We are always comfortable with our belongings, especially our cell phones. What if you lose your Android or iPhone? Is it possible to find it?
Finding a lost device is possible through a feature called ping a phone.
You often hear how someone was able to track the location of their lost Android or iPhone device by pinging it.
Read on, as this article will educate you about what ping a phone is and how to ping a phone.
What does Pinging a cell phone mean?
In layman’s terms, when you ping a phone, you send that cell phone a signal. But sending a signal doesn’t merely mean pinging. When that particular cell phone responds to the signal being sent, the process of pinging a phone is complete.
It is essential to have access to a cell phone; not everyone can ping a phone unless they have access to their carrier system. However, due to law enforcement and privacy policies, this is limited to mobile phone carrier companies.
Whenever you ping a digital cell phone, its geographical location or coordinates can be found with the help of GPS. With such location services, one can find a stolen or lost phone.
What is Ping’s Location?
Ping location is the signal sent to a specific cell phone querying about its network location. The phone responds to this signal. The ping location technology uses the device’s GPS location to fetch the data, for example, Google maps.
Can a switched-off phone be pinged?
A switched-off phone cannot be pinged as there is no network service on the device. Hence, no GPS apps are active, and the location cannot be tracked.
It is possible to trace the last location of the cell phone when it was last active. This is because the network signal towers could receive the cell phone’s previous signal before it went missing.
Most major operating systems, such as Android and iOS, support this, as pinging a phone basically means finding the cell phone’s location.
It is illegal to spy on anyone or monitor Android or iPhone devices. Hence, pinging a cell phone without the consent of its owner has severe consequences for law enforcement.
Uses of Pinging a Phone
With the help of modern technology and location-tracking software, we can ping and find a missing cell phone.
The primary use of pinging a phone is to find the cell phone’s location. Some of the other valid reasons are:
1- To keep an eye on an employee.
2- To have a watchful eye on the whereabouts of your kids.
3- The government uses this software or tracking device to keep a record of criminals.
How to ping a phone
There are various ways of pinging a phone. The highest detailed form of pinging will allow you to find:
– Target Phone location.
– Details about the mobile device.
– Details of a phone number.
– The person to that it is registered.
This is possible through authorized location software programs, Google maps, or GPS tracking apps.
Most
phones house this feature, but due to government regulations, many recently released phones do not come with the ping feature.
But, all Android or iPhone devices have a default trigger that allows them to return location and GPS data to the cell phone service provider.
The Ping option is available under the phone’s location settings, or the phone settings.
There are two ways you can track the cell phone using GPS tracking apps and by using the Windows command prompt.
GPS tracking apps
#1- Google Maps for Prompting
This GPS tracking software is the easiest way to track a mobile phone, once you have legal access to the phone.
Follow the steps explained below to target a phone using Google Maps.
Step#1– Open Google Maps and ensure you have the latest version updated on your phone.
Tap the three vertical lines or the profile tab at the top right corner of the screen.
Step#2– In the next screen, tap Location sharing.
Step#3– Now, tap the Share location button.
Step#4– A dialog box that allows you to add a friend will appear.
The Share your real-time location window will open. To have the location of the particular phone number sent to you, you can select the contact or the email address from the various app through which you want to share it and then have the information sent to you. This enables you to track a lost phone successfully.
#2- Life 360
Among other location tracking software, this is one of the best GPS tracking software to ping a phone to detect its location. It allows the user to see,
- The precise real-time location
- The speed at which they are driving a car
- How long are they in the car
- The battery level on their mobile
This is the most popular app among parents who want to keep a keen eye on their kids.
The following GPS tracking apps can only be used when the GPS is enabled on the phone or when a fake GPS app is installed.
#3- Spy apps
These are the best GPS tracking software you can use to ping a phone. These Spy apps are available for both Android and iPhone devices. Most of these are paid GPS tracking software. With their features, these apps can also provide the device with GPS location information.
Some examples of spy apps are mSpy, Cerberus, Spyera, etc.
With the help of Spy apps, you can,
- Pinpoint a device’s location
- Access conversations
- View Social media interactions
- Listen to phone calls
- Check browsing history
- Google’s location history
- Record screen, etc.
Note: Without the right authority, using spy apps on anyone is a criminal offense.
#4- Default phone Settings
In any case, if a phone’s GPS function is disabled, the phone’s default tools let you ping and find the device’s location.
Android devices have this feature preloaded, known as Find my device. The same goes with iPhone; here, it’s named Find my iPhone.
Let us find the devices using the Find my device feature for Android phones.
Step#1– Visit the website android.com/find
Step#2– Use your Google account to sign in.
Step#3– You can view your phone’s live location on the map.
#5- Tracing location via carrier
The signal triangulation technology is an ideal way to track an Android or iPhone device as it allows mobile phone carrier companies to track phone number details. This technology uses locations from multiple cell towers or nearby GPS towers in the area.
Using the cellular network provider to find a device will require you to fulfill a few formalities, after which you can get an approximate smartphone location, if not exact.
#6- Tracing the phone number
You can trace the SIM number inserted into the phone rather than the device’s number to track the phone’s location. Various apps allow caller ID on smartphones that can track phone number details and other information.
Some popular ‘people search apps’ or phone number tracking apps are Truecaller, Showcaller, and Callapp which can help track the owner’s name, registration location, and other details. This app is very useful for tracking unknown caller location details.
Using Windows Command Prompt
If you are wondering if you use your computer to ping a device, then the answer is yes, you can. Here are steps for you to follow:
Step#1– Follow these instructions on your Android device.
Open Settings and select the option About the phone.
Step#2- Now select the Status option, then write down and save the device’s IP address.
Step#3– Now, switch on your PC and open the Windows command prompt by typing cmd in the search bar. Select Run as administrator.
Step#4– Once the command screen opens, type ping along with the IP address of your device and hit the Enter key.
This will help you with locating your lost device.
How to prevent my device from being tracked?
After understanding the ping-a-phone feature to locate a device, you are bothered that your device can be tracked in many ways. Here are a few easy steps you can adopt to prevent getting pinged.
1- Turn off your GPS location: Turn off your device’s live location. Doing so will not allow anyone to use GPS location tracking software to track your Android or iPhone device.
2- Turn on airplane mode-Airplane mode cuts off any network service on your device. Without any network, neither the phone company, the service data provider, or, the ping feature can target the device.
3-Switch off your phone-By switching off your phone; you are getting your phone completely off-grid and untraceable.
Conclusion
The above methods can successfully find your lost or stolen device with the help of the ping-a-phone feature. Even though it has its pros and cons, this feature cannot be neglected as it can effectively pinpoint the device’s location.
