How to track a lost smartphone

Hardly a week goes by without me seeing a sob story on one of the social networks or forums I frequent about someone having lost their phone.

Am I sympathetic? Hardly – many of them are just plain daft. If they had a £500 roll of £20 notes in their pocket they’d be on their guard, walking with one hand firmly clamped around the cash.

But they’re quite happy to place £500’s worth of Cupertino’s finest shiny in their jacket pocket or handbag, or leave it on a pub table while they talk to friends. Frankly, I’m surprised more phones don’t go missing.

For some time, there have been tools available to help you locate a lost phone, display messages on its screen, make it ring and vibrate, change its passcode, lock it down or even wipe all its data.

If they had a £500 roll of £20 notes in their pocket they’d be on their guard, walking with one hand firmly clamped around the cash

In the enterprise space, such tools became prominent with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or BES. Over the intervening years, however, many other mobile device management (MDM) products have appeared in the enterprise space, along with apps and tools that are aimed at consumers.

Typically, these display the location of your device on a map, although their reliability varies – some products take a position every half hour or so, giving you a rough idea where your phone was, while others report in real-time.

Some work only when your phone’s GPS receiver can see satellites (outdoors or close to a window, for example), while others employ cell-tower triangulation and use known Wi-Fi network locations to home in on a position if GPS isn’t available. Some use your phone’s data connection, while others communicate via SMS.

Find your iPhone

While there are apps in the App Store that let you track your iPhone from your iPad, or vice versa, Apple’s own system is neat. Simply log in to your iCloud account in a web browser; here, you’ll see an icon that says “Find My iPhone” (it also finds iPads, iPod touchs and Macs).

It doesn’t merely find them, either: you can play a sound, which is great for finding phones that have slipped down the back of the sofa or under the car seat; use “lost mode”, which tracks and locks the device; and remotely wipe all its data. You need to set this up, though; if you own a Mac or other iDevice and haven’t done this, I urge you to do it now.

On a Mac, go to System Preferences and click on iCloud. You’ll need to enter your Apple ID, or create one by clicking “Create an Apple ID”, then follow the simple steps. Tick the box beside “Find My Mac”, which will be located towards the bottom of the list, and click “Allow” when you see the dialog requesting permission to track the location of your computer.

To stop a thief from bypassing the system, make sure that your user account requires a password and that automatic login is switched off. If you’re using an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, go to Settings and tap iCloud.

Again, you’ll need to sign in with your Apple ID or follow the steps to create one. Then, turn on “Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod” (the wording will differ depending on which device you’re using); when prompted, confirm your permission to track the device.

It’s crucial that you set a passcode for the device. Also, if you’re running iOS 6 or earlier, you’ll need to turn on “Restrictions” so that a thief can’t switch off the “Find My iDevice” function; do this by going to Settings | General | Restrictions.
In iOS 7, this isn’t necessary, since you can’t turn off the function without knowing both the Apple ID it’s locked to and the relevant password. This is a far more sensible mode of operation, although some people complain that it only lets you lock the device to the primary Apple ID associated with it.

However, I doubt this limitation will affect many people, and I much prefer the simplicity and security of the new system.

I’ve discovered a silly problem with Apple’s device tracker, though. When it locates a lost device, it sends you an email with a map and details of where and when your device was found. But, in typical Apple style, it’s given in Californian time, with no attempt made to localise the time zone based on your location. In fact, there’s nothing even to indicate it’s given in Pacific Time.

So you might receive an email saying your device was spotted at a certain location eight hours ago and not realise the alert may have been generated only a few seconds ago. That’s daft, since there are only two settings in iCloud – your language and your time zone. Come on, Apple, you can do better.

Help for Windows Phone

There are similar facilities for Windows Phone users, but in this case all tracking and erasing is carried out via www.windowsphone.com. You won’t need to enable the functionality on your handset, since it’s turned on by default, but there are a couple of options you can – and probably should – set.

The first of these saves the device’s location every few hours, so you can see its last location after its battery runs out. The second option governs the delivery of tracking commands to the handset.

By default, this is via text message, which has certain advantages (SMS is a store-and-forward service, so even if your “lock my phone” command doesn’t get through immediately, it might do so later), but you can change it to employ push messages, which have their own advantages (they’re faster, and work over Wi-Fi, even if the SIM has been removed or disabled).

Unfortunately, Microsoft has seen fit to incorporate this functionality into Windows Phone only; it does nothing to protect laptop users by adding the same function to Windows 8 (not even the tablet-centric RT version).

Android assistance

Arriving very late to the party is Google’s Android OS. Until recently, you had to install a third-party app to track a lost Android phone or tablet, but Google has finally added an MDM tool to the Android ecosystem.

As with Microsoft, this is for mobiles only; if you’re running a Chromebook, you’ll have to find an alternative (there are several available in the Chrome store).

To get the most out of Google’s system, some configuring will be required, which will involve launching Settings and finding the option to activate Android Device Manager (the location of which differs depending on the version).

You’ll probably find “Remotely locate this device” already ticked, but you’ll need to make sure “Access my location”, which may be in yet another place, is also enabled.

While in Android Device Manager, you should also tick “Allow remote lock and factory reset”, which might have negligible impact on battery life. From any device with a web browser, go to www.google.com/android/devicemanager.
You should see a map displaying the location of your device – or where it has been – and offering to make it ring, lock it down with a new passcode or wipe it.

Some people have said Google’s system doesn’t work for them; I suspect that may be due to conflicts with other stuff running on their phones, particularly battery-saver apps that turn off data for background apps and disable location services until needed. Please check that Google’s remote location system works before you start to rely on it for your device security.

In this column, I’ve looked only at the various mobile OS vendors’ “official” systems for tracking and locking devices. Other third-party apps are available – some free, some paid-for – but most offer several additional security features, such as taking photos of the thief using the device’s camera; taking screenshots so you can see what they are doing on it; and opening up a voice channel so you can hear what they’re saying.

Of course, such facilities are open to abuse – for example, for finding out what spouses or business rivals are up to – which is probably why the vendors leave out such snooping facilities from their official tracking systems. There are far too many of these third-party apps for me to go through here, so take a look at the reviews in the various app stores.

On another track

What I’ve looked at so far is great if you’re trying to find a gadget that has built-in GPS and wireless connectivity, but what if you need to find another, less-well-connected device? Well, recently I’ve been playing with a couple of tracking gadgets that might be able to help.

The first is StickNFind, a small tag-shaped disk about the same diameter as a 10p coin (24mm) and 4mm thick.

It contains a Bluetooth transceiver, a battery (good for around a year), a buzzer and an LED. It’s adhesive on one side, thanks to 3M VHB tape, so you can stick it to most things. It also features a key-ring-mounting plate that allows you to hang it from your key bunch.

To use StickNFind, you’ll need a phone or tablet that supports Bluetooth 4 in low-energy mode (BLE), which includes most recent Apple devices (iPhones 5s/5c/5/4S, the latest iPod touch, third-generation or newer iPads and the iPad mini). Android support covers the Samsung Galaxy S III, S III Mini, Note 3, Note 8, S4, S4 Active, S4 Mini and Camera, and the manufacturer says it’s working on adding more devices.

The phone app operates in three modes, the first of which is Radar. This displays a screen showing all the paired StickNFind devices within range, and gives you a rough indication of how far away each one is.

Some users have complained that this display leads you to believe it’s indicating the direction in which your devices lie, but since these devices have no positioning system or directional antenna, this isn’t possible; you have to walk in various directions and see whether each device looks nearer or further away (like playing “warm, warmer, colder”). You’ll get the hang of it, but this confusion has earned the app a few bad reviews in the various app stores.

The range of the tag is around 100ft in clear air, and 30ft or so inside a building. I’m one of those people who always loses his keys, so I now keep a StickNFind attached to my key ring at all times. It also has more novel uses: over the summer, we looked after a friend’s tortoise, which was forever getting lost in the wilder corners of our garden. StickNFind soon solved that – I stuck one to the little blighter’s shell, after which he had no place to hide.
The second mode is Virtual Leash, which sounds an alarm whenever a StickNFind strays beyond the tracking range of your handset. Obvious uses for this mode are for keeping an eye on your children in the park or while at the supermarket, or for monitoring your bag in a coffee shop, for example. You can also set up the StickNFind to buzz when it goes out of range, perhaps as a way to tell your kids they’ve strayed too far.

The third app mode is called Find It. This allows you to go hunting for a device that’s out of range. Imagine your cat is missing, but it has a StickNFind tag attached to its collar. Simply put the app into Find It mode and go for a wander around your neighbourhood; you’ll be alerted as soon as the tag comes into range.

In addition to these alert modes, there’s a paging function that causes the tag to make a noise and light up, enabling you to find tagged items in the dark. Finally, each tag contains a temperature sensor, the value of which is displayed on the tracking phone, although for the life of me I can’t think of a use for it.

From reading all of the above, you’ve probably gathered that I’m impressed with StickNFind. I’m not alone, either – it launched on crowdfunding site Indiegogo with a $70,000 target, and within two months it had been backed to the tune of just under one million dollars. The tags cost $50 for two, but become cheaper per unit with every additional purchase.

Bluetrack Prime 1300

The second tracking gadget I’ve been playing with adopts a different approach. Called Prime 1300, it’s supplied by a company called [a href=”Bluetrack” title=”http://bluetrackgpstrackers.co.uk”]

Bluetrack[/a]. It’s around the size of a box of Tic Tacs – perhaps slightly fatter – and contains a GPS and 3G radio that it uses to communicate its position back to a central facility. Its position is then displayed in a slightly clunky, Silverlight-based web portal.

After a bit of Googling, I found other tracking vendors using the same system (indeed, the same tracking units), so I suspect it’s being white-labelled. Having said that, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Bluetrack, since the company has been great to deal with, and its prices are slightly lower than those of the other vendors.

You log in to the portal by entering the ID of the device, which is printed on a label on the back. There’s no additional security at this point, and on one occasion I entered an incorrect device ID and found myself tracking another user; this is an area that could certainly be tightened up.

Although the tracking app is clunky, it’s functional once you’ve found your way around in it. You can see the current position of the tracker and either follow it or set up a number of circular zones, so you can receive an email or SMS alert when the tracker leaves or enters a zone.

Ongoing usage is subject to a service charge: you can get unlimited usage for a fixed fee, or pay per location track at a price that ranges from a fifth of a penny to 1p, depending on how many credits you buy at a time.

The Prime 1300 would be an excellent system for tracking a mobile workforce, for example. Alternatively, if you’re a regular traveller, just drop one into your suitcase – if the airline loses your bag, you’ll know instantly where it is.