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6 Ways to Track and Recover Your Lost/Stolen iPhone

18 Sep, 2009 by
iPhone

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

Locate or Track iPhone

find-my-iphone


1. Track 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 owner 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.

Update: Find my iPhone Goes Free with iOS 4.2

Update 2: Find my iPhone is now part of iOS 5 via the iCloud.

track-iphone

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-track-iphone

iLocalis has the following uses-

  • Never lose your 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 your 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 text 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.

ilocalis-track-stolen-iphone

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-track-iphone

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

ihound-track-iphone

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.

Download Navizon

6. MyFoundCast

myfoundcast-find-iphone

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?

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You might also like:

  • Track and Recover iPhone via Theft-Recovery app
  • Track Your Lost/Stolen Android Mobile Phone via WaveSecure
  • Track Your Lost or Stolen Camera Online
  • 4 FREE Tools to Track & Recover Your Stolen Laptop
 
Raju is the founder-editor of Technically Personal. A proud geek and an Internet freak, who is also a social networking enthusiast. You can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. Mail Raju PP.
← Older Comments
  • iphone luver

    I recently had my iphone stolen by a coworker. Knew who it was but couldn’t prove it. He immediately turned the phone off. I noticed it was taken immediately and had a friend call my number. I heard there is a new app that can actually turn your iphone back on once it has been turned off by someone. Anyone know what it is? (I had the GPS app but didn’t link it, won’t happen again)

  • sneha belani 2011

    hi lost my i phone 4 any way to track , havnt downloaded any tracking software as yet so can we find it.

  • sneha belani 2011

    hi hav lost my i phone 4 can anybody help me , havnt downloaded any tracker.

  • rpatterson

    when i got out of the hotel, i realized that i forgot my iPhone 4 64 gb. when i came back, it was gone. i felt doomed. three days later, i cancelled my plan. i thought i would never get it back. 4 months later, when I’m walking down the street, i see a guy holding an iPhone with bad scratches on the metal (i did that to distinguish mine in case it got stolen), i asked him where he got that, and he responded, like most stolen items, “Craigslist”. i told him that it was mine, and surprisingly, he gave it to me after i showed him the markings. i felt bad for him, knowing that he was just looking for a good deal, so i paid him what he paid for it ( $150, because of the marks) and the early termination fee. just never give up, if you truly want it back, although i gave up after 2 months.

  • Sheetal

    my iphone 4got stolen from my purse is there any way of getting it back??

    • StupidQuestion

      you should read what the nice man just wrote. 4 ways to retrieve your phone. dont get all stupid again.

  • joross

    Someone took my iphone4 yesterday, it has a 4 dgits security code I only have the serial #. how can I get back to me, is there any possible way?

  • jagdish

    I have lost my iphone3GS and i could not installed any tracker so anybody help me

  • SALLY

    IS THERE ANYWAY TO TRACK AN IPOD TOUCH 4TH GENERATION,AFTER IT HAS BEEN STOLEN

  • roxana

    my iphone 4 was stolen!!!! how can i track it?! i dont have any apps for finding it. im finding a lot of apps to download in case it ever gets stolen but of course i cant put them on my phone bc its gone!!! i need to get my iphone back asap!!!

  • Barbs

    does any of it work after phone was blocked by network provider?

  • Paige

    If found please return

  • yuvasathi

    my iPhone 3G is stolen how can i track it ? ! i dont have any apps for finding it. im finding a lot of apps to download in case it ever gets stolen but of course i cant put them on my phone bc its gone!!! i need to get my iphone back asap!!!

  • Jac

    I lost my iphone 4s on new years eve 2011 and did not have:find my iphone.app installed could any one help me get it back asap.

  • j70141

    You know, you people have real sad stories. I’m willing to bet odds 20:1 that you bought your phone so you can show off to your friends your nice cool phone, and that you can afford to have one. Such people deserve to have their phone stolen.

    People like you drive the price up for people like myself that have need of the phone for business applications that are run on it. (If you give me the same excuse, I’ll ask the name of the app).

    Hey, buy a $2,000.00 diamond necklace and wear it around, don’t cry when it gets stolen. Same with an $800 phone (when bought new w/out contract) that, isn’t worth $800.

    Self important delusional snobs are sickening.

    • Brenda

      You’re an a@@hole. Being poor doesn’t make you special. It looks like it just made you an ignorant, sad, angry person. I’ll buy my son a new phone today and this chapter will be closed in our life but you . . . well look in the mirror. I know it is hard but only you can make yourself a better person. I feel so sorry for you.

    • you’re a douche

      if you don’t want to hear about people talking about their phones being lost or stolen you shouldn’t be on a blog about tracking stolen/lost iphones. just because people buy these phones doesn’t mean they are snobs, but the fact that you’re complaining about it means you’re a douche. so do everyone a favor and shut your fat face.

    • camilla

      Steve Jobs was a hippie :)

    • FallintoaCactus

      Kind of a Communist notion that people with nice things “deserve” to have them stolen or taken away. I hope your house, dignity, security, or sanity get stolen because there are poor people all around the country or world that don’t have access to such things. Or your health. Or your family, do you know how many people don’t have a family? You’re rich in comparison to a lot of people, considering you have access to the internet and some kind of machine that helps you view and comment on the many things found there. If you want fairness move to a third world country where your livelihood and survival are in direct proportion to the amount you worked by hunting down gophers and walking to the river that day. They don’t have pedestals down there, though, you might be uncomfortable.

    • Jenergizer

      Your an ass, ppl also buy these phones because they are awesome phones! iPhone hater much?!?
      Keep your hateful miss-informed opinion to yourself , or go find another forum to bitch in

    • 10oREo

      @j70141

      The only sad story is your sorry @ss. You need your @ss kicked and I hope it gets done soon.

      Ooh look at me, I want people to feel sorry for me because consumers buy products increasing prices and my broke @ss can’t afford one. Sounds like you need to find a better business since it sounds like yours isn’t doing to well if you cry about the price of the phone.

      I wish I did know you that way I could show off all my flashy things to you and rub it in your face and tell you what a real piece of $hit you are.

      Thing is, since my phone got stolen, I will go buy another one because I have so damn much money. More $ than I know what to do with and it’s just a material time only. I can buy one at the drop of a hat unlike you, who probably has to save up 13 pay periods to buy the phone. HaHa, I don’t feel sorry for you at all and only laugh at cries knowing you have something coming your way.

    • notanicemother

      how freaking rude, my daughter worked her ass off at 18, she works goes to high school, college and has a full academic scholarship to a state college and yes she wanted a nice phone, which she deserved if she worked to pay for it herself, she bought it at a phone store, but not at & t it was used, oh well. she didn’t pay $800 dollars for it, but even with a plan the news ones are around $200. so get over yourself!!

  • Ronald Taylor

    my iphone 4 has been stollen its at&t and i canceled the service and every thing but it has been two days i dnt have anny trakeing appes like that unless around me counts is there any way it could be tracked.

  • Neha Sidana

    Nice stuff

  • Veronica

    i lost my iphone, is there a way that i can find it even though i didnt installed any app??

  • Gantuya

    I lost my I phone I had not install application how can I find it.i live in mOngolia.is there any way? Please help me

  • Gandaga

    My I phone has stolen.may i find it?i live in Mongolia.is there any way please help me

  • a123

    ii had my iphone 4 s stolen on the bus i was sitting down listening to music when all of the sudden the bus stops this guys come from behind andt ake it from my hand and runs out of the bus with it!!!!!!!!!! wat is wron withh pppl?!?!?

    wishinng i would have download that app!

  • shrikantchavan7164

    my samsung s5233LKVINS HAS LOST HOW TO GET IT

    shrikantchavan@gmail.com

  • collegemom

    please help my daughter had her ipod touch stolen and I am going to all these site to find a ipod ,I need the best free way to locate it.      collegemom

  • free cell phone tracking

    Looking for the way to trac your cellphone, should it be displaced or ripped off. I had been also seeking a route to finding my cellphone after I lost it. I stumbled upon this software program where I could do far more then just trac my cellular phone It might do almost everything that I want it to do..

    • oc

      What is the software program?

  • Elizabeth

    if the phone had not been registered yet and was stolen, can it still be tracked by the carrier…I managed to make one phone call before it was taken. Can the carrier track this phone

    • http://techpp.com Raju PP

      that’s tough, specially if the thief takes off the SIM card. The carrier needs the IMEI number to track the phone which they’d get only on activation

  • Biggz4

    there is a solution: at&T familymap. it is a service through at&t that lets you track phone. Free 30 day trial. Phone must be on though.

  • Brian

    AT&T family map is a joke! Waste of $$. Not nearly close enough. Use the other apps.

  • Adele

    Does this work in the UK?

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