​Lost Your Cell Phone? There are ways to find it!

Can’t find your phone? You’re not alone - It has happened to many of us! Let us face it: It could be anywhere - perhaps in your coat pocket at the dry cleaners, under the seat in your car, between car seat and center console, behind the couch, at a friend’s house - anywhere! After checking such obvious places, you may have to brain storm a bit more. Are you prepared for this situation? Many of us are definitely not.

And if you’re the same as most of us, you probably never thought about swapping your SIM card into that old phone that you specifically re-purposed as a ‘party phone’, or pre-configuring apps like Android’s Device Manager. And that’s fine, because, let’s face it, these precautions are not very practical anyway.

Luckily, there are now many ways to track a missing cell phone. Yes, it’s possible to locate your phone and even save all your stored content, even if you haven’t previously downloaded an app. This article is a guide on how to find your lost phone, and we will also cover tips for those who still use the flip-phones.

Smartphones

If it is a Smartphone that is lost or misplaced, there are a few clever apps available, designed specifically to help you find your phone as quickly as possible. Both Android and Apple iOS are similar when it comes to finding a lost phone. Your clever little Smartphone has retrieval features that allow the phone to ring at its maximum volume, even though you may have previously silenced it. In addition, it can send messages and lock the phone. With both operating systems users can remotely remove all data stored on the phone. However, these phones can only be tracked if they are powered on. If your phone is out of battery and you lose it, we suggest you follow our instructions for analog phones. Remember to be very cautious when communicating with anyone on the other side of the lost-phone situation: Don’t give away your personal information, like your home address, until you’re positive you can trust the person on the other end.

Android

Android phones are different in the sense that there are many ways to locate a lost phone. Ideally, you will already have configured Device Manager prior to losing your phone, because Device Manager has the ability to call you! Device Manager has been newly updated and it now functions the same as Apple’s ‘Find My iPhone’. You can add a message that will be seen by whoever finds your phone, plus you can add a contact number for them to contact you. Of course Device Manager must be set-up on your phone already, so this is not an option if you’ve already lost your phone.

If, in fact, your phone is gone for good, Device Manager lets you protect your personal data (and photos) by wiping them from your phone.

Plan B is a different kind of alternative. This app helps you find your lost Android phone without having to download any special software beforehand. You install it over Internet via your Gmail account, and Plan B starts sending you an email every 10 minutes advising on the whereabouts of your phone. It works even when the GPS is off because this app uses cell towers to triangulate the location of your phone.

IOS

If you have lost your iPhone, the best way to retrieve it is with Apple’s feature, "Find My iPhone". This app is included on every iPhone and it displays the location of your phone on a map. You would use another iPhone or computer to deploy this feature. Again, these features are only workable when your phone is powered on.

You just log onto iCloud and open "Find My Phone" app: The app locates your phone on a map and offers you the option to send a message to the phone with ‘lost mode’, play a sound, or remove the contents of your iPhone. If you choose, "Erase Your iPhone", your phone’s content will be deleted. All of these retrieval actions can be completed without any pre-configuration.

You can also use, "Find My iPhone" to locate your iPad, iPod or your Mac. It’s a pretty amazing tool for tracking your lost phone or other device.

How To Locate Your Cell Phone

• Call your phone: Listen carefully for the vibration or ring tone and see if you can locate your phone this way. Should your phone really be lost and someone else has found it, and if they intend returning the phone, they’re probably going to answer it. Don’t have access to a phone? Then try freecall.com or wheresmycellphone.com. With both these sites you can call your phone for free and you can leave a message or speak to whoever is on the other end.

• Where have you been? Retrace your steps and do a full visual search. If you couldn’t hear the vibration or ring tone when you called the phone, remember that the battery could be dead, so don’t assume your phone is far, far away.

• Send a text to your phone. If you think someone may have found your phone, or stolen it, send a text to your phone with your contact number - you may even want to offer a reward. There are plenty of online services for sending free text messages - one is txt2day.com.

• Tell your service provider. If you don’t believe you will find your phone, then you should call your carrier straight away and tell them your phone is missing. Perhaps they offer a GPS locating service? If not, say you want service to your phone suspended - this protects you from any fraudulent calls and charges made through your account.

• If you have a record of your phone’s Serial Number, register your lost phone with MissinigPhones.org.

Be Prepared For Next Time!

Are you one of those people who always seem to be looking for your phone? You can register for a GPS tracking service, like AccuTracking. Another good one is Belongs: This one is a free QR code-based Lost and Found service.