Blocking a smartphone by IMEI via the Internet: step-by-step instructions

Remote control Android

If you have actively used your phone and downloaded applications onto it through the Play Store, this is a good sign that the device is connected to your Google account. To remotely control your smartphone, log in to your account via a PC, laptop or tablet. After authorization, a list of devices linked to your account will be available.

Here you should see the lost smartphone, with which you can now perform the following actions remotely:

1. Call. The function will be useful if you lost your smartphone at home and the SIM card was not inserted into it. A sound signal is activated through the account, which will be heard until it is turned off through the account or manually on the phone.
2. Delete data. If you are sure that your phone has been stolen and are afraid that your personal data will fall into the hands of criminals, use the Google service to completely erase user information from your smartphone.
3. Block. Through your account, you can create a password that will block access to your phone. Here you need to enter a message that will pop up on the smartphone screen and leave contact information to contact you.

The action you choose depends on the circumstances under which you lost your Galaxy smartphone. If the phone is lost, and there is hope of finding it (on your own or by the “force” of random passers-by), then initiate a call and block it with the obligatory indication of contact information. If a respectable person finds the phone, he will contact you and return the lost item.

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How to block a lost smartphone

The main steps are performed exactly the same as in the previous paragraph. When the service window opens, the second item from the top will be “Lock phone”.

You need to click on the button, and then perform a few simple steps according to the proposed algorithm. You can immediately send an SMS message to your lost phone. For example, with a request to report the find and return it for a certain reward.

How to secure your device

Those who have at least once experienced the theft or loss of a smartphone have subsequently regretted more than once that they did not take preventive measures. By the way, there are a lot of opportunities for this.

Special programs

Standard applications can be easily deactivated by attackers, so for security it is better to use special programs. Such software not only helps you remotely block your device or report the fact that your SIM card has been changed, but even send you a photo of the thief.

1. Bitdefender Mobile Security & Antivirus normally protects your smartphone from viruses, and if your phone is lost, it will allow you to track the location of the device on the developer’s website. When you change your SIM card, you will receive a message with the new number. Disadvantages - the trial version lasts only 2 weeks, then you will have to pay for effective software.
2. Lost Android weighs extremely little, only 170 KB, but the “baby” works for three - it tracks the location, blocks and clears the phone of user data. The anti-thief will also take a photo of the intruder, record the sounds of conversations, and even transmit text messages. The software is absolutely free and works even on older versions of Android.
3. Prey Anti Theft is another popular software that works with all existing operating systems. Anti-theft has a standard set of functions - location detection, blocking and erasing data, a photo of the thief and a siren. The free version is enough to manage three devices.
4. Avast Mobile Security, a popular antivirus, has additional “Anti-Theft” functionality, which opens after granting root rights to the user. In addition to standard “chips,” Avast can hide in the kernel of the firmware, which allows the software to continue to function even after resetting the device to factory settings. The free version has sufficient functionality; the paid version makes it possible to transfer a photo of a thief.
5. Cerberus is considered the best search engine software. It can determine the location of the device not only by GPS, but also by cell tower and wi-fi points. You will be able to view lists and listen to recordings of calls made by the thief, take photos and videos. The software is embedded into the kernel and remains there even after resetting the device to factory settings. The best application is expected to be paid.

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Depending on your needs and risks, you can easily select software that will allow you to effectively manage your lost gadget and find intruders.

What to do in case of theft or loss?

The main thing is to notice the loss of your smartphone in time and try to restore the chain of events. This will help you understand at what point the loss occurred. Don’t start panicking and immediately write a police report; you should try calling your number or just look near you. If your phone is lost in a crowded place, it will most likely be found. Then everything depends on the circumstances or the conscientiousness of the finder. You should arrange a meeting or return location with the respondent.

Smartphones have a function to show specified contacts in emergency situations. This will help the finder independently find the contacts of the lost one and call his relatives without having to enter a password or use a fingerprint scanner.

The phone is not always found immediately, and the lost person has the opportunity to call from the phone of a friend or relative. If a person has at least some idea where the gadget could have been left, it is better to return to this place. It is quite possible that the phone is still lying on the ground or on the store rack. It is better to make calls periodically; the sound will help determine the location.

Finding the location of a lost smartphone

Another problem is if the phone is on silent mode or the person has no idea where he could have left it. The latest versions of devices based on the Android and iOS operating systems are equipped with built-in tracking functionality using geolocation. The function must be enabled first and the launch methods differ depending on the brand of the device.

iOS

The iPhone operates on a complex and closed system, but this is one of its main advantages. Your phone must be connected to Find My iPhone. The program is preinstalled, but you must give permission to connect to iCloud using the settings:

1. Open the main screen and enter the “Settings” menu. Click on your name and click on iCloud;
2. Scroll to the end of the list, activate the “Find iPhone” slider and the last location data.

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After activating the function, the user will have the opportunity to track his device. To do this, go to https://www.icloud.com/find and log in with your Apple ID. In addition to searching for a lost gadget, the service allows you to perform some actions:

• Play sound through the speakers on the connected iPhone;
• Enable loss mode. This will lock the device and start location tracking;
• Erase all personal information;
• Complete blocking.

This functionality will allow you to quickly find and track a lost iPhone. The main thing is that it is turned on and has access to the Internet.

Using this feature, you can also track other company devices. For example: iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook or AirPods headphones.

Android

The first versions of the operating system could not please us with the built-in ability to track the phone. Therefore, depending on the manufacturer, their own services were introduced, for example from Samsung or LG. In the latest revisions of Android, Google added tracking in the form of the “Find My Device” application.

In it, the user logs in with his Gmail account and gives permission to enable the function. Now, in case of loss, the device can be easily tracked by following a short sequence of actions:

1. Go to the Google website and log in with your account;
2. Select your avatar in the upper right corner. In the context menu that opens, click on “Google Account”;

3. A page with profile settings will open. Go to the “Security” section;

4. Scroll down to the “Your Devices” section. Click on “Find a lost or stolen phone”;

5. A panel with connected devices will open, from which we select the one we need.

After this, a map will appear with the last location of the phone when connected to GPS or the Internet.

What to do if you lose your phone

Let us briefly repeat the sequence that is best followed when a smartphone goes missing:

1. Check if it was left somewhere in the apartment, in a bag or with friends. If possible, make a call to him;
2. If you can’t hear the call anywhere and no one picks up the phone, then you should remember all the places where you could leave your mobile phone;
3. Try to track it using location detection functions and block it if such a function is enabled. If you successfully determine the location, go and pick it up. How Can block lost phone, we will tell you further in the material;

4. If you are not connected to the search service, we recommend going through all possible places of loss, making calls along the way;
5. If none of this helps to find the loss, you should contact law enforcement agencies and report the loss.

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Finding a lost device by IMEI

IMEI is a unique serial number of a mobile phone. It contains hidden information available only to mobile operators. This method is used by the police when tracking stolen equipment. This is the most reliable method to return a lost device. It is important that a person retains at least some documentation for the smartphone confirming that he is the owner.

Law enforcement agencies are filing a request with mobile operators. They include IMEI number tracking. If the phone is connected to the network, it will “light up” showing its location. This will work even if it has been reset to factory settings.

Using Google Photos functionality

This method will help if the phone was stolen by criminals and the thief kept it for himself to use.

The essence of the method is simple - find out if new photos were taken using the gadget after the loss and see the location of these photos. However, in order to use the Google Photos tracking feature, you must connect the device to file backup.

You can do this as follows:

1. Go to "Settings".
2. Find the “Accounts” section and select the Google account you are interested in.
3. In the window that opens, activate the function of synchronizing the data of interest. In our case, photographs.

After activation, all photos taken on the device will be saved in a shared cloud storage, which can be accessed from any device.

To see if new photos have been taken on the missing phone, you need to:

1. Go to the Google Photos website from any device - photos.google.com.
2. Enter the account details to which the smartphone is linked.
3. View the photos you took and find new ones.
4. Select a photo and click on the “i” (information) icon.
5. The location of the device will be indicated on the right side of the screen.

Do not rush to take the smartphone from the attacker yourself; it is better to report this information to law enforcement agencies.

How to find a stolen Samsung phone using the FindMyMobile app

The telecommunications company Samsung has its own analogue of the Google service, the “Android Remote Control” service - the “FindMyMobile” service (in the Russian localization “Find Phone”).

This function works on the same principle as its analogue. First, you need to register a Samsung account and link it to your mobile device. This is done when you first start the device or on the company’s official website

However, the user's mobile device must be connected to the service in question. This is done as follows:

1. Go to the phone menu “Settings”.
2. Find the tab called “Biometrics and Security”.
3. Click on the “Find Phone” service.
4. Enable feature.
5. Enter your Samsung account information.

The gadget is now connected to the Find My Phone service.

If you lose your device, do the following:

1. Go to the service website - findmymobile.samsung
2. Login to your Samsung account.
3. Launch the “Find my mobile device” function.

The site screen will display a map with the location of the device the user is interested in.

Also, the functionality of the FindMyMobile service includes blocking, unlocking the device, making a call to a mobile device and backing up the owner’s data to a pre-selected cloud storage.

Video instructions for the Find Phone service

Blocking a smartphone using additional software

You can block a lost phone using third-party software. There are quite a lot of applications of this type in the Play Market, most of them have a free period.

The operation of such applications is impossible without obtaining administrator rights. A small utility called Framaroot will help solve this issue. Step-by-step instruction:

• ;
• Launch the utility and select “SuperSU” in all “check boxes”;
• Restart your mobile device for the changes to take effect.

Obtaining administrator rights will allow the user to allow various applications to interact with key system processes on the smartphone.

Android app Lost

In addition to the functions available through standard Android tools described above, this software allows you to:

• Send SMS to a lost smartphone;
• Receive pictures from the front camera, that is, take photographs of the intruder;
• Receive call recordings using your smartphone's microphone;
• Get access to the entire array of information on the device - photos, contacts, SMS, dates of going online, etc.;
• Format not only the device’s hard drive, but also the SD drive;
• Get data about SIM cards inserted into the phone.

You can interact with Android Lost both through the official website and through special SMS commands.

Table of the most important commands

Before any of the commands, “androidlost” is written. That is, the complete command looks like this – “androidlost wipe”, “androidlost message” and so on.

The presence of Android Lost on your device can be hidden. Using the special “hide device” function will make the software invisible in the “Installed applications” section and remove all shortcuts to launch the program.

The method of interacting with Android Lost through the official website is similar to the method of interacting with the Google website discussed above. Link to the developer's website. Authorization is carried out through the same account as on the lost gadget.

In general, all applications of this kind are approximately similar. Functionality and specificity are not much different. The most popular today are: Cerberus, Android Lost, Lookout, MobiUcare.

Most popular antiviruses (NOD32, Dr.WEB, AVG and others) include a remote device blocking function. As a rule, the function becomes available to the user after purchasing a paid version of the software.

To summarize, there are quite a few ways to remotely block mobile devices. By equipping your smartphone with additional software or setting up standard blocking methods, the user will largely protect himself from the possible loss of the device and the leakage of his personal data to other people.

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Search by IMEI

Thanks to this method, you can find a lost Samsung phone using its IMEI serial number. It is a 15-digit code that is assigned to each product before it goes on the market. Changing this combination on your own is problematic, so the average user will not be able to cope with this task.

To find out your IMEI, you need to look at the box in which the device was sold, at the battery, or dial the combination *#06#. But this method in case of theft is not the most effective, because... the thief will immediately reset this parameter. Users often start calling the call center to find their Samsung phone if they have lost it, or to get information about it. Unfortunately, they have the right to provide such information only to police officers, and they will not be able to block the device remotely.

This method requires time and effort, but its effectiveness is not always justified. Therefore, if there is no special equipment, it is better not to use this method.

How to erase all information from a lost smartphone

Agree that any smartphone contains purely personal information that is not intended for public viewing. Even worse, it happens if the device’s memory contains some important or secret information, the access of which to unauthorized persons is extremely undesirable.

And in this case, this service will provide you with invaluable assistance. You will need to click on the “Erase data” button, which is located below the previous button.

Please note that all erased data will be deleted permanently, and you will no longer be able to track the location of your smartphone. I hope the information I offer will help you if you have lost your smartphone...