Cell phone getting lost can cause you to experience some worryingly vivid emotional responses. Not to mention monetary loss, the important information stored inside the phone can cause great concern. Thankfully, location tracking apps help trace your lost cell phone and even recover it. What if you do not install those applications on the phone? Is it possible to trace a cell phone with IP address? How does IP address geolocation work? If you find yourself in similar situation, the following guide can give you answer.
Is it possible to track a cell phone with IP address?
Yes, if you haven’t installed location tracking software on your cell phone, you’re out of this option and may have to use IP address to track down the phone.
How does IP address work?
Internet protocal, short for IP address, is a string of number used to route data across the internet to cell phones and computers. It is similar to how a phone number is used to place a call. IP addresses are generally assigned by internet services providers, whether those are home ISPs a phone might connect to via Wi-Fi or phone carriers themselves if a phone is using a data plan to get online.
For instance, when you send an email online, you’re accessing a network that is connected to the internet itself or internet service provider gives you access to the internet. To achieve this, your computer or other device uses internet protocol, and your IP address is used as a virtual return address to establish a connection.
How to trace a cell phone using IP address?
The way that IP-based geolocation works by checking which IP range is used by which area, using an IP-to-location database. Therefore, you can locate where a phone or computer is located, and access the information like the country and the city that the target device comes from, just by knowing the IP address.
The first thing you have to do is get the IP addres of your lost smartphone. You can see if the phone is accessing any services where it may be logged in, such as email, social media platform, Apple pay or something similar. If someone logs into those service using your account, you may be able to see IP addresses and approximate location of the phone.
The easiest way to find IP address is using Gmail. You need to log into your Gmail account and click “Details” at the bottom right-hand corner to see history of access log. The activity window will show you last few activities with location and IP address of the device.
Once you get the IP address, you can utilize a IP tracker to find your lost cell phone. For instance, Profone IP tracker allows you to trace a cell phone with IP address. This IP tracker is designed for single IP address query only. It sends query to Google location server and returns the location. All you have to do is enter the IP address and click “search” to get started.
Please note that it will provide you with approximate location of the phone and it does not give you a postal address of the theif. Moreover, IP address geolocation can be thrown off if someone is using a virtual private network or otherwise routing data through multiple devices. Thus, you can file a police report and include IP address and wireless service provider who owns the IP address. Getting help from these services may take weeks to months.
How to track a cell phone using its number?
Since you won’t be able to get anything close to an actual stress address by using IP address, it’s advisable to take advantage of a GPS cell phone tracker. There are plenty of options available online and not all of them actually work. You can either install a location tracking app on the device or utilize a web-based service.
Google’s Find My Device and Apple’s Find My iPhone enable to you remotely locate, ring, lock or even wipe a device. You’ll be able to find your lost cell phone by logging into your Google account or Apple ID. If your lost smartphone can be located, it will show you accurate location on the map. However, these features should be enabled on the device before it gets lost.
Even if you did not activate these options prior to phone theft, you still can find your lost or stolen cell phone. TrackPhone gives you the ability to locate a cell phone by number, without installing any software. It works with both Android and iOS device and this easy-to-use geolocation service can be used to find a lost or stolen phone, as well as track your family members, friends or employees.
You just need to enter the phone number on dedicated field and click “start geolocation”. This powerful service combines with GPS tracking system and cellular signal to track down a cell phone. You can check precise location on the map or switch it to satellite view.
Closing thoughts
Chances are that you’ll never retrieve your smartphone if you don’t have tracking app installed on your smartphone. Trying to locate a cell phone with IP address and getting help from the police and service provider. To get more accurate result, you also can resort to phone number tracker that works with GPS tracking system to track your lost cell phone.