How to Track a Lost Phone

Missing phone on on the ground

Have you lost your phone? Or has your phone been stolen and you’re wondering how you can track it? If yes, then you already know that this can be very unpleasant. If it’s Android or iPhone, you need to choose a reliable software to track your lost device. This article will show you how you can track your lost or stolen iPhone or Android device.

Can a Stolen or Missing Phone Be Tracked?

There are different methods to track a stolen or missing phone:

  1. Set uMobix or mSpy and select from its useful features which exact option you need to search for your missing phones.
  2. Activate Google’s Find My Device with the Google account password linked to your phone to locate a lost Android phone..
  3. Use Find My iPhone locator that is compatible with all Apple devices, including tablets and Mac.
  4. Ask for support from the police to use your IMEI number to find your left phones.

How Do I Find My Samsung Phone?

Find My Mobile to track a Samsung phone

If you lost an Android phone, or specifically a Samsung phone, use Samsung’s Find My Mobile to locate a lost Android phone. Follow the steps below to do so –

  1. Log in to the Samsung site on your mobile browser and click “Locate My Mobile” to track your missing device.
  2. If you’re logging into your Samsung account or Google account for the first time, click the checkbox and agree on the terms and conditions.
  3. Wait until Find My Mobile tracks your device. It can take a while, depending on the network and place to find your lost phones. When the program detects your phones, you can see the marker on Google Maps.

How to find a lost iPhone: Find My iPhone

Find my Phone logo on Apple iphone

Find My iPhone is a built-in Apple’s application on the iPhone that you can use to find your lost device. It works for other Apple products as well. It is the equivalent of Find My Device for an Android phone. It will keep track of your phones’ location remotely and can save a location history for your device. The basic version is free, though the app contains in-app purchases and often prompts you to buy an upgrade.

Here are the steps on how to locate a stolen or missing phone with Find My iPhone:

1. Simply click the button All Devices. The dot near every device shows its status:

  • Green  – the device is online. If the device is located, you can see a time when the app found it.
  • Gray – the device is offline. If the device was online, you could access the data and see when it was last located. If a device was offline for the previous 24 hours, you would view Offline.

2. Choose a device you need to locate. In the center of the toolbar, you can see its name.

  • If the device is located, you can see its approximate location on the map.
  • If a device was offline for the last 24 hours, you would not be able to track its spots remotely. Click “Notify Me When Found” and receive a registered email when the device comes online.

How to Find a Lost Android phone: Find My Device

Google Find My Device android app

Google Find My Device is a similar app available for Android devices. It is part of Google Play Protect. It offers Google tracking for your phone, tablet, or watch and provides indoor maps for airports and large buildings, right from your mobile browser. It can also play a sound to help you find your device, apart from remotely locking it to prevent a thief from accessing your information. You can use it to find the exact location of a lost Android phone, erase or remotely lock the device, leaving a custom message and a contact number on the locked screen.

You can also use it to make the phone ring to find it if it’s around you. This feature should only be used as a last measure, since there is no way to unlock it, other than a complete reboot.

If you can’t find a stolen or lost Android phone or the program says it’s unavailable, we suggest enabling location services because Find My Device tracks your phone on its GPS.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Click Location.
  3. Switch Enable location services.

The Problem With Find My Phone Apps

These applications work great for finding a lost phone. But what if your phone gets stolen? The applications track the location of your phone at any moment, but whoever gets their hands on your phone can remove the sim card and uninstall them at will. If you need an extra level of security for your phone or need to know where your loved ones are at any moment, we recommend spy apps.

How to Track a Lost Phone Using uMobix

uMobix

If you have already tried using the methods above but to no avail, you can use uMobix to secretly locate cell phone. uMobix is one of the best spy apps that offer accurate GPS tracking abilities to find the device’s exact location. You can use this if you’re wondering how to track an iPhone by phone number. Being a comprehensive tracking app, you must install this on your or your child’s device. This way, you’ll be able to monitor what your child does on their phone, who they speak to, and where they go.

You can also use it to track the GPS location of the lost Android phone or iOS phone if it goes missing or gets stolen. uMobix gives you accurate coordinates of all the locations the device was at, along with dates and timestamps. This way, you’ll get precise details that can help you retrieve your lost phone.

Additionally, here are some of the other tracking features that uMobix offers –

  • Monitor calls and text messages
  • Monitor web browser history
  • Social media monitoring for 20+ apps
  • GPS location tracking
  • Full Facebook and Instagram access on iOS
  • Screenshot reporting for Android devices
  • YouTube Scanner

mSpy: Lost Phone Tracker

mSpy

As parents, you have lots of things on your plate. From critical work to family obligations, you may have little time to be with your kids. However, with mSpy, you can monitor and protect your kids when you are not around. Thus, ensuring and preventing that they are not involved in something dangerous.

As teenagers use their mobile devices, it is essential to install a tracking app that records and logs any activity carried out by the child using the cell phone. With mSpy installed, parents will be able to see the visited websites and installed apps. This security and tracking app may help save the day whenever you need to locate a stolen phone. mSpy is compatible with a lost Android phone and iOS devices too.

GPS tracking capabilities are entirely useful to monitor phone activities and your kids’ GPS location. The in-build GPS tracker feature of mSpy tracks the longitude and latitude details on a map. With the help of the cell ID, you will be provided with all the necessary data about your child’s sites.

What’s more, you can also check the route history of your kids over a specified period. You will be able to view location list details, including coordinates, addresses, and accuracy. Plus, you can see their route history remotely. Monitoring the whereabouts of your child has never been easier.

You can also use it to track your girlfriend’s iPhone or Android phone. Apart from this, some of the other features of mSpy are –

  • Call monitoring and logging
  • SMS tracking
  • Keylogging
  • Media file access
  • GPS tracking and geofencing
  • Web browser monitoring
  • Social media monitoring
  • App blocking

Check out our mSpy review for more information.

Use Dropbox to Track a Lost Phone

Dropbox is yet another app that you can use to track a lost phone or any other missing device. This can be a very reliable way of doing so; however, you need to ensure a few things before you can use it –

  • The missing device will have o be connected to the internet
  • You’ll have to ensure that the ‘Camera Upload’ option is already enabled in the Dropbox app.
  • Most importantly, this method relies on someone using your device to click a picture. When they do, the image is automatically uploaded to Dropbox’s cloud, which you can then access from another device and use to trace its location.

Let’s dive into how the process works. Dropbox can be a great way to find a lost phone, especially when all other methods mentioned above fail, and it’s worth a shot. It works on an iPhone and on an Android device.

As mentioned above, there are certain prerequisites for this method to work – your stolen or missing device must have access to the internet, the app should be installed on the device with the ‘Camera Upload’ option enabled, and the thief will have to take a picture with it.

Once a picture is taken, the image is then uploaded to Dropbox’s Camera Uploads folder. This gives you the advantage of being able to identify the physical location (if you can recognize it through the image). You can also circulate this image among your friends, relatives, and social media connections to get some help if you need to identify the location or landmark in the image.

File a Complaint with the Police

If using tools like Find My Device, Find My iPhone or the spy apps mentioned above don’t work, the best thing you can do is to file a police complaint to get some help when you want to find your phone. This can be a way to get the police to issue a warrant against the person. If you know what the person looks like, you can even help then sketch out a picture of the thief’s face so that they know exactly who they’re looking for.

Additionally, if you manage to collect any other evidence, such as the last location of the device before it was turned off through mSpy, or any images clicked which were uploaded to Dropbox, you can provide this information to the police to help them find the thief quicker.

How to Prevent Your Phone From Going Missing

If you’re reading through this article, you’re either finding ways to find your phone or are reading up beforehand so that you know what action to take if and when you do. As a result, this guide would be incomplete if we didn’t provide you with a few suggestions on how you can prevent your phone from getting lost or stolen in the first place. They are as follows –

Always Keep Your Phone Within Your Sight.

If you’re carrying a backpack or a shoulder bag, keep your phone inside it with all the zippers securely closed. alternatively, you could even put your phone in your front pocket so that you always feel its presence. This is regardless of whether it an Android device or an Apple device, cheap or expensive. Either way, a stolen phone can set you back a few hundred bucks, so it’s always best to avoid finding yourself in such a position.

Always Password-Protect Your Phone.

However, ensure that your password or your PIN isn’t an easy combination like 9999 or 1234 or 2580. The ideal password should be alphanumeric and must have a combination of upper and lower-case letters. This ensures that any thief with access to your phone doesn’t get past the lock screen.

Always Keep Crucial Settings Enabled

Keep Find My iPhone, the Find My Device app, or the Camera Upload option on Dropbox enabled beforehand so that you can rely on these tools when trying to track your phone.

How do you locate a lost phone that is turned off?

To locate a lost phone that is turned off, you can use Find my iPhone if the device is an iPhone. You can choose to receive the last recorded location of the device before it was switched off or ran out of charge by selecting the “Send Last Location” feature. The same is possible via Find My Device for Android devices. To receive the last recorded location before the phone was turned off, open the Find my Device app and then select the device from the list to see its last known location.

How can I track my phone using IMEI number?

To track your phone using its IMEI number, you need to install a third-party IMEI tracker. mSpy is a good MEI tracker you can consider, apart from using Find My Device and Find My iPhone. These apps will help you locate your lost phone. You can also file a complaint with the police or contact your mobile service or network operator. The mobile service will be able to help you out.

How can I track my lost phone for free?

You can locate your lost phone for free using Find My Device or Find My iPhone. These apps are available with all Android and iOS devices and will give you the accurate location of your lost or stolen phone. They also give you the option to lock your phone and erase all its data if you suspect it might be in the wrong hands. Additionally, you can also use uMobix or mSpy to find a lost phone for free. You can do this by availing of their money-back guarantee or refund policy.

In Conclusion

Losing your phone can be a nightmare, especially when you have a lot of personal information that might also be very sensitive stored on it. As a result, if you do face a situation in which your phone is lost or stolen, you must take immediate action and used the methods mentioned in this blog to locate your lost or stolen device – Find my Mobile, Find my Device, Find my iPhone, uMobix, and mSpy. Each of them is reliable and thus makes for great options to find your lost phone.

Claire York author
Claire York

I am a journalist turned private detective researching most spy apps and their effectiveness. Apps, the internet, technology and cybersecurity have always been of interest to me. I turned this passion into a career after leaving my journalistic career at a well-known firm.

In overseeing all the important content development for this website, I go beyond what is being sold, detailed, advertised, reviewed, and trying to uncover everything there is to know about these applications.