tracking lost iphone 4

(I'm going non-jb here, though some jb ways may be better I'm not familiar with them). You need to have location services on, and then put the app "Find My Iphone" (by Apple) on your device. Then, if it get's lost, you can find it on another iOS device. Set a password lock if you don't want people to see anything (i think you can wipe info using Find my Iphone, but I'm not sure) or set restrictions in the settings. My personal favorite security method is an app called Big Brother that takes a picture of anyone that steals your device . The device needs to be on I think, but I'm not sure. Or you can search on the internet for ways that might be better if you have it CURRENTLY lost (i couldn't tell...) Anyways, hope this helps!

 

Find my Phone works really well. You can use the www.me.com website to find your phone as well as the free Find My iPhone app DodgerBlue mentioned (from any Mac or PC). You can track the device using its GPS, send messages to it, which override the mute setting (to point out it's being tracked and ask for it to be returned or left somewhere safe) or if you think there's no chance of recovery and you've got sensitive personal/company data on it, you can do a remote wipe.

It will also locate WiFi only iPods/iPads if they happen to be online by the reported location of the wifi base station they're logged into.

It won't track your iPhone when it's switched off rather than asleep, but if it's been stolen it'll get switched on at some point.

Another tip if you're taking your iPhone out and about with a chance of losing it is to create a lock screen wallpaper that has the message "Reward for safe return. Call. 555-555" with your non iPhone telephone number. That way if it's just lost and recovered by someone honest and not a Gizmodo reporter or stolen and recovered by the police, there's a chance someone will give you a call. (this particular trick's worked with lost MacBooks before by setting the password reminder message to the reward message).

 

Yeah, there are a couple of apps that do track a lost iphone with a website you can log into. Here's a list (from ok to great!) of one's I have on my phone (I've placed screenshots from the websites because for the apps, you can just google or find them in the appstore):

a) Bar Heist (It's ok, but not the greatest, I'm just using it for push notification. Now, for location tracking, it needs to be connected to 3g or wifi and it doesn't update location unless the thief opens the app in which it makes the thief play a game while it secretly updates it's location in the background. It has a location map displayed too, but I just didn't show it in the screenshot)

b) Find my Phone (made by Apple, I haven't really tested this one yet. It needs a second idevice (either iphone, ipad or ipod touch) and it also needs wifi for features to work.)

c) FoneHome (the same as BarHeist and you can place a password on the app. I'm currently using it for push notification, but it doesn't update location often. You can also set it up to take a picture of the thief, but that's only if they try to unlock the app (it doesn't work for the iphone lock screen, it only works once the thief gets pass the lock screen and tries to open this app)

d) PhoneTracker (From the developer Figment inc. for $1.99. This is personally the best one to use despite the low 2 star rating in the appstore. Not only can you send push notifications, but it constantly (I have mine set to every minute) tracks your location in the background as soon as the Iphone connects to the internet (via wifi or 3g). In fact, you can see from my screenshot that it even recorded my location this morning as I was carpooling with a friend to school)

e) iTracker (you need to have a jailbroken Iphone to have this one. This one app answers most of your questions. It has many useful features that make it a must have if you're afraid of losing your Iphone. The best feature is if the thief removes your sim card and replaces it with his/her own sim card, the app will automatically send the iphone's location to a designated phone via text messaging and it also records the new sim card number and gives you the thief's phone number associated with that sim card via text message and these features kick in if the phone is also restored i believe. I know this feature might not be as useful to you since you have a cdma iphone 4 which I believe doesn't have a sim card slot, but there are other features worth looking at. Here's the website from the developer: http://www.sj99.com/itracker.html that explains all features.)

So, here's my suggestion. If you don't have anything against jailbreaking, i would say do it. Get Itracker, it's only $4.99 on cydia. Then get TrackmyPhone and findmyphone and set those up. I would also suggest getting sbsetting (free on cydia) and use it's "Hide" feature to hide these location/find my iphone apps so that the thief won't know they're on the phone. I would also suggest getting lockdown pro (it cost $$, but i forgot how much), also a cydia app that lets you password lock any app and folder for extra protection.

For me, I have all these apps, but I mostly rely on Itracker, findmyphone and trackmyphone if my phone was stolen. the other apps are just there for precaution and partly because I'm paranoid. I have my phone unlocked with no password and only use lockdown pro to lock any sensitive information. I figure if it ever gets stolen and the thief (assuming they're not smart enough to realize they should first restore the phone before using it) uses the internet, then I can easily track my iphone using findmyphone and trackmyphone and send them a message once I find them. As for findmyphone working on cdma iphone 4 models, I'm not sure, but it doesn't hurt to test it.

 

Thanks for posting about iTracker. I wanted to install Apple's own tracking app, but their terms of service are pretty terrible. Which I suppose comes with the territory whenever dealing with Apple, iTunes, etc. but this time I actually had the luxury of a choice.

$5 is easily worth the insurance of being able to find my lost/stolen phone without having to deal with Apple about it.