How to Track a Stolen Phone (Methods To Track A Lost Phone)

In This Article, You Will Learn How To Find Your Lost Android Phone Or The Best Way To Track A Stolen Phone Online.

If you have had your phone device stolen or at the very least misplaced, you will understand how frustrating an experience this could be. Losing your phone comes with a pained feeling not only because phones cost quite a lot of money, but also because our phones contain huge amounts of personal information which you do not want in the wrong hands.

However, if your phone has already been stolen, do not give up all hope yet. Now, you do not have to be helpless when you find out your phone has been stolen. There are many steps you can take to save the situation but you have to be prepared before the mishap has occurred.

This article provides you with information on how to track a stolen phone.

How to Track a Stolen Phone in Nigeria

Read on below to learn ways and useful tips to use in tracking your lost phone.

Android Device Manager (ADM)

The Android Device Manager is effective as long as:

• Your device is connected to your Google Account
• You have internet access
• Your phone location is turned on

If you are fast enough, ADM is able to locate your device before it disappears. ADM can tell the location of your device by default unless you have formerly disabled this function in settings.

To locate your lost phone with ADM simply:

• Visit com/find on your Personal computer
• Sign into your Google account
• Select the particular device you are searching ( this is if you have more than one device)

Google will show you the approximate location of your device and offer you the option of:

• Making it ring ( this will work even if your device has been set to silence)
• Erasing all the data on your device.
• Locking it with a PIN, password or pattern (even if you have not set one before) with this option, you can also add a recovery message on the lock screen. Such as, you can write “This phone has been stolen. Please call this number”

Remember that if your phone has already been turned off, Android Device Manager can only tell you where your device was last seen. This option will work only if your Google account is actively linked on your phone.

IOS device

Apple also has something in place for people who have misplaced their phones. This is called ‘Find My iPhone’. With this utility, you can lock your phone and track its location, as well as erase all the data remotely.

The Apple “Find my iPhone” is effective even if your phone has been switched off. Whichever action you have taken will take effect as soon as your phone is turned back on.
It also offers you an option, ‘Notify Me When Found’ wherein you will be notified when your phone has been switched back on again. Just like with the Android devices Manager, the ‘Find Your Phone’ option will only work if your iCloud account is still active on your phone.

Tracking and Monitoring Apps

This is also known as Third Party apps. There are apps build to help you recover your phone. This option can only work if you have earlier installed the app on your phone before such mishap occurs. This is why it is important to take precautions.

These tracking and monitoring apps have lots of features that help ease up the process of recovering your missing device.

Third party Apps help you get the exact map and satellite image location of your smartphone or where it was last operated. It also offers you other options such as:

• Remotely ringing out your device even if it is on silent
• Remotely locking your phone with a new password or security code
• Displaying a recovery message such as “This phone has been stolen. Please contact this number if found”
• Wipe all the data on the missing device at the click of a button if all recovery efforts has failed.

Google search

If you do not have access to a PC, you can use another mobile device by simply downloading the “Find My Device” app from Play store. For this option to be effective, you need your device to be signed into your Google account and internet connection.

Once you are signed into your Google account, you can locate your device and choose of the two options:

• Make it ring
• Choose the recovery option
• Google can also send a notification to your phone after your device has been located.

Using IMEI Number

Another method of recovering a missing smartphone is through the device’s IMEI number. IMEI is an acronym that stands for ‘International Mobile Equipment Identity’

This method is exceptionally effective in case your phone was stolen and the thief has already turned it off or done a factory reset. With some of the other options mentioned above, you cannot recover your missing phone if your phone has been reset to its factory settings.

Your best shot at finding your lost phone is using its International Mobile Equipment Identity. This is a 15-digit number used for several proposes such as tracking and recovering stolen smartphones by the mobile network providers.

You can find the IMEI number of smartphones when you:

• Check the new phone box
• On the phone (in the battery compartment)
• By dialing *#06# on the phone.

This is why you must know the phone’s IMEI number before such a thing as your phone is stolen. This is the only way this method can work.

Each time someone uses your mobile phone to make or receive a phone call, send or receive a text message, the IMEI number is sent to the network service provider. This is how the tracking will be done.

This method requires the use of sophisticated hardware which is mostly used by law enforcement agencies and network providers.

In order to successfully track your device using IMEI number, contact the network provider with your IMEI number so they can block (blacklist) the phone. This may require you provide a police report with other documentations. This will render the phone useless to the thief. If the phone is later found, you can then request that the phone be unblocked.

We Believe This Article Was Helpful, Don’t Hesitate To Share This Information With Your Friends On Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Google plus.

---

Copyright Warning: Contents on this website may not be republished, reproduced, redistributed either in whole or in part without due permission or acknowledgement. All contents are protected by DMCA.

---

The content on this site is posted with good intentions. If you own this content & believe your copyright was violated or infringed, make sure you contact us via This Means to file a complaint & actions will be taken immediately.

---