Have you lost an iPhone?
Imagine someone stealing an iPhone or misplacing it somewhere without your slightest knowledge. I am sure you will hate to hear such a thing. But like it or not, there is hardly any way to make your iPhone immune to loss or theft.
So, what is the resort then? – go to the police to report that your iPhone cannot be traced, and digest all grieves in the meanwhile, while wishing someone will soon find your iPhone and give it back to you. Any other solution? Be your own spy.
You can download apps to spy your or your friend’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Not only that, but if someone you suspect has stolen the device, you can track him/her down within a couple of minutes.
iPhone Apps are a serious lifesaver
Although there are many ways to track lost iPhones, one of the best solution — which is completely free — is to download apps on your iOS devices. This will help you recover your lost or stolen iPhone each and every time.
There are a tonnes of apps emerging in the App Store giving you more control over your iOS devices while also helping you recover lost iPhone 4S/4 (even iPod Touch and new iPad). What’s more? These apps are available for free, which means you don’t have to spend a single penny for making your iOS device traceable when it gets out of your hands!
Check out these top notch apps to effortlessly trace iPhones:
Best apps to track lost iPhone 4S/4/3GS
1. Track iPhone Using Find My iPhone
True to its name, this unique tracking app will never leave any stone unturned while searching for misplaced iPhone. You command it, and it will search your smartphone. You can use your Mac or Windows PC to track your iPhone’s location. Check out our guide on how to use this free iPhone tracking service.
How it works:
The basic principle on which the app works is that it creates a GPS Network with your lost iPhone and shows its location on the Google Map. Thus, you are able to understand, rather virtually see where your priciest possession is lying or who has become its ‘lucky owner’ by chance for the time being.
If this free app has already convinced you, let me tell you that there are more to it that will leave you dumbstruck! Say for instance, the ‘lucky owner’ of your iPhone, who has already started congratulating himself for this grand surprise, might have kept it in the silent mode. This is a condition when your iPhone will continue to remain untraceable, no matter how many calls you make it to! Your attempt to reach the location yourself or let the cops do the needful will go futile. But Find My iPhone will work as a messiah for you in such a situation.
It will set an ear-cracking tone to it from a remote location for a couple of minutes even when your iPhone has been set at silent mode. I bet the iPhone thief will get fooled as you reach the site in time and retrieve the gadget. However, you must know this app is best for iPhone 4S/4 users.
Now if you are worried that your lost iPhone contains numbers of important documents, such as your credit card numbers, ATM codes, vital contact numbers and personal pictures and videos that can be mishandled, leave your worries to this free app. You can protect all your data from a remote location and make them beyond third party access.
Further, if you wish so the app will help you to flash a customized message in your iPhone. This will let the ‘new owner’ of your lost gadget understand how worried are you about it and what have you intended to do if you do not find it. You can except that will be afraid and return back your iPhone to you promptly.
All you need to do before you entitle your iPhone to you these facilities when lost is that you must upgrade your gadget to iOS 5 or above. Next, you need to get registered with iCloud account with Apple ID and install the app in your device. If your iPhone gets lost, you will be able to trace it in the map all the while it remains on. Although you will never be able to find it when it gets offline, you can set an alert in it beforehand. This will send you email alert whenever it gets connected to the internet. You can track iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch conveniently.
2. Track iPhone Using Navizon app
What is so special about this Navizon’s free app? It works in collaboration of a real time live locating system and plots the current position of your lost iPhone. So, the signals sent back to you will let you understand where to look for your lost iPhone.
This unique app is primarily based on the in-built Core Location API. Together with it, Navizon combines both WiFi as well as Cellular triangulations for its operations. Thus, your misplaced iPhone sticks out noticeably from the Google Map when you launch a search for it in the internet.
Are you looking for a bonus treat from this versatile app? Yes, it has one for sure – your iPhone can be traced out even when the Navizon app, which installed in it, is turned off! Yet more benefits of the same are that you can set your customized alert triggers in situations such as, an email prompt whenever your lost iPhone enters a ‘marked’ location or performs a ‘marked’ activity.
Download Navizon app [iTunes App Store link]
3. Track iPhone Using Find My Friends
This user friendly free app is to locate friends and their whereabouts, but it can be used to for tracing out lost devices as well. Just like every other app, you need to download and install Find My Friend on your iPhone. It is only then that you can expect your device to remain within the control of your finger tips in occasions of theft or loss.
After installation, you can send requests to your friend’s iPhone. As soon as they accept the invitation, you can see them online. Now you might have already got the hint how it traces out a lost iPhone. Its in-built app helps you to locate its position from a remote destination using a friend’s mobile where the app is already installed.
Download Find My Friends [iTunes App Store link]
4. Track iPhone Using iHound
With over 3000 ratings in the iTunes App Store, iHound is yet another must-download app to trace iPhone.
How it works:
iHound uses techniques like GPS, and WiFi in order to track down your pricy stuff even from the densest nook of a forest! It gives regular updates about the location of your gadget as well as changed location if someone plans to leave the city with your iPhone! This is really an impressive thing to know.
The X-factor of this app is that you can save all your valuable data and information stored in your iPhone from get tampered when it falls into wrong hands. With this free app, you can lock your iPhone and even remove all the data from a remote location. “Protect your digital life” is what the company slogan reads.
Get the app on your iPhone from the iTunes link below, sign in with the Apple ID and use it with iCloud. Since the interface might look at bit challenging in the first go, read it carefully and install it on your device (works on iOS 5 and higher) to safeguard your iPhone from getting into wrong hands and making your life a mess.
Download iHound [iTunes App Store link]
Noteworthy apps to recover and trace iPhone 4S/4
While the apps mentioned above are more than enough for tracing an iPhone 4S/4, you may still want to check out these apps available in the iTunes Store:
Locate My Phone:
Remotely track lost iPhones or iPods using this free application. It’s very similar to Find My iPhone — sends a message, email, and a loud alarm to find your device’s location. The app will also visually plot the location on Google Maps. Catch: Free only for 30 days.
GPS Tracking Lite:
Ask your friends, family and co-workers to download and install this app. Next, within a click of a button, you can track their location. Catch: You can track only up to 6 devices.
TrackMe:
Using the current GPS location of your iOS device, TrackMe will trace your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch accurately. You can find out the exact location remotely and also pin your other iOS devices on the Google Maps to protect them from losing. Catch: very basic app.
Conclusion
It is perhaps beyond our explanation on how you will lose your iPhone — someone may steal it from you; you may have dropped the iPhone in your school or college; left it on your office desk, or you still have it safe in your unreachable pocket — but having a couple of apps from the above list is always useful.
But remember this: you will not be able to plot the speed and location of your lost iPhone when it is completely wiped, or when its SIM card is thrown out. In such cases, the notorious person who stole your iPhone will have complete control over the device.
If I had to choose one app from the list, I’d go with Find My iPhone for two reasons:
- It’s an official app from Apple — and it’s completely free.
- It is integrated with iCloud, making it easier to do activities remotely.
I have tried to cover and test as many apps as possible, and I really hope you found this article useful.
