Since the time of its launch in June 2007, Apple’s iPhone has created a sensation in the mobile world. I think everyone out there has a secret desire of owning an iPhone be it for its superior touch-screen, or its motion sensing gaming or its extraordinary audio/video capabilities.
The iPhone has evolved from being just an expensive phone to an icon, a symbol of power. And now we have iPhone 4 and rich-featured iPhone 4S, too. Imagine having to lose that.
Fear not iPhone owners. There are more than one ways of keeping track of your iPhone. A number of iPhone apps for tracking are available in the market. The good news is that some of them are FREE! All you need is to enable GPS on your phone and of course a computer.
Ways to Find Lost iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod Touch
The first method is the ever-reliable Google Latitude. Simply download and install the Google Latitude application on your iPhone and then create an account. Once your phone has been Latitude-enabled, you can log in to iGoogle and view the location of your iPhone on the detailed Google maps. This app can help find lost iPhones in a jiffy.You can even enter the phone numbers of your friends’ mobiles and once they confirm it on their phones, their positions will also be visible on the map. Cool or what?
Another very useful and free GPS tracker is the InstaMapper. This cell phone tracker uses the same principle, which is GPS, for keeping track of your iPhone. To enable this on your phone you need to create a free account here. You need to enable GPS services on your iPhone to get this working. Also remember that Apple does not let 3rd party apps to run in the background. So GPS tracking will be turned off once the Home key is pressed.
I would strongly recommend you to check this guide to recover lost Apple iPhone and read the comments that provide useful insight on how to track your lost iPhone.
Few more ways to track and recover lost iPhone
These were the free ways of keeping track of your iPhone. There are also some paid services which can track your lost or stolen iPhone. One of these is offered by Apple’s MobileMe service. It costs around $99 for a year. This allows the user to take help of “Find my iPhone” application and the iPhone’s GPS to track the stolen or lost phone.
Lost iPhone tracking can be a bit problematic especially if the phone is on the move and that too fast. Using the “Find my iPhone” you can even send directions as to where to return the phone or play a sound to bring its presence into notice (effective if it has been trapped in a dark place).
Another system which offers iPhone tracking is the iLocalis. This requires CYDIA to be installed on your phone. You can then log in to their site and check where the phone is at. Additionally if the sim card is changed then you shall immediately get the changed phone number. You can send sms or other messages for returning the phone.
All in all, if you have the will then your phone will definitely be returned to you, one way or another. Again, iPhones are too costly to lose, so better keep a watchful eye on them.
But if it comes to the worst, at least now you know what to do!
