If there is one thing that no one would ever want to experience in their life, it is to lose their precious mobile device. However, it is quite common for your phone to get lost. Perhaps you forgot it at the checkout at the grocery store you last visited, or you suspect it was stolen from a crowded market.
Fortunately, you can track your favorite phone lost for any reason. If you’re wondering what to do if you don’t have a Google account, don’t worry! Here’s how to track an Android phone without a Google account. So, let’s begin.
5 things to do if you’ve lost your Android phone
Before trying any technical way to track an Android phone without a Google account, you should try other ways to avoid disastrous or heartbreaking consequences. This:
- Remotely lock or wipe your phone
- Change password for essential services
- Call your bank
- Contact your mobile operator
- File a complaint with the police
1. Remotely lock or wipe your phone
If you are 100% sure that your phone has been stolen, remote locking or wiping your phone should be your first step. Follow these steps to secure your Android phone.
- Go to the website or Find My Device app.
- Select the Secure Device option.
- Enter the new password you wish to set.
- Click Next.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to set the lock.
If you decide to erase your phone, follow these steps.
- In the Find My Device app or website, select Erase device.
- To continue, select the Erase Device option again on the next screen.
- Sign in to your Google account to verify its authenticity.
- Once this verification is complete, Find My Device will delete all data on your phone. If he is offline, the data will be deleted as soon as he is connected to a cellular network or Wi-Fi.
Important advice. Please note that Find My Device cannot be used to track the location of a mobile phone using the service after the data is deleted.
2. Change password for essential services
Banking apps that transfer payments to your phone are protected by bio-authentication and PIN. But it’s not the same with your email, shopping accounts, and a few other apps. All of them lack this level of security.
Therefore, you should change the passwords of all your essential services saved on your Android device. This includes anything you frequently use on your phones, including all shopping sites, email, password manager, online banking, etc. to prevent unauthorized access or use.
3. Call your bank
Although unauthorized access to your banking applications is impossible due to biometric authentication and PIN-based security, in some cases you may have stored your financial credentials in cloud services or email.
In such a situation, it is safest to temporarily block your cards and bank account by notifying the relevant bank.
You can also block UPI and mobile wallet services. You can contact your service provider’s support team.
Finally, you should immediately lock your SIM card so that you cannot reset financial app passwords.
4. Contact your mobile operator.
You should contact your mobile operator immediately. You can ask them to immediately block your SIM card so that financial transactions cannot be made using OTP. They can also block phone service if you have already paid.
5. File a complaint with the police
If you are sure that your phone has been stolen, you should file a police report immediately. This will help you in case of any fraudulent activity or if it was used for any criminal activity after being stolen.
In addition, if you want to get insurance, the company requires a complaint to the police.
It’s always best to be prepared for the worst if something like this happens to you.
How to track an Android phone without a Google account?
Tracking a lost Android phone with your Google account is the easiest way since Android is the operating system of Google itself. But what if you don’t have a Google account at all? Don’t worry! We got your back.
Below are the best and proven ways to track Android phone without Google account.
- Through your phone manufacturer
- Track your phone through your wireless carrier
- Ping your Android device
- Through the phone’s IMEI number
- Use Find My Mobile (Samsung phone only)
- Use a third party app
- How to use Dropbox to track your Android phone?
Let’s discuss each of these solutions in detail.
1. Through your phone manufacturer
Most Android phones have a tracking app installed. It will help you easily track down your missing phone using its current location. For example, Samsung devices have a built-in feature known as Find My Mobile. This is the same as Find My Device on Google.
You can easily track your lost or stolen phone with Find My Mobile. However, there is one catch. You must have enabled this setting on your device. Otherwise it will be useless.
So always make sure Find My Device is turned on. It will help you find your phone’s last location and other handy features.
2. Track your phone through your wireless carrier
Some wireless carriers also help locate your phone by guiding you to Find My Device. If your phone is stolen or lost and you cannot return it, you can report it as lost or stolen using the websites or applications of your wireless carriers.
There is also a function to lock or wipe data from the phone.
3. Ping your Android device
This should be your first hack to find your phone when you lose or cannot access it. While it won’t work if it gets stolen, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Ping your phone or play audio with Find My Device. If it’s nearby, you can trace the direction the sound is coming from and bring it back.
If you are far away, this option will also come in handy. When your device rings, someone can pick it up and give you their location so you can pick it up.
4. Through the phone’s IMEI number
Another way to track an Android phone without a Google account is by its IMEI number. However, you must install an IMEI tracker app to use it to track your lost/stolen phone.
But still we advise you to leave it as the last option. The best one is still Google’s Find My Device.
The IMEI number consists of 15 unique digits. It stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. You can access your device’s IMEI number from the phone call app on your phone by dialing a special sequence of numbers.
Tip: write down the IMEI number of your smartphone in a safe place.
If you ever lost your phone, this number will help you track it down. Give this number to the authorities and you can block it so that no one else can register the phone in the future.
5. Use Find My Mobile (Samsung phone only)
This method is only for Samsung users. To find your phone, open the Find My Mobile website in any web browser. To do this, the settings must be activated.
Next, follow these steps.
- Sign in to your Samsung account.
- A list of all devices on which you have enabled Find My Device will appear on the screen.
- If it can locate your phone, it will appear on the map.
- You can also see the current status, network connection and battery life.
Remember that this will only work if the phone is turned on and connected to the Internet. Hence, try these steps once you realize your phone is not with you to have more tracking options.
6. Use a third party app
We believe that Google’s tools may be enough to track your Android phone. However, there is always an option for third party apps. They provide more security and can also help you find your phone quickly with advanced features.
Some of the best third party Android phone tracking tools are:
1. Cerberus
Cerberus is one of the best apps to track your device with multiple remote control options. Following are some of the features offered by this tool.
- Track lost or stolen devices.
- Secretly record audio or video of a person.
- Capture a latent image.
- Turn on the alarm.
- Erase all phone data to prevent unauthorized access.
You can also hide this app on your phone to make it harder for unknown people to detect its presence.
Flashable ZIP files can install this if you have rooted your android phone. And therefore, even if some outsider resets your phone to factory settings, Cerberus will still be installed on your phone. And then you can track it down.
2. Android lost
Android Lost is very similar to Cerberus. It also comes with a wide range of remote control options. Tracking your android phone also allows you to wipe saved data and take hidden photos of the thief.
Interestingly, Android Lost is developed by an engineer, not a developer. And this is also one of the reasons for the basic appearance of the site.
Despite this, it works great and fulfills all the stated requirements. The installation process is not complicated at all. Just download it from the Google Play Store. Then open the app and grant admin rights.
So if you have lost your phone, open the website, sign in with the Google account you use on your phone and start using its features.
3. Anti-theft
Prey Anti-Theft is mainly known for its theft tool which can be used for both phones and laptops. Another great thing about this is that you can have three tracking devices connected to it at the same time, all with its free account.
It offers basic features like device tracking, scanning for nearby internet connections to improve performance, remote image capture, etc.
One of the limitations of Prey Anti-Theft is that it doesn’t have advanced features like the previously discussed tools.
4. Life360
Life360 is primarily used to share location information with others. Hence, in case you lose your device, you can check its location by tracking it. It was released in 2008 as a family social networking app.
Follow the steps below to use this app.
- Install Life360 on your phone.
- Create your circle by only inviting family members.
- Choose the pricing plans that are best for you and your family.
- The process is complete and you can check the location of your circle.
Apart from location tracking, it also offers the following features.
- You’ll receive notifications whenever members of your circle leave your most visited places.
- You can get directions to any member of the circle by clicking on his image.
- You can see your driver’s activity behind you.
5. Where is my droid
Besides the tracking feature, Where’s My Droid also provides the following features.
- You can lock your device from anywhere to prevent anyone from revealing personal information.
- It automatically responds to any potential threat once it is detected.
- It also gets your phone’s location on low power.
- You can take pictures with the camera even when the phone is locked.
- It activates several functions when the phone is outside of the confined space.
You can use the tool for free. But if you need some extra advanced features, then we recommend its Elite version.
7. How to use Dropbox to track your Android phone?
Yes, Dropbox can also be used to track an Android phone without a Google account. This method should be the last approach to finding a phone after all of the above.
But for this method, you must install Dropbox on your phone and enable the camera upload feature. Once enabled, if the person who stole your phone takes their photos on your phone, they will be uploaded to Dropbox. Therefore, if they clicked on a selfie, you can identify them.
In addition, you can carefully study the photos to find out where he takes them.
Requirements for this method to work:
- Your device is connected to high speed internet.
- The camera download function is enabled.
- The other person takes at least one picture through your device.
You can also share photos on social networks, so if someone recognizes a person, they can let you know. This is the only way to find your phone using Dropbox.
It won’t give you the phone’s IP address. Hence, installing a tracking app is the best option. Since there is no guarantee that the thief will click on the image, he may sell the phone to someone else.
How to keep your device safe?
We have discussed all possible ways to track Android phone without Google account. But you can try several ways to secure your phone/device. So it won’t get lost or stolen. These ways:
- Enable location tracking
- Protect your phone with a password
- Keep Internet Data On
- Data backup by syncing with the cloud
- Invest in phones with non-removable batteries
Enable location tracking
You should always enable location tracking on your device. Only then will you be able to track your phone in real time using Android Device Manager. You can access Android Device Manager from another phone and track down the last position of your lost device when it was last connected to the internet.
Protect your phone with a password
It is a must in our time. Set a screen lock on your device when you buy it. For this purpose, you can use PIN, password, voice recognition, face recognition, pattern, etc. Because then thieves have to break into your phone to get any information.
And you’ll get extra time for locking your SIM card or changing your device’s passwords.
Keep Internet Data On
The tracking app does require the phone’s location to be enabled. But an active Wi-Fi or data connection is required.
Hence, it is always recommended to leave your phone data enabled even if you are using Wi-Fi. Because in the absence of an Internet connection, the tracker will not recognize the location and will assume that your phone is gone forever.
Even if the data consumes the battery a little more, leave it on.
Data backup by syncing with the cloud
This is useful if you permanently lose your phone. If you have backed up your data to cloud storage, you can easily restore it from there. Your important data will not be lost. Hence, always back up your important data by syncing it to the cloud.
Invest in phones with non-removable batteries
If your phone has a removable battery and the thief took it out, it can’t be traced. So always invest in phones with non-removable batteries. This shouldn’t be difficult since most phones don’t currently come with a removable battery.
Conclusion
So here you go. These were all the ways through which you can track an Android phone without a Google account. We hope we have solved your problem with this article.
However, using a Google account for tracking is the safest and least complicated way. Hence, this should be your first preference. But we understand that there are circumstances where you may not have a Google account, and for such a situation, we came up with this.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How to track android phone?
You can track Android phone with Google account or Find My Device website. If none of this works, try third-party tools to track your phone’s location.
How to track a Samsung device?
You can track your Samsung device using the built-in Find My Mobile setting. To do this, you need to sign in with your Samsung account. You can also try using a third party tool for this purpose.
Can I use Find My Device without a Google account?
Yes, you can always find your device without a Google account. You can try Find My Device, Dropbox or a third party tool for this purpose. And take the help of the above content for more information.