Do you lose your phone all the time? Whether at a friend’s house, in a car or lodged in between couch cushions, we have all had that moment of panic when we realize we misplaced our phone. Maybe you left in your other pair of jeans, or maybe it fell out of your pocket at the gym.
Thankfully, there are now more ways than ever to track your phone and keep you from losing your most valuable electronic device forever! No matter if you lose your Android phone or iPhone, these tools will help you quickly recover your device and notify you of its last known location.
How to Find a Lost Android Phone
If you lose your Android phone, there are several different options to search for your device. There is a phone finder feature integrated directly into your device from Google, as well as a number of third-party apps and solutions to get to the bottom of things.
Find Your Device with Google
The easiest method to use is Google Find My Device which is built directly into all Android phones using Google Play Services as well as any phone that runs Android 2.3 or newer. You can search ‘where is my phone’ in Google for the service to start looking for your device.
You can use the Find My Device options to set a new password, ring your phone from afar and more. While you can configure this service ahead of time, to ensure the best access to your device, you can also log in and get data even after you have lost your Android phone. By the use of wifi and GPS data directly from the phone, your Google account will provide you the very latest information on where you might have left your favorite touchscreen device.
Third-Party Apps
While Google offers a solution to find lost Android Phones, there are many third-party options in the Play Store that will allow you to locate and secure your device. One of the best is Cerberus Anti Theft, a free application which can communicate with your phone in several different channels. The app allows remote control of your Android device through the apps web portal login, and it can automatically alert you when you have a potentially lost device.
Lastly, you can send your phone text messages from another device to lock down and track your device even after it has gone missing. By taking remote photos, using the alarm function and displaying a message that remains on the screen, you can lock down a lost phone and prevent usage by any would-be thieves.
How to Find a Lost iPhone
The easiest – and only way – to find your lost iPhone or other Apple device is to use the native feature called Find My iPhone. This app comes on every iOS device and displays a map to help you easily locate and manage your lost electronics. To fully track activity, however, you have to have access to another iOS device or computer with the Find My iPhone app.
While the missing iPhone is turned on, it will send data when connected to the internet, but if this feature is turned off, there may be no way to contact the phone. The phone can display a message while in communication with this software to contact the missing owner, and the data on the phone can be wiped remotely if needed. One great feature about the Find My iPhone software is it requires an Apple ID and password to reactivate this feature, meaning that crooks who have your device may end up not being able to fully use the device.
Use Google Maps as a Timeline
While there are not a lot of other options specifically for iPhone users, if you use Google maps on your Android or iOS device you can look at your timeline page that may have more detailed information about your history. If you drop your device and look for its last location, this timeline tool may show you the last time your phone connected to the web and your Google account.
Call or Text Your Missing or Lost Phone
This one may seem obvious but sometimes sending a phone call to the missing device might reveal its location or help you get a better idea of where to look. Even if your ringer is not on, the vibration motor in your Android or iPhone can often send sounds into whatever surface it is resting on and allow you to pinpoint the spot.
No matter where your phone is, losing your precious device with all your personal information inside of it can be a stressful experience. While it is hard to tell exactly where phones are located without some assistance, each of these special tools can help find your lost Android or iPhone and get your data back into safe hands.
