Mobile Phone Locator
Finding the Perfect Solution for a Lost Smartphone
Losing your mobile phone can be a terrible headache. You have just lost an expensive piece of equipment. You do not have a way to communicate with your family and friends. You also have no way of knowing if someone is trying to contact you through that number. If you are with one of the contract phone carriers, you might not have an upgrade available or an old phone lying around to replace the one you lost. If you are with a prepaid service, or you do not have an upgrade on your account, you can end up spending a few hundred dollars or more just trying to replace your lost cell.
A Variation on Losing Your Cell
I would like to preempt the information on GPS phone locator services by saying if you have simply lost your phone in your car or around the house; you are probably looking for a simpler solution. If you are reading this article, you probably have access to a computer with internet. Therefore, you may want to try wheresmycellphone.com as an initial option. This website will call your phone so that the ring will help you in locating the phone.
A Mobile Solution
Luckily, companies are providing multiple foolproof ways to make sure you always know where your cell phone is located. As a consumer, you have several options available to you as long as you have a phone that has a GPS unit inside. This includes almost any phone purchased within the last few years, and the majority of new phones on the market today. The various features we will be taking a look into are ways in which you can use a computer and software as a mobile phone locator. Using a mobile phone locator will allow you to interact with your phone after it has been lost.
The Carrier Feature
All of the leading carriers are offering mobile safety features. Protection includes features like insurance and additional support. Many of them are also now offering a mobile phone locator service.
AT&T
With AT&T, the new service is called AT&T Mobile Locate. This service lets you use any computer with the internet for an easy solution to finding your phone, or its GPS chip, anywhere in the world it may be located presently. If you do not want to sign up for insurance, or you are not eligible, the Mobile Locator feature is only $2.99 a month. On a side note, AT&T also offers the Family Map feature. With the Family Map feature, you can see where anyone in your family is at any given moment for a $9.99 a month fee.
Verizon
Verizon does not advertise a specific mobile locator feature, but they do offer the same family map service for $9.99. This will let you use the GPS feature to locate a lost phone.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile offers the Mobile Security feature which does let you remotely locate the phone. T-Mobile’s feature will also let you set off an alarm on your phone remotely, and to place a remote lock on the phone and wipe its memory. The Mobile Security feature is $3.99 per month.
Sprint
Sprint only offers the Assurant Advanced Protection Pack for $13.00 a month. This protection pack will allow you to lock and wipe your phone, track your phone through GPS and it also provides mobile insurance.
Application Options
Another great way to make sure you are able to find your lost phone is through free applications. There are many available. The availability is based on the operating system of the smartphone you use. Apple, Android, BlackBerry and Windows phones will all carry different applications that serve as mobile phone locators. Today, we will take a look at some of the most popular applications for tracking down a lost phone.
Apple
For older iPhones, Apple offers the MobileMe service for $99 a year through Apple, or $65.99 through Amazon. The Find My iPhone application through MobileMe services will pinpoint the current location of the phone through Google Maps, and it will let you send a message to the phone even if the screen is locked.
If you have an iPhone with iOS 4.2 or higher, the Find My iPhone Application is now free for downloads. It is also free with iOS 5 but through the newly updated iCloud service.
Android
Of the many mobile location apps available for Android, WaveSecure has been around for a while and is available for free when they are running a promotion. The WaveSound application allows you to lock the phone from further use, locate it, track its current usage and restore you call and texting history after it has been recovered. The WaveSound app will also let you wipe out the phone’s information remotely and lock it.
BlackBerry
LiveTracker is an application that was written for the BlackBerry and is available for free. With this application, you can find your BlackBerry phone anywhere in the world. You can remote control your phone by sending text messages to it. You can also start and stop the tracking feature by text.
Windows
Windows has provided a website that is only for Windows phone users. It is available at windowsphone.com. Through this site, you can see a lot of information about Windows phone, and you have a free interface to look at this pictures and videos, reinstall or get new applications and locate your lost phone. You can also lock or erase a stolen phone if you choose to through this site.
There are many options available to you if you have lost your new smartphone. The most valuable thing to remember is to be preemptive. Go ahead and add the feature on the account with your carrier, download to free app or register for free on the Windows phone site. If you lose the phone before taking these steps, it will be harder to use a GPS service.