Every modern person cannot imagine his existence without a mobile device, which, for obvious reasons, almost never leaves his hands. Today's gadgets, in addition to regular calls and SMS messages, have other functionality, for example, taking photographs, shooting videos, using them you can access the Internet and plan your schedule.
Therefore, the loss of such a multifunctional gadget for its owner becomes a real disaster. However, do not be prematurely upset, since each modern communicator has its own individual code, with which you can track the location of the loss. In addition, there are several other ways to help you find your phone if it goes missing.
If the phone is lost and is turned off, this may mean the following:
If the phone was simply lost within a certain room, then to find it you need to apply the following tips:
If the communicator was stolen or lost on the street, then you must carefully examine the last route of travel, carefully looking at your feet. However, in this case, a disabled gadget means that it was stolen, or it was found by a third party and disabled. Then to find it you can try using the following methods:
If you are searching for a switched off phone using your SIM card, you first need to contact your operator. Currently, all mobile companies can send a signal to a SIM card installed even in a disabled gadget.
The signal is sent through the GPS system, which in turn is connected to satellites. It turns out that the SIM card will receive a signal sent from two or more points. And then nearby cell towers should have time to record the received signal. This is what allows you to determine the location of the communicator, even show it on an Internet map.
The step-by-step instructions for detecting a turned off device using a SIM card are as follows:
Imei is a unique GSM code for each gadget, translated into Russian as “International Mobile Equipment Identifier”. When a mobile connection is connected, the code is automatically sent to the mobile cellular operator.
If another SIM card is inserted into a lost or stolen communicator and at least one outgoing call is made, then law enforcement officers have the opportunity to identify the mobile device by imei, that is, find out information about the owner of the new SIM card. All that remains is to track the thief and seize his telephone device.
Finding out the imei of a gadget is not difficult, especially if it was purchased in accordance with all the rules and has all the necessary documents. Typically this code is stored in the following places:
On many mobile phones, such a code can be retrieved by dialing the encryption combination (*#06#), after which you need to press the call button.
Today there are several methods for searching for a phone by imei. You can be sure that without the help of law enforcement agencies and cellular employees, changing this code is quite difficult, and in some cases even impossible. It is also worth noting that in some countries of the former union this action is illegal and carries administrative or criminal liability.
If for some reason the victim does not think to look for and return his phone, he can simply block it using imei. To do this, you need to contact your mobile operator verbally.
To independently find a stolen or lost communicator, you can resort to programs that were developed specifically for Android and iOS. However, if you are one hundred percent sure that the gadget was stolen, then it is best to contact the police, where you will need to write a statement indicating the unique imei identification number.
You can independently track the location of your smartphone using the Internet, but in this case, the mobile device must be linked to a Google account.
After completing the above steps, the system will begin searching for the gadget; if the results are positive, the approximate location of the device will be displayed on the online map.
Another way to find a phone on your own is to use the capabilities of the smartphone (iPhone) itself.
To do this, you need to use a special service from Apple - iCloud. This program allows you to synchronize gadget data to a personal computer.
In addition, the developers of this service provided the “search for iPhone” function. In order to use this function, you need:
If the mobile phone was turned on at the time of the search, the service will show its location.
In addition, using this program you can block the device or delete all data from its memory. To do this, you just need to send a special code.
Despite all the available programs and services, there are times when the owner is unable to find his gadget for some reason. But before you get upset, you should definitely try all possible and impossible ways to find a communicator.
There are cases when one service does not work, and another, on the contrary, shows the owner the location of his lost device on the first try.
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In this article we will look at a situation where you have lost or had your phone stolen and how to find it by IMEI, as well as what settings need to be made in the phone itself immediately after purchase.
If your phone has been lost (stolen), you can return it in several ways, including using the IMEI identification number. However, the latter is not always effective; below we will explain in detail why. We will also consider in detail how else you can calculate the location of the device and try to return it yourself.
IMEI is a unique device identification number that is assigned to it at the factory. You can find out the IMEI of your device in several ways:
Please note that on phones with two SIM codes there will also be two.
To find a device by IMEI, you need to contact the police and write a statement. Please note that you will not only need to know the identification number of the device, but also have all the documents for it, a sales receipt, and a box.
Before doing this, you should call your operator and ask to block the SIM card. Some operators, if they submit a statement to law enforcement agencies, can track the phone or block it completely, depriving the attacker of the ability to use it even if the SIM card is changed.
If you have not blocked your phone, then police officers can make appropriate inquiries to the cellular communication company. They, in turn, check if your phone is online, when and where it contacted the base station. This way, the cellular operator can calculate which stations your phone has been “lit up” on recently.
It is impossible to independently find a smartphone by IMEI, since only the cellular operator has access to the station switching center, i.e., to all stations. Consequently, all applications that allegedly provide a service for locating a phone by IMEI are fraudulent.
Another thing is information services that provide access to their own IMEI database of lost or stolen phones. If you register the identification number of your stolen device in one of them, there is a small chance that you will get it back for a reward. One of these services is LoSToleN.
For modern devices running Android, it is now possible to remotely control your phone. Activating it allows you to:
You can use remote control if the function that allows access to geodata has been activated in advance. You also need to add a Google account to it and log in with your ID.
Setting up remote control is carried out in the following way:
You can check if the location feature is working at android.com/devicemanager. Once you've signed in, you should be able to detect your device.
Otherwise, check again whether the remote control function is active on the phone and whether access to location data is open.
This program offers wider functionality for remote control of the device. To start using it, you need to install the utility client from Google Play, after which the Personal Notes application will be installed on your smartphone. Further:
After this, the following functions will become available to you:
Samsung devices have their own form of location and number verification. To do this, register in the Find My Lost Phone service. You need to be prepared for the fact that checking your device during registration may take up to several days. After logging into this service, you need to enter your IMEI, after which the location of the device will be displayed on the map.
To be able to find a lost or stolen Apple device, enable the Find My iPhone service in advance. To do this, in the device settings you need to go to the “iCloud” section and activate the corresponding switch.
Mobile phone - an indispensable attribute of modern life, which sometimes helps out in any situation. Unfortunately, sometimes trouble happens with this lifesaver. For example, some users need to find out how to find a phone if they have lost it and it is turned off, via satellite for free. And in this seemingly hopeless situation, there are several solutions.
A situation with a lost phone can happen to anyone, so first of all you need to remain calm and immediately start searching, and not panic and blame yourself for absent-mindedness and inattention. You can lose your phone under different circumstances, so the solutions in each situation will be different. For example, the phone fell out of your pocket while walking, it was forgotten at home or in a public place, or it was even stolen by intruders. In order to correctly answer the question of how to find a lost phone, you should analyze each of the listed situations.
Modern methods of searching for lost and stolen mobile phones significantly help their owners and restore faith in God, in people and in our valiant police. In a situation where your phone is stolen or lost, you can act in different ways.
How to find a phone number?
This type of search requires that the phone be connected to special service for tracking mobile devices. This method will be effective if your phone is in good hands and has not been used by scammers.
How to find a lost phone by IMEI?
In order to find a phone in this way, you need to know this one IMEI. These treasured 15 digits, firstly, are unique for each gadget. And secondly, they are written on the phone packaging. If you threw away the box a long time ago (which you shouldn’t have done), make sure in advance that the IMEI is written down somewhere under “Important information”. Don't write it down on your phone because you might lose it.
How to find out the IMEI of your phone?
It is worth considering that you should search for a mobile phone using this method if you are absolutely sure that the phone has disappeared outside your home or apartment. If police find a device in your home, they may be fined for false appeal.
Also do not try to search for your phone using all kinds of services and sites, who will allegedly find your phone by IMEI for a fee. Firstly, it is not effective, and secondly, it is expensive.
Remember, you can find your lost favorite gadget via Google account, for example, or using special applications that should be installed on your phone in advance. There are also special service sites that only collect information about IMEI, however, they do not perform any search. You can enter your phone code into the database and then, perhaps, someone will respond and return your cell phone friend for a reward.
This function is available for iPhone brand phones. For example, if you have lost your old but beloved iPhone 5, you can reunite with your friend, if a special search program and a GPS receiver are installed on it. This way you can track the location of your mobile on the street.
If you have a phone of a different brand, for example Samsung, you can contact your mobile phone company and the operator will search for your phone using the GPS system. This will be done using a signal on the SIM card when the phone is turned on, as well as when it is turned off. Contact the office of the operator company, providing the number of the lost phone, its IMEI and an agreement to receive a SIM card.
We told you about the most popular and most effective ways to search for a mobile phone. It remains to figure out how to find a lost Android phone through a computer, because this operating system is also equipped with a convenient search service.
You will need very few conditions:
Undoubtedly you need to take care of installing the service in advance so that you have the ability to remotely access your phone if it is lost. If you are wondering whether it is possible to install this program if a child is using the phone, then our answer is not only possible, but also necessary. After all, kids often lose gadgets. Moreover, a minimum of actions must be performed.
If you have lost your phone with the search program installed, you must ensure that the phone itself is turned on. Also on it must have access to the Internet or working Wi-Fi. Geolocation must be active on your phone, and your Google account must be activated. 
If all these conditions are met, you will be able to track the location of your phone through your Google account on the map. You can also call your phone from your computer, block it or erase all data so that it does not fall into the hands of criminals.
There are many things that a modern person can easily do without, but a mobile phone is definitely not on this list.
And since a mobile phone has long been an integral part of our lives, its unexpected loss (and such a situation can easily happen to anyone) plunges us into a confused state.
The loss of a favorite gadget makes us sad
And indeed, this device not only serves to make calls, but also contains a large amount of confidential information, including a phone book with the numbers of our friends and closest people, a notebook with a lot of personal information, our favorite applications and games, reminders and social network accounts with automatic entry.
So, what should you do if your mobile device is lost (or stolen), and even if the situation is aggravated by the fact that the gadget is turned off due to, say, a dead battery?
First of all, you should not panic, but try, following the recommendations below, to find your irreplaceable loss.
Before starting the most global search, let’s make sure that we ourselves didn’t leave the device somewhere at work, in a taxi, or at a friend’s house during our last visit to them.
If you have lost your phone, don’t panic, but start searching
Our search would be greatly simplified by such a useful accessory as a keychain attached to a mobile phone and responding to our whistle or clap of the palm.
Therefore, if we are lucky and our phone is found somewhere in the house under a pile of things, the first thing we would like to do is to purchase such a keychain to make our life easier in the future.
A special service from Google Android Device Manager will help you search
In the event that we have lost a mobile device based on Android, we can turn to a special service from Google, which is called Android Device Manager :
What should we do if the search did not produce results, and our lost device is also turned off? There is another way to search - via IMEI, which is known to be an original 15-digit number stamped on the body of each mobile device, usually under the battery.
As a rule, the 15-digit IMEI is located under the battery.
To find out the IMEI code on your phone, dial the USB combination *#06#
Note: In order to find out our phone number, it is not necessary to remove the case cover, just dial the USB combination *#06# on the phone and these numbers will appear on the screen of our device.
So, knowing the IMEI of a lost mobile phone, you can file a loss report with a law enforcement agency, whose employees will request the location of your device directly to the telecom operator and thus receive complete and reliable information about the location of your device and even the exact address of its new owner.
However, there is one “BUT” - police officers do not always take on the solution of such issues, but only in the case when a crime has been committed - theft. Otherwise, if it turns out that your phone is in your own home, then penalties cannot be avoided.
This type of search is available to mere mortals only in two cases:
Let us consider in more detail the second case, as it is more probable. The above LoSToleN program it works as follows - when you replace your SIM card on a stolen or lost device with a new card, the command of this program is immediately activated, which sends you an SMS message to the specified “spare” number. After which you not only become aware that someone is using the phone, but also find out the number of its new owner. And then it’s up to you – either call and figure it out yourself, or contact the police.
Perhaps the site maps-info.ru will help you find the device.
So, to begin an independent search for a mobile device via satellite, first of all, let’s connect to its monitoring on a special website maps-info.ru.
To do this, on this resource we find the “free monitoring” section. We register in the system, indicating two mobile phone numbers - your current one, to which you want to receive information, and the number of the phone that we intend to look for.
The most important thing when registering and in further actions is to strictly follow the proposed instructions, which, however, are very simple - you just need to enter the missing subscriber’s number in a certain field and click the “search” function.
As a rule, all the information found is displayed on our monitor screen within a few minutes.
In conclusion, I would like to remind you of one truth - in order not to look for anything, it is better not to lose anything. Take care in advance about the safety of your phone and then you will never need all the above tips. Good luck!
As practice shows, most often a phone is stolen through a primitive robbery in a dark alley, quiet park, or underground passage. Such actions are usually aimed at people who cannot defend themselves and fight back against attackers. Young women and teenagers become victims of criminals most often. Unnoticed theft occurs mainly in a crowded place, where, amid the rush and crowd, it is difficult to notice how the thief snuck into a pocket or bag.
The theft or loss of a mobile phone always brings a lot of worry to its owner. The difficulty of returning a found phone is due to the peculiarities of the Russian mentality. People, having found the phone, do not want to return it and take it for themselves. One of the most effective ways is to search for a mobile phone by IMEI.
IMEI is a 15-digit code (International Mobile Equipment Identity). It is unique for each device and is assigned to the phone by the manufacturer. This code is issued to each cellular device operating in the GSM, IDEN, WCDMA networks. IMEI is stored in the phone's factory firmware. Its main task is authorization and identification in the cellular network. Therefore, searching for a cell phone by IMEI can be effective if it is stolen or lost.
When a smartphone is stolen, the owner submits an official report and blacklists the IMEI. In the EU countries and the USA, such a phone will not work in any cellular network, since it is prohibited from calling, with the exception of emergency services, and when you try to register, a signal is sent to the service, which allows you to transmit the relevant information about the place and time of exit to the police to the network. Therefore, in foreign countries, thanks to this system of work, it is possible to successfully track a phone by IMEI and prevent theft, since when it is blacklisted, it becomes a useless thing. In Russia, unfortunately, such a mechanism for combating intruders has not yet been developed.
First of all, to answer the question of how to find a phone by IMEI, it is important to find this code. In order to find out the IMEI, just dial a simple command *#06# - and the 15-digit code will appear on the screen. The information is also located under the battery in a table along with the serial number, on the original packaging or sticker and in the warranty card. Thus, this code is a kind of “fingerprint”, since every time you register in the GSM network, the cellular operator sees the location using the phone’s IMEI.
On some phone models, a way to change IMEI has been found; as a rule, these are Chinese devices. This feature is not available on newer mobile devices. Since manufacturers are interested in providing their users with the maximum level of protection and security, they are constantly looking for solutions to combat theft. However, along with manufacturers, scammers are also looking for ways and loopholes to hack the device’s software and resell the stolen phone. It is worth noting that in some countries, for example in Kazakhstan, there is an article for unauthorized access to protected information, which threatens with imprisonment for up to 3 years. In Russia, Articles 273 and 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provide for changing IMEI. And in judicial practice there are cases of imprisonment under these articles for a period of 3 years.
In Russia, mobile operators have access to information about the location of phones. However, they do not have the right to disclose this information to ordinary citizens and provide it only at the request of law enforcement agencies.
To search for a phone by IMEI, you need to contact the police with a free-form statement, indicating your last name, first name and patronymic, passport details and IMEI of the stolen phone. It is also necessary to provide copies of documents confirming ownership of the device. After this, police officers make a request to cellular communication companies in Russia, which check whether the subscriber with the specified IMEI is registered on the network, and give an official response to law enforcement agencies. The intelligence services, in turn, having learned the location of the attacker, search for him and take appropriate measures.
However, in practice, due to the bureaucratic structure of our state, requests to the police are processed quite slowly, and by the time things get underway, the attacker will already have time to resell the phone on the secondary market or change the IMEI. And cellular operators, in turn, do not turn off a cell phone until it is proven that it is indeed stolen. Therefore, a revision of the legislative framework is required to simplify the system for dealing with theft of mobile devices.
Despite the fact that there are a number of web services on the Internet that offer to search for a phone by IMEI code, they do not provide any guarantee about the accuracy of the information. Since officially only cellular operators have information, they do not have the right to provide information to anyone except law enforcement agencies. Therefore, these methods are questioned, and it is worth remaining vigilant when using them. It will be possible to identify a stolen phone only if it is not turned off and any actions are performed from it - calls, checking the balance, sending messages.
The mobile phone can only be detected using the GSM cellular communication standard. The signal from the mobile device is analyzed by software, which allows you to determine the sector and the nearest station base in which the subscriber is registered. This search system allows you to find a phone by IMEI and find out its location with an accuracy of 100-200 meters, which is sufficient for an attacker to be caught by law enforcement officers.
For those who want by IMEI, just follow the following steps.
Android Device Manager is a service that is provided for mobile devices running on Android. When registering in the service, you have the opportunity to use the “Search for a phone by IMEI satellite” service. The option also offers to make a free call to a lost phone at maximum volume, which allows you to find the phone if it was not stolen, but lost on the street or at home.
iPhones are popular all over the world and most often they become a tasty prey for attackers. These devices are characterized by high demand, price and good liquidity. Manufacturers of Apple products have taken care of the safety of their users by providing the ability to track the location of the device thanks to the geolocation system. To do this, you need to use the iCloud option, in which you can enable the “Find My iPhone” function. After your device is lost, just go to icloud.com and enter your password and Apple ID. If this function was not activated before the theft, the system will not track the phone, and it will not be possible to find it this way. In this case, the only correct decision is to file a corresponding application with law enforcement agencies.
With the development of information technology, many services on the Internet offer a program to search for a phone by IMEI. However, it is worth remembering that in most cases such companies are fraudulent and operate illegally. They ask you to send a paid SMS message to gain access to the service, which ultimately does not provide any information. Therefore, when looking for a solution to the problem of how to find a phone by IMEI, you should not resort to methods of searching for information on the global network.
In order to find a phone, you must have access to the equipment and software of all mobile operators in the country. Therefore, such a service cannot be provided by ordinary web offices. Access to information is only available to law enforcement agencies, who receive information upon request from any mobile operator. Therefore, searching for a stolen phone on your own is a futile task that takes a lot of time and effort. The only correct solution that can help is to contact the special services.
When buying a phone on the secondary market, it is worth checking it in the database of stolen phones to avoid troubles in the future. Since if the owner has already filed a statement with the police, it will be quite difficult to prove that it was not you who stole the phone, and the device will have to be returned to the copyright holder. However, not all stolen mobile devices are included in the database. You should not purchase a mobile phone without documents from a private person, and if such a device is offered, this should immediately alert you. Also, when purchasing a device, it is recommended to check the IMEI of the phone with the one indicated on the package.
