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.
True, but in my country and in my experience the first thing they do is remove the SIM card so that you can't track it, if it's an android which it is in my case.
I've got a secure password and no details on the lock screen but I'd just like to try protect myself even more
Umm.. no they don't? You need a password to unlock it after restarting it but you absolutely can turn the phone off without a password. I'm on my 3rd Samsung device and have never entered a password to shut any of them off.
Every Samsung device I was handed over the last few years required to enter the unlock code for it to be shut down. Maybe it is a dedicated setting or something?
Pretty sure every single mobile has a key combination to power off and recovery when your display or touch isnt working properly. At least its the case for my samsung m51.