Track IMEI cell phone | How to locate by Internet, Google, Number (2020)

If you lost your cell phone or it was stolen, you can track back its location easily and totally free through the system of internet location that comes pre-activated from the factory. The other option is to get your GPS coordinates through a third-party app, sending an SMS to the device or in the most extreme cases requesting the authorities a tracking by phone number O IMEI.

The simplest and fastest method is Google. The company offers a website to track a cell phone Android stolen, simply by entering the Gmail email and password that you were using on the device. In iPhone, you should remember your iCloud account.

How to track a cell phone with Google, Gmail

You only need to access the Google page Find my device and enter the Gmail account and password that you registered on your Android device. Hopefully, this tracking system that usually comes pre-activated on Android phones (Settings> Google> Security> Find my device) will indicate the location of the cell phone on a map of Google Maps, in addition to offering you remote control options via the Internet, such as ringing (even if it is silent), blocking or deleting your data.

Instead of having to go to the mentioned URL, you can also track the location of your cell phone with the Find My Device app, which you can install on the mobile of a family member or friend.

Ideally, when tracking the cell phone, the warning «Last connection right now»On the indicated page. It means that your cell phone is in the location shown on the map at that moment. It may also appear «Last seen«, «Last connection«, «Device not available” O “Failed to access device«. These cases generally mean that the cell phone has no internet connection or is turned off. If so, it may be useful to review the locations where the mobile was previously.

Keep in mind that once the location of the cell phone is obtained, the notification “Device found»That could alert the person who has it, something that I suggest deactivating in advance for this very reason (long press on said notification). Also remember that the location is not always exact. Like all tools of this type, it usually has a margin of error of several meters.

Find my Samsung mobile

Since Samsung devices also have the Android operating system, they can be tracked in the same way with your Google or Gmail account, as I indicated before.

ADDITIONALLY, these devices have their own tracking service, called Locate my mobile, which you can access with your Samsung account. If you created this account in advance and enabled the tracking service, you will be able to locate your cell phone in a very similar way to the previous one (among other things), as well as being able to block or reset the device.

The downside of this service is that its maps are less detailed compared to Google Maps.

How to locate an iPhone?

Apple also has its own tracker to find a lost or stolen iPhone. Simply enter the iCloud site and select the option «Search» or «Find my Phone».

Normally this utility only allows you to track from another iPhone, iOS device or PC. To do it from an Android cell phone, use the desktop mode trick or alternative apps.

The maps in this system are equally poorly detailed.

Track cell by number

If unfortunately you did not install a tracking app on your cell phone before losing it (like the one we will see below), locating it could be as simple as convincing a police officer with a valid and simple argument, such as that your cell phone was stolen. . By radio it will provide your phone number to its operations center to track it (WITHOUT the need for Internet).

This is because mobile operators can “triangulate” your location through the cellular signal and information GPS of the device, which they are obliged to hand over to the authorities in many countries. This is how the Police could find a person on their cell phone when it has disappeared, or know the location of a person suspected or guilty of a crime. It is not information that the operator can give you directly. In fact, you will surely be unaware of this ability.

Obviously you will not find official information about it. However, I have tested it in Ecuador and it is as simple as it sounds. In other places it may depend on the legislation. You may even need a court order.

IMEI

If the SIM was changed to the cell phone, you will not be able to locate it by the phone number associated with the previous “chip” (unless you have Cerberus, as indicated below). In this case, perhaps the same Police can track by IMEI, a number that identifies the device itself.

To know what is the IMEI of a cell phone there are several methods. Since you won’t be able to enter * # 06 # on the numeric keypad to find out, the simplest thing to do is log into Google Find My Device (with your Gmail data associated with the device) and tap on the “i” button within a circle.

Find cell phone by IMEI online?

On the Internet you can find web pages that look “pretty” and even have positive comments confirming that they can locate your cell phone just by entering your phone number or IMEI. They are actually false comments. These tools are too good to be true. If you put your data in them, you will most likely end up subscribed to premium SMS services. In the most extreme case, they could clone your device in order to intercept SMS and calls, or assign your IMEI to another device somewhere in the world.

Locate cell phone after change of number or SIM

Cerberus is a powerful application that goes beyond what has been said so far. One of its most interesting functions is that it notifies you in the event that an unauthorized chip is inserted into your stolen cell phone. It will automatically send an alert to three phone numbers that you specify, and an email with the GPS coordinates of the device along with a link from Google Maps to see its location easily.

You just have to check the “SIM card check” section in the app settings.

This software has other powerful features, such as preventing unauthorized shutdown of the phone, photographing the thief, and obtaining SMS and call logs (even if the SIM is changed).

Unfortunately, the downside of Cerberus and other anti-theft alternatives is that they require to be installed in advance on the device. In addition, they are usually a service to which you have to subscribe for an annual payment, although they offer a free trial time. In this regard, Cerberus has earned a bad reputation for revoking “lifetime” licenses from users who purchased them as such, forcing them to migrate to an annual subscription.

Some alternatives to Cerberus are Wheres my Droid O Lost Android. Download -at your risk- the APKs of these applications from their respective websites if you need all their functionalities, including remote control by SMS, as in the Play Store they were forbidden apps that have access to SMS and calls. Lookout and Avast, are two antivirus for Android that incorporate anti-theft functionality, but have limited features compared to the previous ones.

Track cell phone by GPS

Cerberus also allows you to locate your cell phone using its GPS information. You just have to log in with your Cerberus account in the web panel of this cerberusapp.com tool and use the “Start tracking” option.

You can also track WITHOUT internet by sending an SMS from any other mobile with the cerberus tupassword find command and you will receive a response with the coordinates.

Track cell phone off?

An Android cell phone normally records all the locations it has been to before in the Google account. If you connected to the Internet before being turned off, possibly uploaded the latest locations that interest you and you will be able to see them in that account. You just have to log in to the page Location History using the Google account that was registered on your device.

Another way to see your device’s previous locations, even when turned off, is through the “Get location history” option in the Cerberus online manager.

Obviously both methods are not a trace per se, since a mobile cannot be located if it is switched off, but maybe the last locations your cell phone was in could be of use to you.

Note: This article was updated with information valid as of the date indicated in the header. Some comments may refer to old versions of this article.

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