Locate a mobile phone for free, some indisputable tricks

Until I had my mobile phone stolen a few days ago, I had never understood why it was so important, even primordial, to take measures to protect my mobile phone so that it could be easily found if it was lost.

You’ve certainly understood people telling you that it was possible to locate a mobile phone for free and find it easily, and they’re not wrong.

There are two reasons why you might want to read this article: you have lost your mobile phone and would like to find it or you simply want to take preventive measures.

Chances are that you are concerned about the case of theft. Whatever the reason for your presence, the most important thing is that you are at the right address. You will be able to find your mobile phone. Preventive and curative measures that will allow you to trace your mobile easily throughout the world.

Please keep in mind that this article is not intended to help you take control of your mobile phone remotely, but rather to inform you about its geographical location. For remote control of a mobile phone, you can refer to this publication which explains how to hack a phone. You will find a good number of bugs.

I share with you in this article, 5 tips that really make it possible to locate a smartphone and find it wherever it is. Below, you have the list of the different methods to track a phone.

1- Locate someone thanks to mobile phone data

You are constantly monitored by your operator. Do you know how the operator spies on you? You will have understood it, it is thanks to your phone number.  How does it work? It is possible thanks to the GSM network.

Indeed, your mobile in the presence of a telephone network transmits and receives signals that the relay antennas use to communicate with the satellite. Several services for locating your mobile by number work in close collaboration with mobile phone operators.

As long as your phone is switched on and covered by an operator’s network, they can help you locate it easily. One solution in case of loss is to contact your operator directly to help you find it.

It is also possible to locate a mobile phone for free thanks to the number without having to go through your operator. This solution, although preventive, works very well.

It is a question here of collecting information that will allow us to find the phone through the Internet. How does it work?

You must proceed to a triangulation which is done with the following information: the Cell Cell Id (CID), the Location Area Code (LAC), the Mobile Contry Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC).

This information is obtained through the Cellid Info application. It can be downloaded via the link below.

https://cellid-info.en.aptoide.com/app

Once the application has been downloaded, you must open it if you have an internet connection and accept the permissions that the application requires to function normally.  Then, retrieve the information listed above.

Once in possession of this information, go to the site so the link is given below to proceed to the localization.

https://cellphonetrackers.org/gsm/gsm-tracker.php

On the site, enter the information requested in the order and then click on “Track it”. You will then see the location of the phone on a Google Map.

Tip: Enlarge the map and then click on “Directions”. In the start field, enter your position to view the route to the location of the mobile phone.  If you are on foot, click on the foot-tone icon.

This method works for any type of phone, regardless of the brand. On iphone the Cell-ID Info application is also available.

2- How to find a mobile phone thanks toIMEI

The Internaltional Mobile Equipment Identity is the “DNA” of your phone or “its identity card”. This number, which is obtained by dialling *#06#, contains a large amount of information that makes it easy to identify a phone.

This is a very important preventive measure. It is therefore strongly recommended that you note it down as soon as you purchase your phone. You can also find it on the back of your phone by lifting the battery.

If you have taken your IMEI code and you wish to recover your stolen phone, you simply need to contact your mobile operator who will be able to assist you better.

All the thief has to do is make a call with another sim card from the operator to be detected. During the call, the IMEI code is displayed and thanks to this code the thief can be tracked. In short, this code allows mobile operators to identify the phone and control it via the GSM network.

3- The developer of the OS helps you in tracking

Developers of mobile operating systems give users the possibility to find the location of the mobile phone. Depending on the installed system, the location conditions will be different. But on the other hand, the possible actions to be performed on the located mobile will be almost similar.

Once the phone is located, you could either ring it to see if it’s nearby, lock it remotely, or completely erase the data on it.  The systems involved are Android, iOS, Windows for mobile Windowsphone, and Blackberry.

Tracking an android phone

For Android-enabled phones, Google gives you the ability to track your phone wherever it is. But you must first activate the android device manager. This feature is not enabled by default. Depending on the brands, the action may be a little bit different. But the logic remains the same. You have to go to “Settings”, “Security”, then “Device Admin” and check the box below “Android Device Manager” at the end.

Now that this function is active, you can go to the Google Device Manager site for the location of the mobile. Go to the android device manger site.

To use the service, you need to sign in with a Google Account. This is the gmail account required when using services such as the Google App Store( Play Store). It is with this account that you will log in to the “Google find my phone” site.

Once logged on the site, accept the terms of use if this is the first time. You will then be able to track your mobile, make it ring or lock it by indicating the message that will be displayed on the lost phone, followed by the phone number where you can be reached.

That’s it! Now you know how to locate an android phone with Google and find it easily. The position can be approximate, but at least you’ll have a fixed idea of the radius in which the phone is located.

Trace an iPhone

The easiest way to find an iPhone or iPad is through the iCloud account. Your laptop on iOs needs an Apple account to download applications via the App Store. This account associated with your phone is the one that is used as your iCloud account.

To locate your iPhone, you just need to follow this link: Click here to locate your iPhone. Once on the site, click on “login” at the bottom of “find your lost device”.

Enter your Apple account information. You will then see all your mobiles and can then have the exact location and do additional actions as with Google Device Manager (make it ring, …).

Although there are other methods and applications to find an iPhone, this one is more reliable, because here you don’t need to install anything on the mobile.

Trace a Windows Phone

As always, you must follow the same logic. If you’ve misplaced your Windows Phone or forgotten it somewhere and don’t remember where it is, you don’t need to panic right away! Microsoft gives you the weapons to go after your smartphone.

For the service to be functional, you must activate the locate my phone option which will allow the authors of its operating system to follow it anywhere in the world.

The next step is to go to the official Microsoft website and log in with your Windows Live ID account (Microsoft Account). Apart from locating your phone, you will be able to overwrite its contents, lock it and much more. For more details on the procedure, follow this article which explains very well how to locate a Windows Phone.

Track a BlackBerry Mobile

What is the procedure for finding a lost BlackBerry phone? BlackBerry proctect is the solution you use when you lose your BB phone. It only works if the application is installed and configured on the lost phone. In some phones, the application is already present. If it is not, you must add it manually.

If the application has been downloaded and installed, in case of loss, you can go to the BB proctect platform via the following link: http://protect.blackberry.com/ . Once on the site, you must log in with your BlackBerry ID.

Being in your account, in the manager of your phone, you have the option to delete your sensitive data if you think you can no longer find your phone, make it ring, or be fixed on its position. For more information, you can read this article.

4- Installing a tracker on the mobile phone

Yes, it is perfectly possible to install a tracker on your own or someone else’s laptop for tracking. The reasons can be various. The installation of a tracker makes it possible for example to follow your children, in this case the use is family. But more than that, it allows you to track a mobile phone in case it is lost.

A spyware application or a snitch is the name given to this type of mobile software. Its operation is simple. Once installed, you can completely hide the traces of the application in the home page. Except you will know that it exists, which avoids uninstalling it since its presence will remain secret.

The role of the application is therefore to collect information such as the location of the mobile, call history, audio recordings of calls made, SMS and messages on social networks, etc..  This information is transmitted to the software developer’s servers whenever there is an internet connection and you can retrieve it at any time via your account.

Bugs, there are a large number of them on the market. You will find free and paid ones. As an example you have: FamilyWall, Zenly, mobipast, Geozilla.

For my part, I recommend mobipast which is optimized for mobile phone geolocation.

5- The smartphone manufacturer helps you in its geo-localization

Another way to find your phone is to turn to the manufacturer. The major mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung and Sony include very advanced tracking features. All you have to do is create an account and configure it in your mobile phone to be able to geolocate it via the manufacturer’s official website.

In this article, we’ve taken the example of three brands of phones that allow you to track your mobile wherever it is. These are the brands Samsung, Sony and Htc.

Find a Samsung device

Just lost your Samsung mobile? Stay calm. You still have a chance to find it. One-time condition, have set up a Samsung account on the device and have activated the tracking option. You are a careful person and have performed these manipulations? Simply go to the official website to geolocate your phone.

How to set up a Samsung account on your device? Simply go to “Settings” then “Lock and security screen”.

In the new tab, select the option “Mobile tracking.

On the next page, create an account or simply add your Samsung account if you already have one. Once the account is added, check the “Remote Control” box.

All you have to do is go to Find My Mobile Samsung to track your phone and protect your data.

Find an HTC phone

And if my stolen phone is a Htc brand, what should I do?  Same logic as in the previous example, except that here we use HtcSence.

The first step is to activate the phone search function on your HTC, if it is not by default. Then, you must go to the site HtcSense.com.

On the Htc site, you have a complete guide on how to use HtcSense . To know more about it,

Find a Sony device

Finally, here’s how to find a Sony brand phone. Sony’s location service requires the use of a Google Account. It’s called Protection by my Xperia. Again, you need to have location enabled and have a Gmail account.

For more details on how to geo-locate a Sony device, please read the official website’s explanation of how Protection by my Xperia works.

There’s really no magic formula for locating a mobile phone. The methods detailed above are essential and sufficient to find your phone. Don’t get scammed by online sites that ask unreasonable amounts of money to geolocate a mobile phone.

This article I wanted to be as complete as possible to help you find any phone. I really hope it has been useful to you. And if it did, please share it with others and leave your questions if you think you need any assistance.