iPhone is the world’s best smart phone available today without any doubt. People carry their phones everywhere they go, and hence there is always a chance of them forgetting their iPhone somewhere or the iPhone getting stolen. Learn how to track, message, erase and recover your lost or stolen iPhone.
Also read: 4 Ways to Track and Recover your Stolen Laptop
Track or Locate your iPhone
1. Track your iPhone via MobileMe
Apple has announced a new service called Find My iPhone that will allow iPhone owners to remotely locate their lost or stolen iPhones using the iPhone’s GPS. The service will be available as part of Apple’s MobileMe online subscription service.
Find My iPhone will pinpoint the iPhone’s current location using Google Maps and let owners send and display a message on the iPhone even if it’s locked, presumably to provide information on how to return the phone to the finder of the phone. The Find My iPhone feature can also force the iPhone to play a sound for 2 minutes, which is useful for not only getting the attention of the finder of iPhone but also locating it between couch cushions.
The Find My iPhone feature will require a subscription to Apple’s MobileMe service, which costs $99 a year (currently $65.99 on Amazon.com) after a free 2-month trial.
2. iPhone anti-theft solution – iLocalis
iLocalis lets you track your iPhone device location and also remote control it! It is considered as the best theft-tracking and remote control utility for Apple iPhone.
iLocalis has the following uses-
- Never lose you iPhone: If it is missing just log onto the iLocalis site and you’ll know where it was located last.
- Retrieve a stolen iPhone: If your iPhone is stolen you can log into the site and check out where it’s at. Extra features built into iLocalis allow you to send text messages or make calls on your iPhone when you don’t even have it with you. If you iPhone is stolen log in and send yourself a text message. If the thief changed the sim card you’ll have their phone number!
- Allow your family and friends to know where you are: iLocalis will send a message to your friends when you are near by. You can also set it up to allow your friends to locate you. If your friend also has iLocalis you can send messages to each other for free. No txt messaging charges.
- iLocalis can also be used for a business that needs location services for their employees. Employees carrying iPhones with iLocalis can be tracked via the web site easily.
Note: iLocalis needs a jailbroken iPhone with Cydia installed and supports all firmware versions on iPhone 3G and 3GS.
3. GPS tracking for iPhone with Mobile Spy 3.0
Mobile Spy version 3.0 spy software for Apple iPhone from Retina-X studios allows users to track GPS locations, SMS messages and calls of employees, teen or family mobile phones by logging into SSL secured online control panel from any computer or phone’s web browser.
Mobile Spy allows users to monitor their handsets in real time and runs in the background behind all other applications. After the spy software is setup on the cellphone, it will silently record SMS messages, GPS locations and call activities, and then upload the data to your private Mobile Spy secure online account.
The Mobile Spy version 3.0 software is compatible with all iPhone models, Windows Mobile or Symbian OS based smartphone and is priced at $99.97 (1-year subscription).
4. Find and Recover your Stolen iPhone with iHound
This free security program alerts you when your iphone is connected to another individual’s computer. It will also track down the location of where your device is being used.
When your missing iPhone is being plugged in to a computer, you will:
1. Get an email saying that your tracked device is being located.
2. Get a detailed report on where it is being used by logging in to iHound’s website.
The second method can be very useful when the stolen iPhone is switched off and later gets connected to a computer for changing software or formatting the memory card.
Download iHound for iPhone or iPod Touch
5. Recover your Lost/Stolen iPhone with Navizon app
Navizon is a hybrid positioning system combining GPS, Wi-Fi and Cellular triangulation techniques. It calculates the geographic location of a wireless device by analyzing the signals from nearby Wi-Fi access points and cellular towers and comparing it against a database of known data points. A new option called Locate-by-SMS allows you to locate your lost iPhone by just sending an SMS text message to it.
6. MyFoundCast
MyFoundCast, a patent pending technology is the internet’s first lost and found service that allows you to create custom wallpaper and embed information into that wallpaper so when somebody finds your iPhone or iPod Touch they will know how to return it. All members are given a unique tracking ID and automatically registered in our lost and found database. You may register the serial number of any iPod or iPhone.
I am not sure if this really works. If someone is honest enough to return your iPhone he/she will do some basic research on the owner of the iPhone and return it back. Isn’t it?
Related Posts:
|
|
 |
October 16th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Those really helpful apps for iphone. Are all of them Paid apps or we could get some of them for free??
October 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
It has been mentioned as free or paid in the article. Most of them are paid, but worth the money
October 19th, 2009 at 7:54 am
wouldn’t this all be useless if the thief that took my phone restores it since they’re all apps? is there any programs that could get pass this problem?
October 26th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
restoring it wont change serial # or anything gps w/ the gps. the gps is the key to finding it, so unless the thief can change the gps transponder it can b found no matter what.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:33 am
ok so i lost mine on friday night. i didnt have any of these apps. what is the best way of goin about this? i dnt mind paying a fee or anything..just need it back.
anyinout would be much appreciated.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:46 am
No mention of Orbicule?
November 9th, 2009 at 4:17 am
How can I find the owner of a lost iphone? Sherry
November 9th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Sherry you should call the last couple of numbers in the call log and see if they can contact the owner! I lost my iphone yesterday and would really appreciate it if someone did that for me!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:23 am
same here. anything i can do to find it even tho i dont have any of those apps?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:54 am
good to know that any new smart phone can protect by this application software,…but i wolud like to know that what about those who had lost there smart phone which dont have this software application,…i had not get my ans???
November 11th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
You don’t have much options unfortunately. Unless the smart phones start to come with in-built technologies, nothing much can be done.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I got my iPhone back!! Here is the cold hard TRUTH! Forget all you have read and heard except http://www.rewardingreturn.com/ or a similar technology to encourage honesty through bribery because nothing else will work! Here is how I got my iPhone back …
Unless a reward that appears on the phone works nothing else will, here is why. My phone was stolen from me and the thief removed the Rogers (Canada) sim card (so my number was gone) he then installed a new sim card. He also did a device erase (too easy to do) so all the apps were gone. Rogers was told 15 minutes after it was gone that it was STOLEN. Rogers did not care … they had a new customer and would sell me a new phone at FULL PRICE $699, that is ALL they would do even though they know it as put back on their network within 8 hours.
Call the police. Get a sympathetic officer who actually wants to do their job. Go to your iTunes and click on “preferences” then “devices” and rest your pointer on your device’s last backup. Information will appear including the IMEI number. This number is golden as the police with this number and a call to the correct department of your cell provider can easily locate the phone and thief even with a device erase and new sim card installed. Rogers has a police only department for this that will NOT speak to you the rightful owner but if detailed information is required, Rogers requires a WARRANT. Rogers Law Enforcement Division (416)935-5300.
The police who picked up my phone would not lay charges but I did get my phone back a little worse for the ware.
Two last pieces of advice … lock the phone and enable “erase if 10 bad passcode attempts” because “restore” is amazing and restores EVERYTHING and no personal info has wound up in the wrong hands. Lastly write down the MAC address before you loose the phone as if is not in iTunes and it could possibly be used to locate it as well.
Tim
Ontario, Canada
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
hey i found a way to trace the iphone without the apps but it costed me abt 20-30$ i had lost mine in a bus.. I i traced my cell without the app the robbers were put to jail i was lucky.. those robbers didnt know how to switch off my cell or remove the sim
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
errr… great! but you didn’t tell on what you spent those 20-30$ ? Happy trolling
November 26th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Hi,
These applications are Awsome but i was not aware of these beofer and now i have already lost my phone is there any way to find it.. as i dnt have any tracker application installed or registed in my phone .. i jus have the serial and IMEI key with me ..
Please frnds any one help me out . !!
Regards,
Syed Zafar Aman
zafar.aman@yahoo.co.uk
November 29th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I lost on my Phone yesterday, did you recover your and any suggestions on how I can get my phone. I also didnt have any of these features on the phone. I just want my phone back! please reply back and let me know how you found your phone.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Where did you contact or whom did you pay to get ur iphone back, I really want my phone. I lost mine at a bowling alley and it happened yesterday! please contact back to let me know!
December 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I lost my iphone on 23rd nov 2009…
I really dont kno what to do..!!
Plz HELP…!!!
December 13th, 2009 at 5:56 am
iLocalis is the best if you dont want to go with Mobile me. Unlike other solutions, it runs in the background (need to Jailbreak) and is very simple to use. The price is right.
ViNo
December 16th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Just a comment for lost phones. If you have AT&T you can track the phone through the family tracking service. It is a decent service, but it will cost you a little bit. Usually the first month is free. So you can get an idea of where it is as long as there is some power left in the phone.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Apple Stinks. Ive been purchasing products from them since 1998. Never a complaint. But now I buy my son the iphone, it was stolen by some creep & bum, and now apple nor at&t will do nothing for us. It was our fault, but we were looking for some sort of help or replacement plan or insurance or even advice with the situation. I’ll be buying every other computer & phone manufacturing company other than apple for here on out. Whats the point of having a built in GPS phone with the ability to locate it if the company won’t locate it when its reported stolen. Blow me apple.
December 20th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
If your iPhone is lost or stolen, Apple will support the device who ever has it. You can however call Apple iPhone Support at 800-MyiPhone (800-634-7466) and leave your contact info if someone honest calls in and wants to return in to you. I have GPS Thief Tracker on my iPhone and it sends an email with Lat & Long of it’s location to my email. One think I want to be clear about is, the iPhone is YOUR responsibility to take care of. So if it’s lost or stolen please do not blame ATT or Apple. Same would be true if you lost your dog, dont call the Humane Society and ask for your dog back or a replacement. Does that make sense?
1) Contact the Police and report it is stolen. You can get the serial number on the box or by opening up iTunes. In iTunes hold down the control key on your computer and click on About iTunes. Hit the space bar to stop the info from scrolling. Take a screen shot of it for your records and to offer the Police.
2) Call ATT and stop service.
3) Call Apple and report it. Ask for a case number.
4) If recovered, the police will need to call with case number and ask to speak to Apples Corporate Security department to get/give info on the lost/stolen device.
Of course having an application like GPS Thief Tracker ($0.99) can help the police.
I also recommend MobileMe because you can Find My iPhone with it. you can also Remote Wipe you iPhone and last you can remotely turn on your passcode lock on the iPhone. This way if the person who has it wants to use it they have to RESTORE AS NEW. Leaving your info safe.
December 21st, 2009 at 4:26 am
Awesome! Thanks Llyod!
December 23rd, 2009 at 6:34 am
Note: These instructions are for OS 2.x. MobiFindr is not yet included in the OS 3 version, but it will be soon.
Navizon doesnt work b/c
Please note that MobiFindr/Locate-by-sms is only available on jailbroken phones having Navizon installed via Cydia.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:01 am
i also lost my iphone just today when i had lunch at MLC centre in sydney…someone took it huhu…tried calling it and hoping whoever finds it returns it, but the person already turned the phone off! i don’t have any of the above applications, and if i knew i would have done it before..i was still using the phone for a month, and i’m still in contract with 3mobile for 23 months more
January 10th, 2010 at 4:23 am
how many got their phone back by the knowing the serial number?
January 17th, 2010 at 3:03 am
What if the person that finds or steals my iphone, resets its to factory settings? can i still track it then? and they would obviously take out the sim card.
January 17th, 2010 at 3:05 am
dont 3 mobile just give you another iphone coz it was only the first month? and dont they track down your phone even if it doesnt have your sim still in it?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:20 am
can you track an iphone that is not currently in service?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
my dad found an iphone like last june
he jus told me about it like a month ago
he didnt noe it was an iphone -he dont care about the latest phones and things]
he thought it was a toy
so anyway
there is nothing on the phone
i cant seen to contact the previous owner as the sim is pinlocked and i cant see the phone log
so i took sim out and i restored it
i tried to find the owner but i couldnt [i didnt wanna go to police as too much work n scaryy sort off]
so like can i use the iphone now?
its been about 6 months
so i think its alright that i can use it now?
and the police wont come looking for cause they think i stole it
if they track it by the gps?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
i dont know
January 20th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
I HV LOST MY IPHONE AND IT WAS WITHOUT SIM CARD AND ANY PHONE TRACKING SOFTWEAR WAS ALSO NOY INSTALLED AS IT WAS A NEW PHONE. IT WAS MY GIFT.PLS HELP ME TO TRACE IT PLS I BEGGINGLY REQUEST
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
So my iTouch was stolen a few days ago and i didnt have any of those apps installed on it either. But in my situation i think im slightly luchk but i would like feedback first. I am in charge of an club at my school. We need music so its my job to provide it. once the club was over i went to pick up my ipod, which were attactced to speakers, but it had been taken. So i know everyone that was in the room and i dont think that they are smart enough to know how to wipe it and junk. So here is my question, should i just interrogate every single person that was in the room, or should i go to the police and then ask them to do something about it? Thanks for your help and any help at all.
January 29th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Does anyone know what happens if someone “restores” a stolen iPhone and then Jailbreaks it & unlocks it? Will these tracking and recover programs still work? Thanks!
January 30th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Apple encourages the theft of iPods and iPhones so they can sell their theift protection crap. What a useless company to deal with. It is all about the money for them and they couls care less about helping their customers. In their words when I called for support, “buy another” . The company is useless to deal with. Apple is the theif here.
January 30th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Is there any way to track my iphone after it was stolen even if I have no tacking softwere (th thief is using my email from the iphone)
January 30th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
interesting situation… so many web services come with geo-tagging these days (like twitter) but email doesn’t have geo-tagging. So, I can’t think of any way to track him.
Edit: In case the email is GMAIL, then you can check “Last account activity” at the bottom of your web browser and see if you can get any info with the ip address used.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
i just misplaced my i phone about 2 hours back…
and i assume its been stolen from my bag….
i dont know how to get it back cause i dont have
any of these softwares …
is it possible for me to get it back by just giving the imei to the police ?!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:02 pm
I have locked my phone after installing iLocalis, I clicked on the panic mode button, and I can’t get it unlocked, HELP PLEASE!!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:37 pm
That’s ok, I found out how to do it, thanks I’m a premium member now!!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:40 pm
i lost my htc p3470 mobile phone with imp.data….
imei no.357394017166402
email ad.: hero4archi@gmail.com
pls……help….
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
i got my i pod touch stolen this tuesday at school and i realy need to find it its a 3g 32gb one
i need help please
how would i find it if its all ready stolen
i also found out that someone used his schools wireless network to find how would do this
February 10th, 2010 at 11:02 am
“iPhone is the world’s best smart phone available today without any doubt.”
Actually, there’s lots of doubt. iPhones suck. People who have never had anything better consider them the best, the way former customers of AOL were satisfied. Buying the iPhone was a very big mistake on my part. Wish I’d never let the salesman talk me into it.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
if ive already lost the phone yest. will buying one of these apps locate it?
February 10th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
So i lost my iphone 3gs 16g a week ago… I was at a get together with some friends. This guy i meet once a week ago was talking to me an flirting an asking me out , an i wasn’t that interested but i didnt let him now so anywyas ..he was like let me charge ur phone for u , an i was like no he was like dont worry trust me an i was like okay …five minutes latter he leaves with me phone…a week latter i see him an i ask him for my phone back he says no i have to pay him $200. I didnt because i knew he would take my money an fight me becuase his that stupid . True story
((
February 11th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
i`ve lost my iphone two months ago please help me find it,i only got the serial number and imei nr.i stay in namibia the police and network operators is not of much help pls pls
February 16th, 2010 at 3:58 am
Lloyd is wrong. he said something about not blaming att or apple if your phone is lost. He said its like blaming humane society if your dog is lost.
You pay apple for the device and att for the service(which apple gets kickbacks from). They have a responsibility to help you find it. Worried about losing it.. there are companies that insure laptops and i am sure they will insure your Iphone. good luck
February 21st, 2010 at 3:48 am
What if the phone is shut off or battery is dead?…can the stolen phone still be located via GPS? Is the iPhone (on or off) still emitting a GPS beep/beacon?
February 21st, 2010 at 11:35 am
No, the phone has to be switched on for GPS to work
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 pm
I HAVE LOST MY I PHIONE, I NEED YOUR KIND HELP TO FIND OUT IT PLEASE I WILL GIVE MY I PHONE DETAILS PLEASE FIND IT FOR ME.011934005146193 ITS THE SERIYAL NUMBER. PLEASE FIND AND LET ME KNOW.
February 27th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
what about if there is no sim card in there anymore? what happens if the person takes out the sim card?
February 27th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I have just had my iphone stolen. The low lives broke into my house, stole cash and my car keys, took my car for a joy ride and burnt it! I have no insurance for anything! If someone out there who may know of how to track a stolen iphone, please post a reply as this will help me find who broke into my house and put my wife and daughter at risk.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 am
Lost my iPhone at Bounce U in Plano, TX on February 27, 2010 between 12:30 pm and 3 pm. The owner and staff were very nice in helping me look for it, but we were unsuccessful! I have iLocalis and MobileMe, but the phone was dead when lost. I was at a 3rd grader’s class party with my daughter and her friends, and I wonder if it’s worth asking the principal or teacher to announce it in class, in the event a kid picked it up! I’ve already asked the owner to contact the party planners for the parties that followed. Lucily, the phone was locked, and I have the IME and SN, and the Sim Card #, but it’s all no good unless the phone is charged and turned on. There’s also a Lost and Found msg that will pop up should it be turned on! It’s suspended, but I’ll keep hope alive!
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:53 am
Lost my phone on 20 FEb 2010 miss it..
March 6th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Lost my IPHONE 3G March 3rd in Lexington KY…Pink cover on it. Serial # 848302N6Y7H… If you find it please let me know. Also took my new pink coach person, wallet and all my keys:(
March 6th, 2010 at 9:31 am
that would be pink coach purse:)
March 9th, 2010 at 11:41 am
I had my iphone stolen at a party. I noticed this a hour after it happened. I did not have any theft apps on it. I called the phone several times to no avail. I sent the iphone texts that read: “If you found my phone please bring it back to jen’s house or I will have the police track it.” “Please bring the iphone to jen’s house because I can track the iphone through GPS” My friend jen also announced at the party that no one could leave until the phone was produced. Of course no one gave it up. We frisked everyone that left and everyone’s cars also. No phone.
I reported it to the police(it would take them months to find it). But the only way I would get it back is by knowing who took it. Stupid girl sent the wrong text to the wrong person and we now know who took it. Ha ha sweet revenge.
Moral of this story: If you did not install the apps before the iphone was lost. The only thing you can do is search for the phone physically or hope the police get it.
March 10th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I lost my iPhone a week ago and did not have any of the above services. I tried calling it numerous times to no avail, so I ended up going to get a new SIM card and put it in my old phone, as I needed a contact phone. Does anyone know if I can still track the iPhone down? I have the serial/IMEI number and everything, and I would love to have the phone back. Many thanks, Don (in NYC).
March 14th, 2010 at 6:19 am
I just had my iphone 3g3 stolen 3 days ago. I was unprepared for this and did not have any security gps tracking or password protection. I have terminated my service for that phone with ATAT. I have since purchased a new iphone. Even though it was an expensive learning lesson I would like my lesson to stop with the cost of the phone.
Moving forward:
I have changed the passwords liked to my e-mail and facebook accounts that were on the phone.
Does anyone have other suggestions of what I can do to limit the damage of my other person informationon the phone. (ie thinsg on teh e-mails accounts?)
I appreciate all the help,
Brian
March 16th, 2010 at 8:11 am
my iphone was stolen about 5 to 6 months ago… i already have a different with but kan i still locate my iphone through the serial number??