When you need your phone badly, not knowing where it is can be a real worry. Your smartphone probably knows way too much about you. It can see your bank information and stock portfolio, and it can access almost every part of your personal life. On top of that, your smartphone probably has a hold on you that no other device has ever had. In short, you might get scared if you lose your phone.
Still, that can be a short time because there are many quick and safe ways to find your lost iPhone or Android phone. There is software built into every smartphone and tablet, whether it runs iOS or Android. This software can help you find your lost device. But if those don’t work for some reason, there are also a lot of other apps that can track your phone.
This guide will help you find any lost smartphone, whether it’s a high-end one like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro Max or a cheaper one like the Google Pixel 7a.
Finding lost smartphones
If you lose your iOS or Android phone, both Apple and Google have built-in technology that lets you find it. It’s part of the original software package and works through your device account—Google for Android and iCloud for iPhone. Both let you lock and wipe your phone from afar, ring it, and set up notes that will let whoever finds it know what happened. The battery life of these functions is excellent as long as your phone has one.
Being careful when talking to someone who has found your phone is essential. You should only give out personal details like your home address once you’re sure you can trust the person. Sending phone numbers or email addresses is the best way to let someone know how to get your phone back. Find a lost phone or similar device with this guide, which works for all phone types. Android 14 and iOS 17 are used in the sections that follow.
How to find a lost Android phone with ‘Find My Device’
The Find My Device tool is the easiest way to find a lost Android phone. It comes with your Android phone through Google Play Services, but you can also use it in a browser or get it from the Google Play Store. This function works with most phones that have Android 2.3 or higher.
Make sure that Find My Device is always turned on for your Android phone. You can use the feature by typing “Where is my phone?” into Google. This will make the service look like your phone. We’ve talked about Find My Device’s calling, setting a new password, and making your phone ring from away features, as well as its other notification features. You can set up Find My Device ahead of time, but if you lose or forget your phone, the service should still work. It can use Wi-Fi or GPS to help you find your device.
As of April 2024, Google’s Find My Device network will be able to find most devices even if they aren’t connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. This is because it now relies on nearby Android devices that detect yours via Bluetooth to report your location. The way this works is like how Tile’s tracking tags do it and how Apple’s Find My network has done it since AirTags came out in early 2021. You can even track some Android phones, like Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, even when they’re turned off or their batteries are dead.
- Step 1: Open Settings and find Device Finder under Security and Privacy. It would help if you also went to Google. Either way, you can proceed to the next step.
- Step 2: Tap “Find my phone.” You can also go to Settings and put “find my device” into the search box. When the setting appears, select it.
- Step 3: Turn on the “Find My Device” setting. It should be on all the time.
- Step 4: Here, you can also download the Find My Device app from the Play Store or open it if it’s already there. You can also click on a button to open the Find My Device website in your main browser.
The new Find My Device app lists all the phones, tablets, and other devices linked to your account. If that information is available, clicking on any gadget on the list will show you where it is on a map. Depending on the device, you may also see choices to play a sound or lock the device.
Discover the secret to locating a misplaced Samsung phone using the ‘Find My Mobile’ feature
The Find My Mobile service is another choice for some Samsung phones. It can help you find a lost phone, lock it, or wipe it clean. You need to have a Samsung account and make sure that the remote settings are turned on on your phone. If you want to see if Find My Mobile works with your phone, do the following.
- Step 1: Launch the Settings app and locate “Security and privacy.”
- Step 2: Click on Protect against losing your gadget.
- Step 3: This is where you can turn on and off features like Offline finding, Sending the last position, and Allowing this phone to be found.
- Step 4: For further information and to see whether there have been any updates to Find My Mobile, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the website.
How to find a lost iPhone with the ‘Find My’ app
Find My iPhone is an Apple-only app that can help you find an iPhone that you’ve lost or forgotten. The app is already on all iOS devices, and it can show you where your lost device is on a map, making it easy to find and control. Take advantage of an additional iOS device, PC, or tablet that also has the Find My iPhone software installed.
- Step 1: Go to Settings and then Your Apple ID.
- Step 2: Go to Find My and then Find My iPhone. Make sure that the Find My iPhone switch is always turned on (green).
- Step 3: Turn on the switches that say “Find my network” and “Send last location.” The first choice is to add your iPhone to Apple’s community item tracking network so that it can tell other nearby iPhones where it is even if it can’t connect to the internet. The second choice is to make sure that it sends one last location report right before its battery dies.
- Step 4: Open the Find My app and choose Devices from the list at the bottom.
- Step 5: Pick the iPhone or iPad whose location you want to see.
- Step 6: You can also play a sound to help you find your device, get directions to help you find your device, set up alerts for when you leave your device behind, mark a device as lost, or wipe it from afar.
Prepare before theft or loss.
You can always wipe your phone if you can’t get it back to prevent private data from getting into the wrong hands. To talk to you, your gadget will need to be connected to the internet and have enough power.
Google added Factory Reset Protection (FRP) to Android 5.0 Lollipop. It’s meant to stop crooks from using or selling a phone that they’ve stolen. If you factory reset the phone with FRP turned on and then try to set it up as a new phone, someone will be asked to enter the username and password for the last Google account that was entered on the phone. If they can’t, the phone will stay locked, and your info will be safe.
There are also a number of third-party apps for Android that can help you find your phone. For example, Prey Anti Theft lets you access and handle your phone from afar so you can find out more about where it is. With its GPS coordinates, MAC address, camera pictures to help catch the thief, and other more detailed alerts that Find My Device doesn’t offer, it gives you and the police more ways to keep track of your device.
Change and add to location ways.
With Apple’s Find My iPhone, you can play a sound on your device, mark it as lost, and send a message to your phone while it’s in lost mode. You can also wipe the device clean in case it gets lost or stolen. You can use Find My iPhone to find your Mac, iPod, iPad, Apple Watch, or any other Apple gadget.
Because it has an Activation Lock, your iPhone is very safe in case it gets stolen. Turning off Find My iPhone, wiping your device, or turning it back on requires entering your Apple ID and password, which is done by default while the Activation Lock is on.
AirTags from Apple are another great way to keep track of some iOS devices.
How to get back in touch with your old cell phone
When it comes to simple cell phones, there are fewer automatic or app-based ways to help you find a lost phone. But when you lose your phone, there is always an essential way to do things. Do the following things.
- Step 1: Raise your hand and dial your cell number. Use the time-tested technique of human recognition in addition to listening for the phone’s ring or vibration to locate it. If your phone is really lost and someone else has it, they will probably answer if they plan to give it back.
- Step 2: Go back and do what you did. You should do a complete visual search. Don’t assume that your phone is far away just because you didn’t hear a ring or feel it vibrate when you called it. The battery could be dead.
- Step 3: Send a text message to your phone. Say you think someone stole or found your phone. If you want to, send a text message to your phone with your contact information and a prize offer. You can send complimentary text messages online with many sites, like txtDrop.com. Do not talk about private things.
- Step 4: Let your service company know. If you’re not able to find it, call your cell provider and tell them you’ve lost your phone. Find out if they offer a GPS service. If they don’t, tell them to turn off service to your phone so that you don’t get charged for something you didn’t do. This isn’t always possible with all carriers, but it’s always worth a shot, even for a smartphone. There is a helpful list of numbers on this FCC page.
- Step 5: Report your lost phone. Sign up your phone with Immobilize if you know its IMEI number or have written it down somewhere.
- Step 6: Get ready for the next time you lose your phone. You might be the type of person who always drops their phone. Signing up for a tracking service like AccuTracking might be a good idea.
