind you with something else in your way

Alternately alternately, tie a string from your pants to the door handle or put any object in your way that would prevent you from leaving: a string hanging down across your path or any object at all hanging from the knob/latch.

I do this when I need to get gas in the car, but I can't do it right that moment: I place some random object behind my steering wheel, in front of my speedometer and other dials, such as an empty soda can. Anything that will make me go "what the heck is that doing there?" and suddenly remember... oh yeah, get gas. Whew, I'm so glad I remembered!

Get a bluetooth device that alerts when your phone leaves your presence

I don't have time to really research this to give you a solid recommendation, but many of the bluetooth fob-style devices that are intended to alert you when you left your wallet or keys behind, can also alert you (through the device itself making a tone) when your phone goes away from you. Check out bluetooth tracking devices for an introduction to these kind of devices. I don't know if any on that page actually support this use case, but you can search for some.

I have heard that they can be a little unreliable and make an alert when they shouldn't, or that they can have an unacceptable lag, but perhaps you can find a good one that fits your use case or you can live with any down sides because of the up side of not leaving your phone behind for very long or getting very far.

I keep my phone in my front pocket, and don't remove it in the bathroom. Even when I sit. In this position it does not have a danger of falling into the toilet, nor will I forget it when I leave.

Would it work to take your phone out of your pocket before you even walk to the bathroom? For example, if you are at a desk or table, put your phone on the desk or table and then walk over to the bathroom. It will be where you left it when you return (provided someone else hasn't swiped it; I'm not sure if this is an issue at home or in school / work).

When traveling, such as on a plane or train, I take my phone with me in case I have to wait for the bathroom. When I go into the bathroom I tuck the phone into my bra strap.

Oh, you're not wearing a bra? Well perhaps you have a shirt pocket. Or you can put it under your arm if you're using both hands for whatever you're doing. Or hold it in one hand and only use the other hand. If you're sitting down and planning to do a lot of leaning and twisting, put the phone in your sock. Lots of options.

Don't put it down on any surface in the bathroom. Germs aside, you can forget it, as you mentioned in the question.

I almost always have a shirt pocket to slip my phone in whilst visiting the loo. Alternatively, I just slip it into my pants pocket before I get up.

If you just get into the habit of putting your phone in your purse, pocket, or wherever you took it from right before you begin the paperwork then won't have to worry about leaving it behind.

Smartwatch

A smartwatch was my solution to this (as well as for leaving my phone anywhere else). As Shadow Wizard and ErikE pointed out, most Bluetooth devices include this functionality by design or accidentally (since some beep simply because they are out of range), but most smartwatches will specifically notify you that you are leaving your phone and/or cause your phone to alert you with an alarm.

I believe this shouldn't depend on the make of the two devices too much, but some have more tightly intertwined ecosystems of apps.

For example:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Frontier, which runs on Tizen OS. The apps on it can communicate with some Android apps provided they are designed to communicate. Beyond that, the interoperability is very rudimentary, so if you are thinking about going this route educate yourself on this topic with the device you are considering. Another industry standard is Google's "Wear OS", and my limited knowledge of it leads me to believe it offers a bit more interactivity. I know this seems a bit much info, but it directly affects the ultimate usefulness to the original query.

Dedicated Bluetooth "Tracker"

A dedicated Bluetooth tracking device is another solution, as ErikE also mentioned. They are getting extremely inexpensive (TrackR, which I have used personally for some time, is selling them for $9.99 US). Also, they can be used in the opposite fashion: they can be used to find other items from your phone (keys, camera, etc).

An added benefit: TrackR (and other companies with similar products, I assume) devices can also anonymously report their locations to other users of their app, which means that if you drop your keys when your phone is dead then realize it later your app can still find its exact location if other TrackR users have come into its proximity.

Aside: If you have one of the new Samsung Galaxy Note phones, the stylus (only models with Bluetooth stylus) will also cause the phone to buzz should it lose the signal.

Try a "Cell Phone Holster" (not sure that's the right word) that you can attach to your belt and where the phone is secured with a strap.

Add a button / popper / Velcro or similar fastener to whatever your preferred pocket is for your phone, so that your phone can be pocketed and then the button done up, reducing the size of the pocket hole to something the phone cannot come out of

Sew a line of stitching into the pocket to create a portion of pocket that is more phone sized / a better fit for the shape of your phone

Sew some elasticated material around the pocket to form a region where the pocket is squeezed to a size smaller than the phone. Pushing the phone into the pocket will cause the elastic to grip it. You may also need to attach the bottom of the pocket to the trouser leg to prevent the pocket material being pulled out when the phone is removed

Replace the material that forms the pocket with one that is deeper and better shaped to hold a phone. if it's a front pocket, which is better to avoid damaging a phone by sitting in it/bending it, have it angled so it points downwards when you're sitting. The problem with most front pockets is that they point towards the crotch and things slide out easily when you're sitting - as anyone with a pocket full of change who sat in a car seat and had it all pour out and down the side of the seat will confirm

Get a sticky/grippy rubber case to encourage your phone to stay in your pocket via friction

Tuck your phone into the top of your sock temporarily

Set some audio/music playing before you put your phone down. It should be harder to leave behind if it's constantly making a noise