We die a little inside if we lose something we like and if it's a Smartphone then we definitely do. After spending a week on this article and researching on this matter and i finally came up with the following tools and services which helps you to get your phone back or atleast salvage your personal data. This article is for those who've lost their Phones and want to get it back or want to beef up their Smartphone's security incase they might lose their mobiles. Other methods to locate Cellphones are Bluetooth Stickers which can be used to locate anything. REMEMBER! Prevention is better than cure.
Windows Phone
Log on to the website with your microsoft account synchronised with your windows phone on http://windowsphone.com Go to the drop-down menu of 'My Phone', Sign in and click 'Find My Phone'. Through the web-based menu, you can find the GPS coordinates of your handset, It saves the GPS Location of your device every few hours, thus helping save battrey for a longer time. But the bummer part is that this feature is not available in a few countries excluding India. You can Wipe all the data, lock the phone and make it ring loudly.
Android
Lookout is an Application which backs up your data like Contacts, photos, call History etc and even helps you retrive your handset if it's misplaced or stolen. Install the Application, create the account and you're Done. Open lookout.com In the back up tab, one click will copy all your contacts from your lost handset. The missing tab device has a locate button to show phone's current GPS coordinates on the map. Through 'Scream' option you can emit a high pitched tone from your handset. This app Also works on iPhone. You can use the Premium version of this App costing $2.99 per month or $29.99 per annum to get more features.
If you hadn't had LookOut App Installed :
If you lost your android phone and didn't had the Application installed then here's what you should do. Go to Play Store login with your account and remotely Install Plan B on your registered handset then you can get all the options of lookout Application and use the same features mentioned above.
If your phone is still in beta mode you can try this method out:
Go to http://androidlost.com it has same functions as lookout, It requires administrative rights, but It has a standout feature amongst all it comes with add-ons like clicking and emailing a photo of the theif who has your phone. There are other plenty of options available through which you can make your cell speak a message, displaying pop-up messages and much more.
iPhone/iPad
Set up your iCloud account and download Find my iPhone from the App-store. Turn it on settings > iCloud. You can then visit icloud.com and get GPS lock on your phone, Send messages, Play sounds, Track the recent locations of the phone, Lock it by putting a 4 digit passcode or erasing the data from your iPhone/iPad.
BlackBerry
Blackberry protect is the app which you can download from App World and set it up. It can wirelessly backup your contacts, calendars, memos, tasks, text messages, Bookmarks and Wifi Profiles respectively. The options menu will let you stop the app from being deleted through Deletion Protection can you can even activate its location racking from there. If your device is lost you can go to protect.blackberry.com to view its curret location and make a sound or display custom messages on the screen of the mobile.
Final Note- All the applications promises to lock/locate the phone but the process is not instant it takes time depeneding upon various factors such as country, the handset and how much a person knows about his phone. So its better if you be prepared, it increases the chances of not misplacing your phone and keeping it safe.
useful post, thanks for this
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