This wikiHow teaches you how to use the GPS on your iPhone or Android device to find a lost phone, as well as track your phone's whereabouts using third-party apps.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Tracking Lost iPhone
Step 1. Open the iCloud website
Visit https://www.icloud.com/ in a browser on your computer.
For this step to be followed, the Find My iPhone feature must be enabled on the iPhone
Step 2. Sign in to iCloud account
Type your Apple ID and password into the appropriate fields in the middle of the page, then click the “ → After that, the iCloud account dashboard will be opened.
If you're already signed in to your iCloud account, skip this step
Step 3. Click Find iPhone
This option is indicated by the radar icon on the right side of the dashboard.
Step 4. Re-enter the password
Type your password into the text field in the middle of the page.
Step 5. Click All Devices
This tab is at the top of the page. After that, a drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 6. Select your iPhone
Click the iPhone name from the drop-down menu that appears.
Step 7. Review the location of the iPhone
Once Apple has tracked down your iPhone, you can see the device's location and a few options on the right side of the page:
- “ Play Sound ” – With this option, iPhone will play a clear sound so you can find the device.
- “ Lost Mode ” – This option allows you to lock the device and suspend Apple Pay features on iPhone. You can also display messages on the iPhone screen.
- “ Erase iPhone ” – With this option, you can delete all data from iPhone. This option is irrevocable so make sure you have a backup copy beforehand.
Method 2 of 4: Tracking Lost Android Device
Step 1. Open the Find My Device website
Visit https://www.google.com/android/find via a web browser.
This step can only be followed if the Find My Device application is installed and activated on the phone
Step 2. Enter your email address and password
Type in the email address used to log into your Android account, click “ NEXT ”, enter the account password, and click the “button again NEXT ”.
If you're already logged into an email address account, you'll usually still need to enter your password
Step 3. Click Accept when prompted
After that, Find My Device will start searching for the lost Android device.
Step 4. Review the whereabouts of your Android device
Once the device is found on Android, you can see the location of the device and a few options on the left side of the page:
- “ PLAY SOUND ” – With this option, the device will play a ringing tone for five seconds even if the silent mode is activated.
- “ LOCK ” – This option is used to lock the device with a passcode.
- “ ERASE ” – With this option, you can delete data from the device's internal memory. However, with this deletion, you will no longer be able to use the Find My Device feature.
Method 3 of 4: Tracking Lost Samsung Device
Step 1. Open the Samsung Find My Mobile website
Visit https://findmymobile.samsung.com/ via a web browser.
In order for this step to be followed successfully, you need to have signed in to your Samsung account on your phone
Step 2. Click SIGN IN
It's in the middle of the page.
If you are already signed in to your Samsung account, skip this step and one after
Step 3. Enter the account login information
Type in your Samsung account email address and password, then click the “ SIGN IN ” to enter the Find My Mobile site.
Step 4. Review the whereabouts of the Samsung device
After logging into your Find My Mobile account, Samsung's servers will search for your phone. Once the phone is found, you can see the device's last known location and several options on the right side of the page:
- “ RING MY DEVICE ” – This option allows you to play a ringtone or sound on your device so you can find it.
- “ LOCK MY DEVICE ” – With this option, you can lock your Samsung device using a password.
- “ WIPE MY DEVICE ” – This option is used to delete files and settings from the device's internal hard disk. You will be asked to confirm your selection by entering your password.
- You may need to click on the option “ Locate my Device ” first to display the device location.
Method 4 of 4: Tracking Someone Else's Phone
Step 1. Install GPS Tracker on the phone
You can install the GPS Tracker app (or "PhoneTracker" for Android) on iPhones and Android devices:
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iPhone - Open App Store ”
on the phone, touch Search ”, touch the search bar, type in gps tracker, scroll down and select “ GET ” next to the “GPS TRACKER” label, then enter your Apple ID or Touch ID password.
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Android Device - Open Google Play Store ” on device
tap the search bar, type in phonetracker with friendmapper, tap “ PhoneTracker with FriendMapper, touch the button “ INSTALL, and select ACCEPT ”.
Step 2.
Open the GPS TRACKER application on your phone.
Touch the button “ OPEN ” on the device's app store, or touch the app icon on the phone's app page.
If you are prompted to allow the app to access the phone's location, touch “ Yes ”, “ agree ", or " Allow ”.
Swipe the screen to the right four times. After that, you will be taken to the account creation section.
Touch Step 1 - Create Account. It's at the top of the page.
Enter account details. Fill in the following fields:
- “ e-mail address " (email address)
- “ verify e-mail address ” (email address verification)
- “ first name " (first name)
- “ last name " (last name)
- On Android devices, you'll need to enter your first and last name before typing your email address.
Touch Create Account. It's at the bottom of the screen.
Touch OK when prompted. After that, you will be taken back to the initial account creation page.
Touch Step 2 - Enter Confirmation Code. It's in the middle of the page.
Get an account creation confirmation code. Open an email account, find and open the message from " Registration " with the subject " Registration Code ", then note the red number that appears in the main body of the message.
If you don't find the message in your inbox, check the message in the “ Spam " or " Junk ”.
Enter the confirmation code. Type the confirmation code into the text field that appears in the GPS Tracker app on your iPhone or Android device.
Touch Verify Confirmation Code. It's below the text field. After that, your email address will be confirmed and an account will be created on the phone.
On the Android device, touch the “ Activate ”.
Repeat the account creation process on someone else's phone. Download and open the app, create an account, and verify the email address used to create the account.
You can also use the GPS Tracker app on your iPhone to track your Android device, or vice versa
Touch the button on the phone. It's in the upper-right corner of the main GPS Tracker page.
Touch Send Invite. It's at the top of the page.
- Touch " OK ” if you are prompted to allow the GPS TRACKER application to access the device's contact list.
- You'll need to save the person's email address on your iPhone if you want to track the whereabouts of the phone.
- On Android devices, touch the option “ Enter Email ” in the upper-right corner of the screen to enter your email address.
Select the people you want to invite. Touch the name of the person whose phone you want to track.
Touch Send. It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
On an Android device, tap the email service option, then tap the paper airplane icon in the upper-right corner of the screen
Ask the person concerned to accept the invitation. To accept the invitation, the person will need to open the email inbox used to create the GPS Tracker account, noting the code shown in the "This code was created by the app to link our phones" section. After that, he must open the GPS Tracker application (if it is not already open), touch the button “ + ” in the upper right corner of the screen, select “ Accept Invite ”, enter the code you submitted, and touch the “ Verify ”.
Check the whereabouts of the person's cell phone. Every ten minutes, the GPS Tracker app will update the phone's current location. You can monitor it through the main page of the GPS Tracker.
Tips
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In the United States, most cellular providers allow you to create a family-based tracking app account for around $10 per month. In Indonesia itself, this kind of service has not been specifically offered by cellular service providers.
- AT&T – FamilyMap
- Sprint – Family Locator
- T-Mobile – FamilyWhere
- Verizon – Family Locator