Help! I lost my cell phone.

28 Replies

First off, I’m sorry that you lost your cell phone. That is a bummer. At this point, I’m sure you have retraced your steps and have tried calling your cell phone to see if someone kind hears it and picks it up. You can call your cell phone from your computer using Google voice if you do not have access to another phone:

https://www.google.com/voice

If it’s a real emergency (ie. a missing person), then you should contact the police and they in turn might be able to contact the phone company and find the phone’s location.

At this point, if you are still unable to find your cell phone I will cut to the chase and let you know where you stand.

If you did not have any tracking software installed and activated on your phone before you lost it, you most likely are not going to find it.

Sorry for the bad news but that’s the way it is and I really don’t want you going to another website that promises to find your phone for a fee or is simply trying to get at your personal information.

One more thing to mention, it’s important to contact your cell phone provider and let them know your phone is missing. Ask them to put a hold on your account so that you don’t incur any charges that may be made on the phone.

Also, if you have thoughts of chasing somebody who has stolen your cell phone, please be careful. In today’s world, you just don’t know if someone is going to pull out a weapon and use it against you. I’m just suggesting that you might not want to provoke someone into doing so. Your life and safety is much more valuable than a cell phone.

Now if you haven’t lost your phone yet but want to protect it then please keep reading…

If you have an iPhone or any kind of newer Apple mobile device then Apple has you covered with this, Find My iPhone:

http://www.apple.com/icloud/find-my-iphone.html

Make sure you set that up on all of your apple devices.

If you have an Android cell phone, I recommend installing this, Where’s My Droid:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alienmanfc6.wheresmyandroid

This is by far the most widely used application for finding lost Android phones. The basic version is free and it works just fine. Google has come out with something new called Android Device Manager. It’s very similar to Apple’s Find my iPhone but it’s not yet out on all android cell phones (January, 2014). To see if it’s on yours check out this support page from Google and use the Android Device Manager if your phone has it:

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3265955?hl=en

If you have a Windows Phone, Microsoft has created this site to help you find your cell phone:

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp7/basics/find-a-lost-phone

Finally, if you have an old java phone (think old Razr flip phones), the only application that I could find to track those old phones is put out by Mcaffee. Unlike the other three applications I mentioned above, this product costs money. I have not used it and only present it here as a solution if you have an older java phone.

https://www.wavesecure.com/products/java.aspx

That covers just about any cell phone that is out there right now.

And finally, always use a passcode to get into your phone. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Besides protecting a huge amount of your personal information, it will make it a lot harder for someone to get into your phone settings and turn off tracking. That may give you just enough time to locate your phone with one of the online trackers you have set up.

If you have any questions at all that weren’t covered in this post, please feel free to ask and good luck in finding your phone.

28 thoughts on “Help! I lost my cell phone.”

  1. DEEPIKA SAWANT

    i have lost my samsumg galaxy y duos few days back .. just before dat my phone was formatted for some reason. so i dont think the phone location service is on. i blocked my sims and got the duplicate sims … but still my whatsapp is been used on that phone . i want to track my phone n also want to know which no. is using my whatsapp. so that i can find d person. wat do i do … please help !!!

    Reply ↓
    1. Mayank kumar

      Its so easy just delete ur whatsapp ac from any other device and make a new one from that bo. Problem solved

      Reply ↓
  3. steeve

    Hi Nick
    i would like to ask you how could i be able to track my android phone as i do not remember the password for my gmail account with which i activated my android phone apps,could it be possible to just use my email id ?
    thankx

    Reply ↓
  4. Vilakshan

    Hi Nick,
    I hve lost my micromax canvas 4 a few days back n i hve blocked mysim and got duplicate sim but i m worried bcoz i just bought it could u pls help to locate my cell phone

    Reply ↓
    1. Nick Fox Post author

      Hey Karuna

      I’m sorry to hear that. The phone may be inside somewhere and cannot be tracked indoors. Did you try calling the phone to see if you can hear it or if someone might pick it up? I can’t think of what else to do now about it.

      Nick

      Reply ↓
  6. samika

    Hi nick<

    just like others i lost my phone…..i tried using windows find my phone thing that on there website….but its not working…when ever i click the find my phone thing it goes back to the page which says find a lost phone…its really bugging me…and all my photos are in there…..i cant just let it be….please help me….

    Reply ↓
    1. Nick Fox Post author

      Hey Samika

      I’m sorry to hear that. Have you tried to contact Microsoft customer support and tell them the problem you are having with their website? And did you try calling the phone to see if someone hears it?

      Nick

      Reply ↓
    1. Melody

      My IPad was stolen and I used the find My iPhone app which I had erase everything and lock with code and gave number to contact. At this point the app will only show time erased. Can we still locate it or can Apple, AT&T, anyone? Also since erased and lock code will they be able to use get around this and use iPad? Could I have another tracking app downloaded to iPad once turned on in the brack ground from a PC?

      Reply ↓
      1. Nick Fox Post author

        Hey Melody

        I’m sorry to hear that. If you were not able to track the ipad using Apple’s find my iphone then I don’t know of another way to track it at this point in time.

        n

        Reply ↓
  8. clive jackson

    Im about to embark on this very interesting project. Just a quick question. To be able to pinpoint a mobile phone, must it have tracking software installed on it . stupid question but I want to know where my daughter has gone at 2am when she should be at home by 10pm. The problem is installing software on her phone which I dont want to do.

    Reply ↓
    1. Nick Fox Post author

      Hey Clive

      You absolutely must install software on her phone. There are a number of companies that do exactly that. My software would really not be the most appropriate for your needs, it’s more geared towards developers creating new software. I found a couple of reputable websites that review parental tracking apps. I would probably start there. And maybe tell your daughter that if she wants to keep her phone, she has to let you install the software with your password. Ultimately, it’s for her safety… Hope this helps.

      Nick

      http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-parental-control-apps,review-2258.html

      http://www.parents.com/parenting/technology/best-apps-for-paranoid-parents/

      Reply ↓
  13. E VENKATA NARAYANA

    Hi sir,
    Yesterday I lost my mobile, but unfortunately I am not register my imei no, my mobile no 9490275209. Pls help me how to trace my phone.

    Reply ↓
  14. Harsha

    Hello sir my friend is lost his phone on 20th julay in Srikakulam and I want to know who is stolen my friends mobile and in which app to search a trace my friend mobile

    Reply ↓
  15. Harsha

    Sir please how to know trace my friend new mobile he was lost his phone and some person stolen by him in inside the bag my friend and was not observed. He lost his mobile and he wants to his mobile so give some suggestions to me how to trace my friend mobile and he was giving a mail I’d for me

    Reply ↓

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