Mobile phones have become so essential that losing your smartphone is now a dramatic film. Photos, videos, appointments, messages, banking data: your mobile is the digital showcase of your life. Thanks to geolocation, it is fortunately possible to locate your cell phone remotely.
Activate geolocation remotely from your smartphone
Whether your mobile phone runs Android or iOS, with a few clicks and finger movements you can activate the geolocation of your smartphone, in order to track it in the event of loss or theft.
GEOLOCATE YOUR ANDROID SMARTPHONE
To be able to geolocate your Android smartphone , you must first have activated the location option. To check this, swipe down from the top of the screen to display the quick settings window and then look for the Position icon. If it is blue, it means that localization is already activated. If it is gray, click on it to activate it.
If you can't find Position among the quick setting icons, click the cogwheel to display the settings and then look for Position to activate it.
If you have registered your Google account on your Android smartphone, the “Find my device” service is activated by default. To check if this is indeed the case, click on Google in your phone's settings, on Security then on “Find my device”. If this option is not enabled, enable it.
read also: 5 tips for iPhone and Android you absolutely must know
If your cell phone is stolen or lost, go to the Google Find My Device site and then log in to the Google account registered on this cell phone. If you have saved multiple user profiles on this smartphone, sign in to the primary user's Google account. If you have multiple Android smartphones attached to this Google profile, click on the lost phone at the top of the screen. You will be able to geolocate your Android smartphone and control it remotely.
To go into a little more detail, once connected to this site, you can make your Android phone ring at maximum volume for 5 minutes, even if silent or vibrate mode is active on your smartphone.
You also have the possibility of remotely locking your smartphone with a code, a pattern or even a password. And to make it easier to return your cell phone, you can display a message or a phone number on the screen.
And finally, you can remotely activate the “Wipe device data” option to permanently delete all the data contained in your Android smartphone. Please note, this will also erase the geolocation data so once the stored data is deleted, you will no longer be able to locate your mobile.
Good to know : to locate an Android phone and control it remotely, it must be:
- alight
- connected to a Google account (the one you will use to locate it)
- connected to a Wi-Fi network or mobile data
- visible on Google Play
- that the Location function and the Find My Device application are activated
LOCATE YOUR IPHONE REMOTELY
To be able to geolocate an iPhone, you must first have activated the Find My iPhone functionality. To do this, go to “Settings” click on your name, then on Find and finally Find my iPhone then activate Find my iPhone.
We also advise you to activate the offline location service, this will allow you to geolocate it even if it is not connected to a Wi-Fi network or the mobile network. You can also send your iPhone's last location to Apple when its battery is low.
You also need to make sure that the location service is activated in your iPhone settings. To check this, go to Settings, then Privacy and Location Services.
Once these two services are activated, you can then geolocate your iPhone by connecting to iCloud.com/find from a computer or by using the Find My iPhone application on Apple equipment. Like on Android, you will be able to see where your cell phone is and control it remotely.
In addition to seeing its geographic location, you can ring your iPhone remotely. You can also block it with a code by activating the “Mark as lost” option. Thanks to this option, you also have the possibility of adding a message to the screen of your smartphone to facilitate its restitution, for example by indicating a telephone number on which you can be reached.
This “lost” mode on iPhone also allows you to block possible transactions with Apple Pay if you have a bank card saved on your device.
And finally, just like with an Android mobile phone, you can remotely delete the data contained on your lost or stolen iPhone to prevent someone with malicious intent from having access to it. Please note, once your Apple smartphone is erased, you will no longer be able to track its geographic position.
Locate your cell phone with mobile applications
Because a smart mobile user is worth two, you can also download an application designed to make it easier to locate your smartphone remotely .
GEOLOCATION OF YOUR IPHONE WITH THE “LOCATE MY IPHONE” MOBILE APPLICATION
You can also use the free Find My iPhone mobile application to geolocate your Apple smartphone. To do this, simply install this mobile application on another iPhone or iPad, launch it and connect to the Apple account registered on your lost iPhone (or to an account that is part of the same family sharing group). . Next, choose the Devices tab and click on the iPhone in question. This will allow you to geolocate your lost cell phone. You can also view the route to find it.
The Find My iPhone application offers the same functionality as the iCloud.com/find site . It allows you to make it ring (even if it is in silent mode), to put it in “Lost” mode: it will then lock automatically. You can also display a personalized message on the lock screen and erase your data remotely. Warning: if you erase your iPhone, you will no longer be able to geolocate it.
LOCATE YOUR ANDROID MOBILE PHONE USING THE “WHERE'S MY DROID” APPLICATION
If you have an Android smartphone, you can download the Wheres My Droid geolocation app . This free mobile application has several interesting features, which will allow you to track your cell phone: sending the GPS position with a link to Google Maps (including when the battery is low), notification in the event of a change of number or SIM card , addition of an access code for better protection, possibility of vibrating and ringing the phone…
The Pro version (paid) offers advanced security functions, such as mobile locking and remote reset and the ability to take photos (useful for unmasking a potential thief).
LOCATE YOUR CHILD’S PHONE WITH THE “KID CONTROL” APP
Let's finish our overview of geolocation applications with the Kid Control GPS family tracking app . This mobile application, available for free on Google Play and in the App Store, allows you to locate your children at any time.
To use it, simply download it to your mobile phone, then send an invitation to your children, who will have to accept it. You will then be able to know their position (even if GPS is deactivated), be notified when your child enters or leaves a predefined geographical area (when he arrives at school or returns home, for example), view your travel history and check your battery status. An excellent tool for watching over your offspring, without harassing them. This mobile application also works with smartwatches.
And if despite these precautions, you cannot find your smartphone, you can choose a new one in the Prixtel store !