Yes, the police can track a stolen phone using either your phone number or the phone's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). Whether or not the police prioritize looking for your stolen phone is another matter.
Here's how it works. The Police have two methods for tracking your phone when it's stolen, they can use your phone number or your IMEI number. The problem with your phone number is that thieves can easily just discard your SIM card and replace it another.
If you believe your phone has been stolen, file a police report. Although law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate every case of a stolen phone, if you're able to tell them where your phone is (using a finder app), they will be more likely to be able to help you recover it.
The answer to that is a simple yes! All phones, whether an iPhone or an android, can be tracked down without a sim card or network. Still, they will need to have a secure Wi-Fi connection to be accurate.
Should you lose it for good, you'll want to have a current backup of your phone. If the phone is moving locations, use the Track location feature. Enabling this feature will track your phone every 15 minutes.
Police simply don't consider a find my iPhone hit just cause to go to someone's home, and no court will issue a warrant based on just that anyway, so they'd not be able to go in or do anything.
Some thieves will use the information they find on phones (such as photos, texts or emails), then use it to hold the original owner to ransom. The best thing to do is to remotely wipe your phone as soon as you find out it's stolen – this can be achieved with apps such as Find My Device (free – Android and iOS).
A phone that is turned off is difficult to track because it stops sending signals to cell towers. However, the service provider or internet provider can show the last location once it's switched back on.
Only 10% of U.S. smartphone owners have their devices stolen, but once the gadgets are taken, 68% of victims are unable to get them back, a report Wednesday said.
It is now possible to track any IMEI online without going through any intermediate service provider. Google "IMEI tracker online free" and choose the website of your choice. This online service allows you to locate your phone number displayed conveniently on a map.
Smartphones can still be tracked even if location services and GPS are turned off, according to Princeton University researchers. The team–Arsalan Mosenia, Xiaoliang Dai, Prateek Mittal, and Niraj Jha–combined information from phone-based and non-phone sources to determine a device's location.
A thief won't be able to unlock your phone without your passcode. Even if you normally sign in with Touch ID or Face ID, your phone is also secured with a passcode.
Another incredibly handy feature that comes with the Android Device Manager is the ability to reset a lost device to its factory default (thereby deleting all data). The only caveat here is that the target device must already have the feature enabled for this to work (or the app installed).
Can Police Track Your Phone? The police won't track your phone without reason, but they can access your device's location history in an emergency or if they suspect criminal activity. Once they have a warrant, the police can access a phone's GPS data through a cell provider and view its current or last known location.
No. The IMEI is merely an identification number. It has no magical tracking properties of its own. Also there is no option for using the IMEI number on Find My iPhone at all.
Can a Stolen iPhone Be Unlocked? Normally, someone cannot unlock your iPhone without a passcode. However, they can factory reset your iPhone and unlock it using the above method or some iPhone unlocking tools. Also, it is possible to unlock a found iPhone with the same methods.
The police said it takes a minimum of 15 days to trace a cellphone, and can happen only after the snatcher or user has inserted a new SIM. After identifying the lost phone's IMEI number, the police keep tabs on it till it is activated using a new SIM.
The primary reason that IMEI numbers are important is their ability to help track down and secure lost or stolen phones.
If you ever get lucky and your missing cell phone is still on, you can use “Find My Device” to locate it in real-time. Otherwise, when your phone is offline, turned off, or out of battery, you will be able to see the last location where your phone can be found, using “Find My Device”.
The IMEI would not show up if using wifi . That is used when you use a SIM and the carrier's network to get online .