We get lots of questions from people that find about Prey only after their devices go missing, and we hate to tell them we can’t help them. So we decided to gather a few tips that may help locate a missing device without any anti-theft protection. There’s always hope!
If you don't have a photo taken by the camera, search for its posted images by entering the camera's serial number. StolenCameraFinder doesn't support images taken with iPhones or other smartphones. Apr 20, 2018 - All you need to do is simply add your serial number to the registry. In this way, police departments which run a registry can use the registered serial numbers to identify the owner of any lost phone or that which is reported to would have been stolen. Part 1: Can I Track My iPhone with the Serial Number and IMEI?
0. Call your device
This sounds like a no-brainer, but for the sake of completeness: if you’re device is a phone, start by calling your self! If might just be lying under a couch in your friend’s place.
1. Look for the device’s unique ID
Every electronic device has a unique serial number and a UUID, and phones have an additional one: the IMEI or MEID. This will allow you to prove the device is yours, if needed.
Normally, you can get those numbers by looking underneath the battery, or in the settings menu if your device is an iPhone or iPad. Now, if the device is gone, you can also check the device’s original packaging, since they’re usually printed on the barcode or label of the box the device came in. In some cases you can find them in the original invoice.
Now, if it’s a SIM enabled device you should contact your service provider. They can lock down the chip plus provide the device’s IMEI since they should have this information. Very handy if you went with paperless billing!
Track Device With Serial Number Search
If you managed to find one of these numbers, write it down, since they can be useful when you report the theft/loss of your device to the police. If they ever confiscate goods in a raid, you can claim your property if you provided that information when reporting the theft. According to Livemint,
Every time a phone logs into a particular network to make or receive calls, its IMEI number is automatically emitted and tracked. This gets registered with the service provider. […] The police has a database of phones which are in white, grey and black lists, so a phone which is in the black list is known to be stolen. Once it’s reported stolen by you, the IMEI number is blacklisted across the country. If an IMEI device on the black list is used to make a call, the police will get to know about it immediately. There is a chance that they will track the phone if it comes up for resale or reset.
2. Remote access means remote installing
Did you have LogMeIn or other remote desktop solution installed on your system? If that’s the case, you might be in luck! Even though watching what the thief is doing isn’t enough for catching him/her, there’s something better you can do: installing Prey! Wait for the right time when the thief clearly isn’t using the device (like a long idle time), and use the remote access to download Prey from our download page, install it, and set it up. Using this you can gather all the important data you need to alter the police, get your stuff back, and put the bad guys in jail—like webcam pictures, map location, IP address, and screenshots. We know this works.
LogMeIn is not the only choice, of course. Google Chrome also has a Remote Desktop extension that works pretty neat, but only on computers.
3. The IP Address might get you the real one
Did you know some of your daily-use apps and websites register your IP? Dropbox is one of them, as well as Gmail and even Facebook. The IP address is a unique number assigned to internet accesses by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and they do know the physical location of every IP address they assign.
Now, they don’t give away this information freely — you need a warrant to get it. So if Dropbox, Gmail or Facebook alerts you of an access from a strange IP (read below for how to get it), write it down and give that number to the police. If you insist enough they might request the ISP that owns that IP address to reveal the information.
This information may not be as solid as the location or the picture of the thief, but you can always give it a shot.
Dropbox
Dropbox’s background process usually starts when the system boots, so if the device is turned on it’s very likely to work. Just go to the Security tab and hover on the (i) listed on recent activity to see the devices’ last IP, like the picture below.
(Tip and image via readwrite).
Gmail
Gmail also records accesses and active connections. You can check it logging into Gmail, and then looking the right side of the footer: Last account activity: X minutes ago. Click now on details… and boom! You can see the latest 10 IPs accessing your account, plus the country, type of browser, and time. This is also helpful to end sessions if you forgot to sign out in other computers.
Just as in Gmail, Facebook logs your active sessions. Go to Settings, Security, and there’s the Active Sessions option. To see an IP address, hover on the session’s location. You can also close any forgotten sessions this way.
4. WANTED: Offer a reward
If you really, really want your device back and don’t care about throwing in some money, you could offer a reward for it. Yup, really. If it’s a phone, simply text your missing device “Hey, if you found this phone I’m willing to pay $X to get it back. Please reply.” or something like that. Keep it civilized, and don’t threat! You don’t know if the person reading that is truly the thief and also you do want your stuff back, right?
The other option is posting WANTED signs all over the neighborhood. It could be quite unpleasant, but if your device (or what’s in it) really matters to you, it could be your last chance. Tracking software needs devices to be turned on to work, and this oldschool solution may work even if they’re not:
@lookout @preyproject At the end I recovered the phone by putting a paper Ad where I lost it (beach) #oldtech solution: via.me/-91ivr8y
— Roman Valls (@braincode) January 23, 2013
Bonus: Learn from your mistakes, padawan
If you never see your beloved device again, maybe it’s time for you to reconsider some things. First and foremost, start by installing an anti-theft app like Prey on every device you own. Second, be careful—check all your important stuff before leaving and if you’re going to dangerous places, leave your expensive stuff at home. And finally, try not to leave your belongings unattended. Thieves love it when that happens.
Image: purplemattfish (cc)
Track Phone Using Serial Number
SNDeepInfo — service for checking a serial numbers of phones, smartphones, cameras, household appliances and IMEI phones of all brands
What is the serial number?
The manufacturer assigns to each device a unique serial number, in which encoded all information about the product: model, production country , date of manufacture. The serial number is unique for each device from one manufacturer.
What is IMEI?
Mobile phones, except the serial number have also IMEI number. IMEI — International Mobile Equipment Identity. IMEI — a common standard for all mobile devices, which is assigned to the phone at the time of manufacture it in the factory. It's the unique number, which is broadcasting to the carrier to authorize phone in the network. Structure of the IMEI is the same for all phones regardless of manufacturer. IMEI number is also used to track and block lost or stolen phones by the carrier, which further prevents to use of such devices. However, blocking IMEI in one carrier network have no effect in others networks.
How can I find the serial number?
As a rule, the serial number printed on the package and duplicated on the device, in most cases, the serial number is available through the software shell.
How to find out an IMEI number?
To check phone IMEI number, type *#06#, press call button and it will be displayed on the screen. IMEI number is looks like a 15-digit numeric code. IMEI is duplicated under the battery of your phone, on the package and receipts. Apple users can find iPhone IMEI number in the Settings->General->About.
Stolen Device Serial Number
What is it?
SNDeepInfo — is the easiest way to get all the information about the device before you buy it. Just enter the serial number or phone IMEI in the main field and get all information about the phone. Apple devices have more detailed information: the physical and technical characteristics (color devices, memory, date of manufacture, the firmware version, manufacture date of the device, jailbreak and unlock tools).
Track Device By Serial Number
For what it is?
SNDeepInfo will protect you from buying fake devices. If, as the checking result you have an error, be careful, it may be a fake device.
Track Apple Device With Serial Number
SNDeepInfo protect you from buying stolen devices. Each user who is victim of theft or lost device is able to register it in the database of lost or stolen devices. So SNDeepInfo — is not only a service for checking IMEI and serial numbers, but it also a database of stolen phones and other devices.
SNDeepInfo helps to find lost and stolen. Add IMEI or serial number of the lost device to the database and increase the chances for finding it. If during the checking the serial number or IMEI, shows that, the device is marked as lost or stolen, you can return its to legal owner and get a reward if he was appointed.
SNDeepInfo — it’s not just IMEI database of stolen phones and serial numbers checker, it's the quality control, system of validating sellers and search service of lost or stolen phones and other devices.
Track My Serial Number
Track Iphone Using Serial Number
Currently, the service supports checking IMEI codes of all phones, including the new Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhpne X, and also Samsung Galaxy S8, and Galaxy Note 8! We are planning to expand the service to check a serial numbers of devices of any electronic equipment and devices.