All or most of us have at some point lost our cell phone or had it stolen . The immediate question after this theft will be knowing how to track a turned off cell phone, considering that it is the first thing the thief will do (even though the lock screen prevents turning off a phone without first entering the unlock code). Although most options on the Internet are a scam, locating a turned off cell phone is perfectly possible in certain cases and under certain conditions..
How to track a cell phone that has NOT YET been turned off
Although the description of the Find My Device app says that it can locate devices even if they are offline, it is not known how it does this. Before explaining how to track a turned off cell phone, let's understand that to locate a cell phone it normally requires that it be turned on, with an Internet connection and its location activated. From there, from the app or website Find my device android.com/find you can log in with the Gmail account that you registered on your phone and you will be able to find the location of your Android on Google Maps for free.
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Go to Settings > YourName (at the beginning) > Find my phone to see this setting on your Samsung. Samsung Galaxy and iPhones can be tracked even if they don't have an internet connection and can even send their last location before they shut down, although with luck you could also see this in the location history of any Android..
Locate turned off iPhone
Go to Settings > YourName > Find My on your iPhone. The Find My Network option must be activated in order to locate a turned off iPhone. Currently, tracking a turned off cell phone is only possible if it is an iPhone. Even when turned off, it can continue to transmit a signal via Bluetooth to other nearby iPhones, which in turn send this information to Apple's servers, where you can locate it. To track your turned off iPhone, you just have to go to the icloud.com/find website and enter the Apple ID and password associated with your iPhone.
An iPhone can be located even when it is turned off because the phone's Bluetooth chip remains active independently and as long as the remaining battery or reserve available for this allows it. That is, you will not be able to track your iPhone forever after it has been turned off. Additionally, this depends on the proximity of other iPhones at the time you are attempting tracking, a factor that also influences location accuracy..
Track a turned off Android cell phone
Android 14 already incorporates part of the functionality to track turned off cell phones. Image: Mishaal Rahman The possibility of tracking turned off Android cell phones in a similar way to the previous one seems to be close. The Android 14 version already incorporates some advances in the integration of this technology. Once implemented, the “Find My Device Network” that Google creates between Android devices will allow determining the position of turned off mobile phones, which will be interconnected through Bluetooth signals with other nearby Android devices, just as Apple's location system works. explained before.
This will require both hardware and software support, so it could only work on devices that come from the factory with Android 15, if this is the version of the system that will bring this novelty.
Track a turned off cell phone with the Gmail number or account?
All tracking methods offered by Google, Apple or Samsung are free . However, there are many third-party websites on the Internet that tell you how to track a turned off cell phone with the phone number, sometimes with a payment involved. This is a scam, since no such thing is possible whether you pay or not. They are only websites designed with false data, which seek to obtain personal data, money through placed advertising or even scam users by making them subscribe to premium services or directly steal their money.
It is also not possible to track a turned off cell phone with a Gmail account. A cell phone with a Gmail account can be located from the find my device website, but only when the device is on, with the Internet and its GPS or location has not been turned off. But you can't locate it if you've lost connection (unless it's a Samsung or iPhone), much less if it's turned off, at least not while Google rolls out its Find My Device Network, which will allow devices to be tracked via the Bluetooth chip.
Conclusion
As you have seen, tracking a turned off cell phone is currently only possible if you have an iPhone. And in this case, finding its location will depend on the existence of other iPhones nearby. The possibility of tracking a turned off Android is likely to be a reality with the next version of Android and will surely be implemented in the new Google Pixel first.
Source : Android Authority