How to find your lost or stolen Android phone:Android Tips
If you have lost your Android phone or it has been stolen then this article is a must for you and even if you have fortunately not been in any one of these 2 situations , then its time for you to be prepared, life is very uncertain...
Have you ever forgotten your phone in some shop or have you felt your heartbeat when on checking your pockets you realised that your phone is missing? Yes I know that cold feeling. Some day each one of us will or has already been in one of these two situations. Now the question is How to prevent your phone from being lost or How to trace a lost phone.
If you are an Apple user you must have come across a free app called "Find my phone", which tracks your lost phone using GPS. But now you are using an Android phone , so this is definitely not available to you! But don't worry the android market is huge, and its apps are increasing daily, so there must be one out for this too. Very true, that's the whole purpose of this article.
Now before that let me warn you, these apps do not come with a guarantee that they will trace and recover your lost phone. Sorry but there is nothing in this world which comes with a hundred percent guarantee and if you have read somewhere that a perfect guarantee is there , then I must say with no doubt that you have been fooled. Don't feel offended! I am simply telling you the truth.
Now the way these apps work is that they need to be installed immediately when the phone is bought. Now in case you lose your phone, you can rely on them as a backup. If you want a much more secure Android phone then read this article.
What should you do if your mobile phone is lost or stolen?
If you think your phone is stolen/lost, first thing that you do is call up your service provider and get your SIM blocked, this will prevent others from misusing your identity. Next you file a police complain, this is a recommended process. Next you call your mobile operator or your mobile provider and tell them about your problem. If they do have any tracking facilities, they might help you. You can also add your phones IMEI number on any global website that traces phones. Now after the above steps have been done, you can make use of the tracking software which have installed on your phone. Here are certain suggested apps which might help you.PLAN B to take care of lost mobile phone
Lookout labs, very renown for their popular malware removal app, has launched Plan B. This low memory app can be very useful to locate a lost or missing phone. Unlike other android apps, the speciality it has to offer is that one can install it on the phone even when the phone is lost. This is possible because of Android Markets over the air download. The moment this installs, it will automatically send the GPS current location to your Gmail account. It also has the facility to do the same by texting the keyword "locate" from your friend's mobile to your mobile number. Also did I mention it is absolutely FREE of cost. Get your phones current location instantly and never have to search your phone again.Available Android apps to track lost mobile phones
There are many other apps like "Where's my droid" and "Lost phone". Both these are also free of cost."Find my phone" is another alternative however this one has only the paid version available. You can also try using "LocateMyDroid", its free too. There are so many free apps which work in the same manner as the paid ones do, so shell out money only if really needed.
Though I highly recommend Plan B only, some of its other salient features are :
You will receive emails regarding your phone location once every 2 minutes approximately i.e. You should get at least 5 mails in the next 10 min of installing Plan B.
The phones locations accuracy depends on several factors. You will also get the accuracy ratings along with the each mail.
Plan B works only in the US currently (however keep yourself updated) Conclusion
See it is totally your call if you want to rely on these apps, as I have already stated there is no full proof app to trace your lost phone but there is no harm done in trying them out, Is there? May be you are one of those lucky ones to find your lost phone.
"Where's my droid" is my all time personal favourite and I would suggest you to also install this just in case Plan B fails to work, It's always good to have a backup plan-Plan C !
