Losing a phone is stressful because these gadgets now contain too much personal information about the user. And one should not discount the fact that this is an expensive technique that is difficult to do without. But the main thing is not to panic, but to immediately begin to act. This way you increase your chances of a favorable outcome. Take a deep breath and read our post carefully, we will give top tips to find your lost phone quickly.
First of all, stay calm. Android phones and iPhones come pre-built with tools that will help you not only detect the device, but also lock it to avoid leaking personal data. But you need to act quickly, because all these tools will only work if your phone is turned on.
Geolocation will help
Most people today know what geolocation . This is determining the exact location of an object using various technologies, such as satellite networks (GPS or GLONASS), as well as LBS (Location Based Service) - determining the location of a mobile phone using base station signals , using the reverse geodetic survey method. In the case of determining a person’s location by number, this option is usually used.
Geolocation can help you find a person by mobile phone number
The main advantage of this method of geolocation is the lack of connection to satellite systems , but there is also a drawback: it is not possible to accurately determine the location of the desired device. This depends on the type of network, and a certain coordinate point may be erroneous, and the error here is not 200 meters, but several kilometers. Although, you might get lucky.
you won't find it this way
Of course, the more base stations there are, the more accurately the system can determine where the owner of the number you are looking for is located, but, for example, you will not find a grandfather who has gone mushroom picking: if there are 2-3 stations , and he himself occupies an area a hundred kilometers, certain coordinates will be very, very inaccurate.
the telecom operator himself can determine the location of the phone by number as accurately as possible , but he will only do this upon request from the police or other competent authorities, and we all know how these same authorities work in our country. In the time it takes for them to move the pieces of paper from one pile to another, the phone will run out of charge and the attacker will disappear .
However, mobile service providers offer special services to find out the location of a person without violating the law, that is, with the consent of the owner of the number.
Knowing IMEI
You can find a switched off phone, be it an Android or an iPhone, using its unique code. These numbers are assigned to any device upon release; they are indicated on the case itself, battery, box or packaging.
You can also find out by dialing
*#06# , you will receive a service message with the equipment identification number.
This number is suitable for those who are used to being prepared in advance for any situation and, having your smartphone in hand, you enter the required combination of numbers and then write down the IMEI in a notepad.
So, no matter how, but you found out the device identifier, what to do with it?
File a police report about the theft of your gadget. Law enforcement agencies will search for him in their database. However, you should not rely too much on a quick result, since there are hundreds of similar lost mobile phones.
However, if you are very lucky, you can still find a switched off phone by IMEI.
What do operators offer?
As we have already said, every mobile operator considers it a duty of honor to provide a number direction finding service . Traditionally, these services are provided for a fee , but their cost is not at all high.
Such services can be activated using USSD requests, using IVR, through a personal account on the operator’s website or in stores. This can be done legally only with the consent of the subscriber himself , but it can be done without it, if you hold his phone in your hands for a minute or two. You can find out information about a person’s location by receiving it on your mobile phone in the form of SMS or by installing a special application.
from MegaFon
Radar service from MegaFon
To activate the service, you need to send a USSD request *140# or on the website m.navigator.megafon.ru . You can find out where the phone you are looking for is located there or using a USSD request *140*7xxxxxxxxxx# (where 7xxxxxxxxxx is the phone number of the subscriber you are looking for). The cost of the service is 3 rubles. / day. You can also track subscribers of other networks.
Website
Connection from Tele2
TELE2 also provides a similar service.
The service is activated by USSD request *119*01# . To enable tracking, dial *119*1*7xxxxxxxxxx# . For information about where the phone is located, dial *119*2*7xxxxxxxxxx# . The cost is 3 rubles. / day .
Website
Connection from Beeline
Beeline also allows its subscribers to track loved ones.
To connect to this service, you should send an empty SMS to 5166 and download the Locator . The cost of the service is 7 rubles. / day . You can track up to 5 numbers.
Website
Connection from MTS
MTS also keeps up with its competitors.
The service is activated by USSD request *111*788# . To add tracked subscribers, you need to send an SMS to the short number 6677 , for example: “ADB Daughter 89157654321”. The cost of the service is 100 rubles per month . You can also track Megafon subscribers.
Website
Here you need to understand one important thing : when providing this service, mobile service providers use the same geolocation across base stations , that is, the problems will be the same. The coordinates will be given with a large error , and if in the city center, where there are many towers, it will be only 100-200 meters, then outside the city - in a forest or industrial zone, it is no longer possible . Plus, if the mobile phone is turned off for one reason or another, it will not work , and you can determine a person’s location in this way no more than once every five minutes.
How to protect yourself from theft and loss in advance
In order to avoid becoming a victim of theft or simply losing your phone on the street or at home, you need to protect yourself from this in advance. No one can say 100% that this is ideal protection against such unpleasant situations, but they can reduce the risk of their occurrence significantly.
Even if you drain your phone or remove the battery, you can find it the next time you log on to the network.
You can prevent losing your phone simply by teaching yourself self-organization and setting up a daily routine. If you distribute your work and rest time wisely, then a person will never be in a hurry and will not be so absent-minded. As a result, the risk of losing your mobile phone will be reduced to nothing. If a person keeps forgetting his device at work or in a cafe, then it will be useful to improve his memory and attentiveness.
In order to prevent theft, the tips are identical. If a person does not pay attention to his things and relies on the integrity of people, then sooner or later it will come back to bite him. Fraudsters often steal phones from people who appear inattentive and thoughtful.
Important! You can prevent robbery with banal advice like: don’t walk at night, don’t go into disadvantaged areas, don’t communicate with suspicious people.
If the theft or robbery does occur, then it is highly advisable that a locator program be installed on the phone in advance or the corresponding services from the mobile data operator or Google be connected. They greatly increase the chance of finding the gadget and punishing the attacker.
If the program was not installed and configured on the phone in advance, then it is unlikely that anything can be done. It's not that difficult to create a Google account, enable remote access and add your phone in your account settings. A similar process occurs with other third-party applications. Once you take care of your safety and install such software, you can several times increase your chances of success if your mobile phone is lost or stolen.
You can set geolocation in settings
It became clear how to track a lost Android phone from a computer using various methods: IMEI, satellites, SIM cards or installed programs. It is not always possible to achieve success on your own, so in any case you should contact the competent authorities.
Search through Google or Apple accounts
You can find out the location of a person by his phone number (or find the gadget itself if it is stolen or lost) online using special functions of Google and iCloud . One drawback: all these features only work if geolocation and remote control . However, in the case of, for example, a child whose accounts parents have access to by default, it makes sense to use these services - it is indeed very convenient.
Here's how, for example, this happens using Google services . You only need to take 4 steps :
1. go to the search engine on any browser;
2. select the menu and click on “My Account”;
Go to the search engine and select “My Account”
3. scroll down the page;
Select "Search for phone"
4. select “phone search”.
The system will request access to your Google account - enter your password . After this, the service will determine where the gadget is located. However, as always, there are certain conditions. Firstly , the phone number must be associated with the account, and secondly , GPS must be turned on on the device, otherwise, unfortunately, it will not be possible to find it.
Protection of personal information
The task is as follows:
- save your data for future access;
- restrict access to personal information to an attacker.
To fulfill the first rule, you need to make backup copies (synchronize) the data that is important to you. For example:
- Phonebook contacts can be saved to your Google profile.
- Photos can be synced with Google Photos.
- You can store notes or important data in Evernote.
- Duplicate books, videos, music to cloud storage (Google Drive, Yandex.Disk, Mega, etc.).
- Passwords can be stored in browser “passwords and forms” or analogs can be used (for example True Key).
It's easy to restrict access to your data. Use a password (PIN code) on an ongoing basis, and if your device is stolen, use one of the services to delete all personal data remotely.
Applications to find a person by their phone location
We must admit that there is quite a lot of such software. We will describe only some programs, because otherwise we will simply drown. I hope this sample helps you.
Zoemob
Zoemob
The first of the applications we chose allows us to create a certain group (for example, children or couriers), whose members can see where everyone else is, as well as their history
messages and calls.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
Find My Friends
A completely free application, which, while being very easy to use, provides a lot of opportunities for tracking people by phone number. In addition, people included in the circle you created will not only see each other, but also have the opportunity to correspond with each other.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Life360: be with your family
Life360
This is not simple software, but an entire social cross-platform system where you can create groups of users and track their location. In addition, the application supports messenger functions , and also makes it possible to assess the battery status on
the phone you are interested in.
What is very important for parents is the ability to highlight locations , for example, school, home, work, and so on. When you enter or exit it, the program will give you a signal.
The panic button function is also very important . When a user in a difficult situation clicks on it, everyone in his circle receives a corresponding message.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
Sygic Family Locator
Sygic Family Locator
Just recently, one could say that there was nothing special in this program, because everything was like everyone else’s: an SOS button, GPS search for people by phone number, a messenger - however, in the summer of 2016, the development company completed not so much a technological as a marketing breakthrough: the program has learned to send relatives data on aircraft departures and landings, which, of course, is sometimes very important.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
GeoLocator
GeoLocator The
GeoLocator application makes a very pleasant impression, which, in addition to being able to track the movements of a child (or adult), can even turn into a baby monitor (that is, provide a feedback function) or an Internet walkie-talkie. Separately, I would like to note the excellent work of the software support team.
Android Link
Of course, there are spyware programs for spying on your phone, but you should be clear that using such software is illegal and violates human rights . However, such applications can easily be found and purchased via the Internet. They are ideally hidden, do not appear in the system processes of gadgets , secretly collect data on the subscriber’s location and thus make it possible to find a person’s location by mobile phone number.
Such applications include Talklog, Hellospy, and Phone Tracker , but these are the most popular of them; in fact, there are many more of them. As we have already said, it is impossible to find this software by viewing installed programs, but some mobile antiviruses are capable of this.
Checking the accuracy of the Phone Location website
The operating principle is the same as in the previous example. Open the PLNET main page and fill out all the fields, and at the end we compare the accuracy with the actual position of the device.
- Select the country from the drop-down list.
- Enter the number in international format and click “Data”.
Filling out the fields on the main page
- Wait until the search for nearby cell sites and GSM towers is complete.
- Two windows will open in the final window. On the left there will be information about the operator, country, region and city.
- On the right is a map with your current location.
Result with information and map
Note: the PLNET website has pinpointed the city for which the SIM card was issued. The service could not find the actual location. It is likely that in the paid version the algorithm will work more accurately.
Pros and cons of Phone Location
Phone Location offers an extensive list of countries and support for most well-known cellular operators. The site accurately identifies the region where the card was issued, but also does not accurately provide the actual location. Obvious disadvantages:
- When you check your number again, you will be asked to go through the registration process.
- Inaccurate determination of current location.
- Paid subscription requires 700 rubles .
Phone Location and Mobile Ttracker have similar functionality, a similar personal account and the same subscription price. This suggests that the two sites have the same search algorithm, which does not give 100% results.
