All hope is not lost if you misplaced your phone. There are many ways to track a lost cell phone down and techniques to use in preparation for misplacing your phone so you can get it back fast.
This guide is intended to help people find any kind of lost cell phone — not just lost smartphones. The latter are much easier to locate, and we’ve therefore split this article into two sections. For instructions and tips on how to find a misplaced or stolen smartphone, jump to the second page.
Step One
Call your cell phone. Listen for the ring or vibrate and try to locate the phone. If your phone is truly lost and in someone else’s hands then they are likely to answer if they intend to return the phone. If you don’t have access to a phone try using wheresmycellphone.com or freecall.com.
Step Two
Do a full-fledged visual search and retrace your steps. If you couldn’t hear a ring or vibration when you called it, don’t immediately assume that your phone isn’t in close proximity – the battery could be dead.
Step Three
Send a text message. If you believe someone has stolen or possibly found your phone then send a text message to your phone with your contact info and a reward offer if you choose to do so. You can use many online services to send free text messages, such as txt2day.com.
Step Four
Call your service provider. If you’ve lost hope of finding it, then call your wireless carrier and let them know your phone is lost. Ask if they offer a GPS locating service. If not, ask them to suspend service to your phone to avoid any possible fraudulent charges.
Step Five
Register it as lost. If you have your phone’s serial number written down somewhere, register it with MissingPhones.org.
Step Six
Preparing for the next time. If you’re always losing your stuff then you may want to try a service such as Rewarding Return or register for a GPS tracking service such as AccuTracking. We also recommend Belon.gs, which is a free QR code based lost and found service.
Smartphones
If your lost phone happens to be a smartphone, there are a number of clever apps out there designed to help you get it back ASAP. Of course, you’ll want to try calling it first and make sure your phone isn’t just lodged between two couch cushions, but if you really can’t find it, definitely try these apps out.
Android
To recover a lost or stolen Android device, we recommend using Plan B (and no, it’s not a digital contraceptive). This app allows you to find your lost android device without downloading special software onto it beforehand. Just install it over the web via your Gmail account (required), and Plan B will send you e-mails every 10 minutes on the whereabouts of the device. The app uses cell towers to triangulate your phone’s location, so it’ll work even if GPS is turned off.
iOS
iPhone users can pinpoint the location of their lost device by borrowing a phone from a fellow iOS user and installing Find My iPhone. It’s completely free, and once you’ve got it installed, all you need to do is sign in with your Apple ID and you’ll immediately be presented with the whereabouts of your missing phone. You can also remotely lock the missing phone, wipe all the data from it, or have it play a sound continuously for two minutes – even if the phone is on silent. Find My iPhone’s wide range of options make it an incredibly effective tool for tracking down your phone. Don’t believe us? Check out this story about cops apprehending a criminal by using the app.
Omg. I lost my Iphone somewhere and its on silent and now its dead. Anybody know a good link?
what if your phone was off and you lost it?
In addition to what ever is suggested here, you can also report on 3gadget.com, where they are maintaining the database of lost gadgets and they are also encouraging used gadget buyer to come and check its authenticity by gadget’s UID (IMEI in case of Mobile and MAC id in case of Laptop); so as soon as any used gadget buyer come across to your reported gadget he can intimate you with location and other details also 3gadget.com will send you location from where it is searched;
i just loved the concept, hope this help all of us
in addition to what is suggested here, Now apart from registering a police complain and you can also report on 3gadget.com, where they are maintaining the database of lost gadgets and they are also encouraging used gadget buyer to come and check its authenticity by gadget’s UID (IMEI in case of Mobile and MAC id in case of Laptop); so as soon as any used gadget buyer come across to your reported gadget he can intimate you with location and other details also 3gadget.com will send you location from where it is searched;
i just loved the concept, hope this help all of us
There are tons of Apps that you can install on your phone BEFORE losing it. Look into them, AND test them out. I have Prey on my current phone. It works great and can be activated from my computer. It emits a pretty loud siren that cannot be turned down or silenced until a password is entered. In addition to that, it periodically activates the GPS and tracks its position if you don’t want the person to know you’re actively looking.
It works on my current phone, but my previous phone it wasn’t so great, so remember to test out these things before committing to them.
Many apps allow you to track, lock, emit siren, send a text, and a few other things to your phone. Again, I cannot stress the testing of these apps before committing to them.
thanks for our help…..
If Your phone is off….or at silent?then?
good read.
This app SwanSong for android really helped me out. I had lost my phone the night before but didn’t notice till the next morning, at which point it was dead when I tried to call it. However all i had to do was check my email on my computer to find an email sent from my phone with the GPS location of where it died and when it died (it was at one of the bars i was at the night before). This was sooooo much easier than driving around to every place i was the night before.
Here is the play store link if anyone is interested:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swansong.swansongapp