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Lost or stolen? Where’s my Android!?

Posted at 6:43 PM, Nov 09, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-09 18:48:08-05

Most of us have had that panic moment when we can’t find our phones.  Thankfully, we usually find it in the car or in the couch, maybe even in a jacket pocket.  But what if you can’t find it, or it gets stolen?  Well don’t fret too much – there are several apps to help you track it down.  Let’s take a look at 4 of them.

Find My Phone Lite

Find My Phone Lite

Find My Phone Lite” is a free app in the PlayStore.  The description says “If you lose your phone, just send it a text message and your phone will reply to you with its: – current address – a Google Maps link
– how much battery is left.”

Sounds nice right?  I installed it and went through the set up.  You’re supposed to be able to text your phone from another phone using a keyword and it’s supposed to send you back a location.  I did it and got a message back saying the service was started and I would get 3 location updates, 1 update every minute.  An hour later, I still hadn’t heard anything.  I don’t know if I missed a step, but it’s no longer installed.

Lost Droid Finder

Lost Droid Finder

Lost Droid Finder” is another free app.  Its description says “Lost Droid Finder will find your misplaced, lost or stolen phone. It provides you with three cool features: Panic mode, Predator mode and SIM guardian.”   

So I loaded it up, got everything set up and texted the code word to my phone and almost instantly it started ringing and the other phone got a message back with a link to a Google Map saying it was accurate to 65 feet.  And looking at the map – it was correct.  I liked this app, really simple and it seems to be spot on.

Where's My Droid

Where’s My Droid

The next app I tried — “Where’s My Droid”.  Again, free in the PlayStore.  Just like Lost Droid Finder – I texted a code word and almost instantly got a reply back with a map.  Another nice thing about this app, during setup you can link up your phone and then go online and do the same thing.  I just clicked on a couple buttons and within two minutes – it was showing me a GPS location. It was accurate to about 35 feet.  This was really nice since I didn’t have to bug someone to text my phone.

Lookout

Lookout

The final app I checked out – “Lookout Security & Antivirus”.  I’ll admit, this is the app I use.  I’ve been using it for years.  Just like “Where’s My Droid”, you can got to a website and click “Locate” and a couple minutes later – BAM – phone found.  Another feature I like about Lookout – it has a setting to grab a GPS location when the battery gets low.  This way if you misplace it and the battery dies – at least you can still find it.

All of these apps have advanced options, some have a paid version that will allow you to take a photo remotely and “see” what your phone sees.  I didn’t fork over the cash to test it out, but reviews in the PlayStore are favorable.   The thing to remember is these types of apps want to have GPS turned on all the time and that could drain your battery more than you might like.  So you’ll have to ask yourself if it’s worth it should you lose your phone.  And if your phone IS stolen – these apps can help you track it down, but I wouldn’t use them to locate it and then go knock on the door of where it might be – call the police and let the app assist them. 

 Do you use some of these apps, maybe a different one?  Let me know!  Leave a comment below or tweet me @Doctor_Droid.