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phone locater
- Thread starter nebler
- Start date
gtbarry
Android Expert
I resisted it because it was paid and lookout, avg, avast all located devices for free.
Well, all the free ones stink compared to Cerberus. Cerberus is highly accurate compared to all the others. It can be hidden on the phone so no one knows you have it on there. You can track location from any browser. You can remotely lock, display a message (even have the phone speak the message), turn on the microphone, turn on the camera, call log, sms log, reboot, remote wipe, take a pic of the person trying to unlock your phone, etc. Well worth it AND one license works on up to five devices.
Mostly because I tested all the free antivirus ones I mentioned above and the accuracy of this is FAR FAR FAR superior to them I recommend Cerberus.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...51bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5sc2Ryb2lkLmNlcmJlcnVzIl0.
(I recommend testing Cerberus for the free week. If you don't want to pay for something you can get the free version of automateit and set up an SMS action so that when you send your phone a text that says simply "lost" it will reply with location, battery percent, etc.)
Well, all the free ones stink compared to Cerberus. Cerberus is highly accurate compared to all the others. It can be hidden on the phone so no one knows you have it on there. You can track location from any browser. You can remotely lock, display a message (even have the phone speak the message), turn on the microphone, turn on the camera, call log, sms log, reboot, remote wipe, take a pic of the person trying to unlock your phone, etc. Well worth it AND one license works on up to five devices.
Mostly because I tested all the free antivirus ones I mentioned above and the accuracy of this is FAR FAR FAR superior to them I recommend Cerberus.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...51bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5sc2Ryb2lkLmNlcmJlcnVzIl0.
(I recommend testing Cerberus for the free week. If you don't want to pay for something you can get the free version of automateit and set up an SMS action so that when you send your phone a text that says simply "lost" it will reply with location, battery percent, etc.)
funkylogik
share the love peeps ;)
I have Android Lost and Prey installed but think ill check out Cerebrus based on the praise it gets on here :thumbup:
Mr. Lucky
Android Expert
Phoneleash works very well for your intended purpose, and has other capabilities as well.
jamesd1981
Lurker
I have always used, prey anti-theft, it is cross platform so can be used on any device and is packed with features like remote lock, remote wipe, remotely turn on wi-fi or 3G.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prey&feature=search_result#?t=W251b GwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5wcmV5Il0.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prey&feature=search_result#?t=W251b GwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5wcmV5Il0.
RazzMaTazz
Android Expert
Where's My Droid (free) does exactly what was requested in the original post. It requires very little memory (660kB) and no battery drain. I've been using it for years. Works well.
Avast Mobile Security (also free) does the same and much more. It uses 5.5MB. I can't personally vouch for it but it is very highly rated.
Avast Mobile Security (also free) does the same and much more. It uses 5.5MB. I can't personally vouch for it but it is very highly rated.
gtbarry
Android Expert
Try doing more than connecting (I assume "start tracking" is what you are doing).
Try "display message" or "take picture" or "grab screenshot".
You can just send the commands using Cerberus online the same with Avast
gtbarry
Android Expert
Ok, so I have tested the majority of the Cerberus commands (send message, take picture, turn on microphone, etc) from my computer. And they all work with my phone in a few different locations in my house. However, this morning it could not locate my phone until I placed it in the window. So, I am willing to admit this app is far from perfect despite my glowing recommendation.
That said....I have also used AVG, Lookout and Avast. And the reason I swapped between those three constantly and finally decided that Cerberus was better for me is the free ones I just mentioned were miss way more often than hit. They occasionally got the phone's location spot on. But they also missed sometimes by miles and other times couldn't find the phone at all.
Overall, Cerberus has been much more consistent at finding my phone. And (most important to me) when it finds my phone it is TONS more accurate about the location. In all honesty, I have tested the various features of Cerberus about a 15-20 times in the month I have had it (including three times today based on your postings) and I find it more accurate more often.
I recommend that you let your free week of Cerberus expire after giving it a few tests for accuracy, etc. Then try to install a few mentioned by the many posters above. And test them also in the same way you Cerberus. Then choose what is personally best for you.
I hope a free one is best for you. As free is a great price. For me they were not good enough.
That said....I have also used AVG, Lookout and Avast. And the reason I swapped between those three constantly and finally decided that Cerberus was better for me is the free ones I just mentioned were miss way more often than hit. They occasionally got the phone's location spot on. But they also missed sometimes by miles and other times couldn't find the phone at all.
Overall, Cerberus has been much more consistent at finding my phone. And (most important to me) when it finds my phone it is TONS more accurate about the location. In all honesty, I have tested the various features of Cerberus about a 15-20 times in the month I have had it (including three times today based on your postings) and I find it more accurate more often.
I recommend that you let your free week of Cerberus expire after giving it a few tests for accuracy, etc. Then try to install a few mentioned by the many posters above. And test them also in the same way you Cerberus. Then choose what is personally best for you.
I hope a free one is best for you. As free is a great price. For me they were not good enough.
RazzMaTazz
Android Expert
If you want to send commands and other data, then of course the phone has to have some kind of data connection, like 3G, 4G, or WiFi. No app can get around that unless maybe through some dial-up sequence, but I doubt anything like that exists.So with WiFi and 3g off I should still be able to activate phone with correct command via SMS.
This does not work, so starting to loose faith a bit now
gtbarry
Android Expert
Actually, for this you can use automateit (free version). Something like:
Trigger: SMS received with text "wifi"
Actions: turn on wifi
Thanks! I am setting up those rules now for wifi, mobile data and gps.
RazzMaTazz
Android Expert
Among the free apps (and even most of the paid apps) there seem to be two different kinds of phone finders, which suit two different situations; the lost phone, and the stolen phone.
1) Lost phone: For example you dropped your phone while skiing. I think it's best to use something like Where's My Droid. You simply borrow somebody else's cell phone and you can quickly and easily:
A) Send a customizable text message to your phone (e.g. "Find my phone") to turn on the GPS and text back the phone's coordinates and a map link. Then from your friend's phone you just click on the link to see a map and and go to the vicinity of the phone. Once there you can...
B) Send a customizable text message to your phone (e.g. "Blare my phone) to turn up the phone's volume full blast and sound an alarm so that you can find it.
2) Stolen phone: I think it's best to use something like Avast Mobile Security (or Lookout, Prey, or Cerebrus, et al). Most of these apps have the ability to remain hidden and locked so that thieves can't find or remove them. Many of these apps have unrelated, arguably useless functionality, like antivirus, etc. Unfortunately most of these apps require you to use a web browser-- which is oriented toward big-screens-- to do things like track the phone on a map, ring, lock, wipe, (etc.) your phone. That's all good stuff, but it's going to be hard to do from a ski slope, beach, golf course, bar, etc. on a small screen.
For years I've had Lookout (free) & Where's My Droid (free) installed on all of my family's phones. We've used Where's My Droid many times to locate a lost phone (even one inside our house) but fortunately, I've never had to use Lookout.
After reading this thread, I tried Avast today and I like it so much that I uninstalled Lookout. I love that Avast can be completely hidden if you're rooted. (It's accessible by dialing a password as you would a phone call. E.g. you dial 1234 and the app opens and deletes its phone log entry so that it's COMPLETELY stealthy and virtually can't be uninstalled without the password-- even with a factory reset.) However, Avast's solution seems to let you uninstall the main app (anti-virus, firewall, etc.) and just keep the part of the app that lets you locate the phone, blare and alarm, lock it, wipe it, etc... so I may uninstall the main part of the app.
EDIT UPDATE: I just noticed that Where's My Droid Pro has most of the functionality of both 1 & 2 above, without forcing you to a big-screen web browser. It also lets you voice-call the phone to turn on the app & data connection.
1) Lost phone: For example you dropped your phone while skiing. I think it's best to use something like Where's My Droid. You simply borrow somebody else's cell phone and you can quickly and easily:
A) Send a customizable text message to your phone (e.g. "Find my phone") to turn on the GPS and text back the phone's coordinates and a map link. Then from your friend's phone you just click on the link to see a map and and go to the vicinity of the phone. Once there you can...
B) Send a customizable text message to your phone (e.g. "Blare my phone) to turn up the phone's volume full blast and sound an alarm so that you can find it.
2) Stolen phone: I think it's best to use something like Avast Mobile Security (or Lookout, Prey, or Cerebrus, et al). Most of these apps have the ability to remain hidden and locked so that thieves can't find or remove them. Many of these apps have unrelated, arguably useless functionality, like antivirus, etc. Unfortunately most of these apps require you to use a web browser-- which is oriented toward big-screens-- to do things like track the phone on a map, ring, lock, wipe, (etc.) your phone. That's all good stuff, but it's going to be hard to do from a ski slope, beach, golf course, bar, etc. on a small screen.
For years I've had Lookout (free) & Where's My Droid (free) installed on all of my family's phones. We've used Where's My Droid many times to locate a lost phone (even one inside our house) but fortunately, I've never had to use Lookout.
After reading this thread, I tried Avast today and I like it so much that I uninstalled Lookout. I love that Avast can be completely hidden if you're rooted. (It's accessible by dialing a password as you would a phone call. E.g. you dial 1234 and the app opens and deletes its phone log entry so that it's COMPLETELY stealthy and virtually can't be uninstalled without the password-- even with a factory reset.) However, Avast's solution seems to let you uninstall the main app (anti-virus, firewall, etc.) and just keep the part of the app that lets you locate the phone, blare and alarm, lock it, wipe it, etc... so I may uninstall the main part of the app.
EDIT UPDATE: I just noticed that Where's My Droid Pro has most of the functionality of both 1 & 2 above, without forcing you to a big-screen web browser. It also lets you voice-call the phone to turn on the app & data connection.
RazzMaTazz
Android Expert
But SMS is data so you need a data connection like I wrote above.
Actually I just noticed that the Where's My Droid Pro lets you turn it on by dialing it from a landline. (I haven't tried it.)
Automateit looks cool. I'm going to have to try it. Thanks!
dylanrod24
Newbie
Try out Lookout. Its an antivirus and malware app but also locates missing device.