GPS tracking to recover lost or stolen phones

I have updated this post to include software for various types of phones, so it should cover just about every modern phone now.
It can be used as a guide to find tracking software for your phone

I find it strange that, in a South African forum, I see no discussion of this. Phones get stolen all the time here, and even though we have the capability to track them down, we don't.
Don't confuse this with the social networking trackers like Google Latitude, they only give the phones position away when the person using the phone gives permission.

I have done a bit of research on this since getting my Nokia 5800 XM and found several software package for preventing loss and theft. Most cost money but some are free.

There is Guardian Mobile for Symbian phones. There is a free version which will do no more than SMS the number of the thief's simcard to a number of your choice. But for some more useful functionality you need to pay. Note the free version can be easily uninstalled by the thief.
http://www.guardian-mobile.com/
It's one of the more expensive options.

Theft Aware is a cheaper one for Symbian and Android.
http://www.theftaware.com/

Both the above feature remote SMS control of you phone and are not easily uninstalled by a thief (unless you use the free version of Guardian Mobile).

Track&Protect for Symbian.
http://trackandprotect.com/
Same functionality as above, but instead of using remote SMS commands you log into their website and send the commands from there. When you request the position of your phone it will show it on the interface using Google maps.
It's not free. There is a credit system, sending a command eats a credit. And a subscription (which gives you a certain amount of 'free' credits).

There's also 3dtracking but I don't think it's meant for this purpose:
http://free.3dtracking.net/home.aspx

Wave Secure supports Symbian and Android. No support for Blackberry or iPhones though.

Izak Eloff said:

Wave secure is probably one of the best out there for Android. And the best is that it's free. It can withstand a wipe... you can backup your entire phone from the site, lock it and track it via gps. It will report to my 4 family members if there's a new sim inserted too. And you get the number of the sim that the phone was last booted from. Check it out there may be other platforms available.

Click to expand...

http://www.wavesecure.com/

For Blackberry phones there is Roblock Anti-Theft Recovery:
http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/1178

GadgetTrack offer security for iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones.
http://www.gadgettrak.com/
They also offer software for Windows and Mac computers.

Kaspersky Mobile Security for Symbian and Windows Mobile phones.
https://www.kasperskyanz.com.au/kaspersky_mobile_security
This one has some other features like blocking spam, parental control, anti-virus and file encryption.

Phonelocator Periodic is a simple and completely free tracking program for Symbian phones.
http://periodic.phonelocator.mobi
It isn't as advanced as the paid programs but if you're not willing to spend the money then at the very least I think you should get this program. It can upload your phones position at preset intervals and if a new simcard is inserted in your phone it can SMS a buddy/family member with the details.

iHound is a subscription tracking program for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
http://itunes.apple.com/app/ihound-locate-your-lost-or/id302645042?mt=8

Prey is a free and open-source tracker for Android. It also works on PCs/laptops.
http://preyproject.com/
Search for Prey on the Android market.

I hope some people find this useful. If you have any more software you'd like to mention or stories about recovering your phone you'd like to share, please post

Maddmatt said:

I find it strange that, in a South African forum, I see no discussion of this. Phones get stolen all the time here, and even though we have the capability to track them down, we don't.
Don't confuse this with the social networking trackers like Google Latitude, they only give the phones position away when the person using the phone gives permission.

I have done a bit of research on this since getting my Nokia 5800 XM and found several software packages that can be used to track the phone. They seem to cost money, some cheaper than others.
This software is for Symbian phones but I'm sure there's stuff for other phones like iPhones.

There is Guardian Mobile. There is a free version which will do no more than SMS the number of the thief's simcard to a number of your choice. But for some more useful functionality you need to pay. The free version can be easily uninstalled by the thief.
http://www.guardian-mobile.com/
It's one of the more expensive options.

Theft Aware is a cheaper one.
http://www.theftaware.com/

Both the above feature remote SMS control of you phone and are not easily uninstalled by a thief (unless you use the free version of Guardian Mobile).
I have not used them because of the price though. Yea I'm a cheapskate

But then I finally found a free one.
Track&Protect
http://trackandprotect.com/
Same functionality as above, except of using remote SMS commands you log into their website and send the commands from there. When you request the position of your phone it will show it on the interface using Google maps.
It's still in beta at the moment.
Each command eats a credit, which needs to be purchased. So it's not completely free. but you get 5 free credits when signing up so you may very well recover your phone the first time without spending a cent.

There's also 3dtracking but I don't think it's meant for this purpose:
http://free.3dtracking.net/home.aspx

I hope some people find this useful. If you have any more software you'd like to mention or stories about recovering your phone you'd like to share, please post

Click to expand...

Nice post man!

Track&Protect really has cool features!

Pity about the whole Symbian thing though

Wave secure is probably one of the best out there for Android. And the best is that it's free. It can withstand a wipe... you can backup your entire phone from the site, lock it and track it via gps. It will report to my 4 family members if there's a new sim inserted too. And you get the number of the sim that the phone was last booted from. Check it out there may be other platforms available.

Hi Izak_Eloff,
Thanks for the recommendation. Do note that WaveSecure runs on Windows Mobile, Android and also Symbian S60.

As a giveback to Android users who supported and made our ADC win possible, we are offering free lifetime accounts for Android WaveSecure users. Just download WaveSecure from Android Market before 31st Jan 2010 to enjoy this free service for as long as you use that Android device.

It's our way of saying thank you. Do help to spread the word to other Android users so they can benefit from it, too! Don't forget to join us on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/wavesecure for the latest updates.

Thanks,
cheewee
Team WaveSecure
http://www.wavesecure.com

Impressive thanks for the feedback cheewee, you guys do amazing work! We will spread the word to fellow Android users.
Regards Izak

WaveSecure sounds good. But does the location tracking use GPS? I see no mention of that on the site.
(Edit: Ok the posts above answer this. I just find it odd that the official site never mentions GPS)

I wonder if the thief's phone number is enough for police to track the thief if he's on Prepaid?

I installed Track&Protect to my phone. First impressions are good. When you first install it the website shows your initial position, I notice it's not as accurate as the GPS should be but they should improve that since it's still a new program in beta stage. Maybe it was just bad that time because I was indoors and it was cloudy?

A cool feature is that you can remotely take pictures with the front and back camera. If you're lucky you'll get a pic of the thief.
The program also automatically takes a picture after 3 failed unlock attempts which should have a decent chance of getting the guy's face.

Edit: Track&Protect don't advertise this, but their site seems to periodically report your phone's position for free. Once a day maybe, or when you activate GPS.

Maybe we can collect a good bunch of these programs and I can put them in the first post so anyone can use it as a reference for their new phone.

Hi there guys,

Thanks for these great GPS Tracking software, I've got a N97 (And I absolutely love it, despite many others hating it), and I've just installed Track&Protect (Even bought some credits ) and also WaveSecure (And yes, bought a years license as well). They both work brilliantly. Credits & the license are both definitely worth it in my opinion.

Cheers
D

I'm with MTN when I tried track&protect, it gives me an error Imsi needs to be 13(?) digits long. What is that?

Drake, I'm currently on MTN, and it works 100s. I've also tried on a Vodacom sim, also 100s.

Have you tried restarting your phone and trying again? The IMSI number is your actual SIM card number if I remember correctly. And my IMSI number is 15 digits...

Cheers
D

Ah if it's a sim issue that could explain it, mine's an old 16KB one.

I gave the first post an update, it should now serve as a useful guide for every modern phone

With the requirement for sim cards to be registered in SA, simply getting the number of the thief should be enough for the cops to track them. I don't know much about this at the moment and knowing how things are in SA I wouldn't count on it. GPS tracking should still be vital especially if you dropped your phone and it's lying in tall grass or a bush somewhere

DaDon said:

Drake, I'm currently on MTN, and it works 100s. I've also tried on a Vodacom sim, also 100s.

Have you tried restarting your phone and trying again? The IMSI number is your actual SIM card number if I remember correctly. And my IMSI number is 15 digits...

Cheers
D

Click to expand...

From what i've been reading, mtn didn't always use the full 15 digits, so if its an old sim its very likely.

You can also add Kaspersky (KMS 8.0) which works on Symbian.

It features an SMS 'locate' function which e-mails the phone's position. (no subscription)

You can also encrypt and remotely delete files.

(It cannot be removed without the password)

Thanks, I added Kaspersky.

I've been using WIMP (Where Is My Phone) for years on my WM phones. Works great, but I think the Brit author no longer sells it (though in November last year I got a key update for my HD2).
* From any remote phone, simply stealth SMS the phone (with a code) to get GPS coords and Google Maps link (wakes up GPS and sends coords with stealth SMS)
* Will stealthily send new number to predefined phone if another SIM is inserted.

I have iHound for my iPhone, works pretty well with push notifications as well - http://ihoundsoftware.com/

Hello - Theft Aware now also supports Android. PLUS you need NO INTERNET CONNECTIVITY on the phone to remote control it (honestly, which SIM card has internet data stored on it so that upon SIM card change it is able to connect to the internet??), its working via SMS which cause NO notifications on the phone. Also Theft Aware can be hidden in the application manager with innovative technology. Check it out: http://android.theftaware.com. The press release is here: http://www.itagents.at/downloads/Li...software_Theft_Aware_now_supports_Android.pdf

First post updated with iHound, Phonelocator periodic, and now notes that Theft Aware supports Android.

On my Nokia 5800 I am now using Phonelocator Periodic as well as the free version of Guardian (each program will only SMS one buddy if a new sim is inserted, so by using both I can have my phone SMS two people). I guess that's the best you can do if you're not willing to spend any money on protecting your Nokia/Symbian phone.

I tried out track and protect and it started randomly putting my phone on off-line mode. My phone has auto key lock, which means by the time I find out that the app is asking for a password, i can't unlock the keypad because the app won't allow me too. I un-installed it, and it's still there! What to do now?

Prey is free and open-source for Android/Laptops.... http://preyproject.com/