It has happened to everyone at some time: there is no way to find the mobile phone. We don't know where it is and questions and concerns immediately assail us: Where have I left it? Did I forget it somewhere? Have I lost it in the street? Or, even worse, what if it was stolen? For these situations it will be very useful to know how to know the location of the mobile.
Fortunately, the main operating systems with which most smartphones on the market work have solutions to locate a mobile. It is good to know how to do it and thus be able to put it into practice in case of loss or theft. Something that must always be tried before blocking and deleting our terminal. We explain everything below:
We will first review how to know the location of an Android mobile and an iPhone. Then we will list a series of useful apps that will help us in this task.
Locate an Android mobile
The tool "Find my device" from Google is the fastest and easiest method available to Android phone owners for this task. Of course, in order to use it, these conditions must be met:
- The phone has to be on and have a signed in with a Google account.
- it also has to be location enabled (This can be easily done from the Settings menu, by going to “Location” and pressing “Activate”).
- In addition, they must be mobile data activated or well be connected to a Wi-Fi network.
- And of course you have to have Activated the option "Find my device" (It is done from the Settings menu).
If all this is in order, the method to know the location of an Android mobile is simple. All you have to do is this:
- First we go to the web Find my device.
- After we logged into Google, with the same account that we use on our mobile.
- Next, we will see a map with the approximate location of the phone. The real location or the last one that has been registered in this service.
In addition to locating the mobile, this tool offers us other functions interesting to find our lost phone. For example, one of the most useful is to play sound for five minutes, which works even when the mobile is silent. We can also lock the device with our PIN or password or set up a recovery message with a phone number so that if someone finds it and wants to return our device to us, they can call us.
And if our phone has fallen into the wrong hands, there is still the radical option of erase all phone data (contacts, photos, documents...) and thus preserve our security and privacy.
All of this is also available in the free Google Find My Device app. This is the download link:
Locate an iPhone
iOS devices also have an effective tool with which to know the location of a lost or stolen mobile. is the "Search" tool that incorporate all Apple phones starting with the iPhone 8. This is how to use it:
- First of all, we have to access our iCloud account and select "Search", recognizable by its radar-shaped icon.
- Then we go to the tab "Devices" in which we select the iPhone that we want to locate. With this, its exact location is shown on the map and even, as long as it is within a minimum distance and is connected to the internet, we can make it emit a sound to help us find it.
If the method has not worked, to keep the content of the iPhone safe, there is the option of "Mark as lost", which will lock the device with a code. And if we already have little hope of recovering it, it is best to use the option «Delete this device».
Keep in mind that, in order to use the "Search" tool, it is necessary to have previously activated the "Find my iPhone" option from the Settings, following the Privacy> Share my location> Find my iPhone route.
Applications to locate a lost phone
In addition to the "official" methods, there are many other free applications that we can use to find out the location of a mobile. Almost all of them offer us the same services and functions as those developed for Android and iOS, which is why it is worth getting to know them. Here are some of the best:
What if, despite everything, we have not been able to locate our mobile phone? So we have no choice but report the loss or theft to the police. The most normal thing is that, to file the complaint, we are asked for the serial number of the terminal, which appears both on the original packaging of the mobile and on the purchase receipt. Obviously, we will also have to inform our operating company to cancel the SIM card.