Six apps and trackers to find your lost gadgets

Cell phones are hard to move away from your body? The inconvenience caused by losing a mobile phone or other important devices, such as a laptop, is conceivable. Don't worry, this article recommends six apps and trackers to help you easily retrieve lost tech equipment. They can display device locations on the map, make sound prompts, and provide other practical functions.

Apple Devices: Find My iPhone/iPad/Mac

Apple is committed to protecting user devices, so it has built-in mobile phone and tablet tracker in iOS system and laptop finder in macOS system. With this feature enabled, you can view the current location of all Apple devices on the map.

Settings on iPhone or iPad: Open Settings , click on the Apple ID at the top, select your device, and select Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad) to enable this feature. On your computer, open System Preferences, click iCloud, and then select the Find My Mac check box. During this process, Apple may prompt you to log in with your Apple ID credentials, make sure you know your password.

When the tracker is enabled, you don't need to pay attention unless you need it. If you lose your device, please use another Apple device to open the corresponding app: use Find My iPhone on your phone, use Find My iPad on your tablet, or use the iCloud web app in any browser window. After logging in, click the All Devices menu, select the device you want to find, and you can view its location on the map. You can also select the device and make it sound, lock or erase all data.

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Lock option is especially useful because you can have your lost devices display custom messages. For example, if you lose your iPhone, you can have the device display a message requesting it to be returned securely and provide a contact email. The lock screen also protects your data security.

Android device: Find my device

Similar to Apple, Google also built-in device positioning tool "Find My Device" in the Android system. To enable it, open Settings, click Safe & Location, and enable the feature to start tracking your phone or tablet. Then, install the Find My Device app on your spare phone or tablet.

To view device location, you can choose from several ways: open the app on the backup device, visit the Find My Device web portal, or log in to your Google account, and type "My Device" into the search engine Where?". Like Apple Services, you can have lost devices play sounds (even in silent mode), lock the device and display messages on the screen, or erase your information completely. The map will show its last known location, battery level, and even the name of the Wi-Fi network currently connected. Based on this information, you can tell if the device is completely lost or still have a chance to retrieve it.

Unfortunately, Google does not provide similar protection for Chromebooks yet. So if you lose these Chrome OS laptops, you won't be able to find them through Google. However, keep reading to learn about third-party applications that may be able to accomplish this task.

Samsung Device: Find My Phone

Samsung users can use the above Google tracker or Samsung's built-in Find My Phone tool, which works very similarly. To access it, first set up a password-protected Samsung account.

Next, enable the tracker by opening Settings, click Lock Screen and Security, and select Find My Phone. In this menu, make sure to switch the Remote Control to on so that you can operate your phone or tablet from another device.

If your device is lost, please visit the Find My Phone website and log in with your Samsung credentials. Here you can view the last known location of your phone or tablet on the diagram. Like other tracker apps, you can make it ringtone even if the device is in silent mode, lock it to prevent others from accessing it, and also remotely erase its data if you think it can't be retrieved.

From the same website, you can also perform other useful tasks such as unlocking devices that forget your PIN code and backing up your data. Just select the relevant options from the list on the right side of the website.

Prey for any operating system

Prey supports a variety of operating systems, including iOS, macOS, Android, Samsung and Windows devices. Additionally, it offers some practical features that competitors don't have, such as taking photos with a device's camera or viewing their screen activity, which may help you infer the thief's identity.

Like other tools above, download the Prey app to the device of your choice and create an account. When enabled, the Prey website can display the location of the device and its current signal strength on the map. You can also remotely lock the device from the website, erase its data, issue alerts, and extract information such as the above photos and screenshots when the device is online.

Another additional feature of the Prey mobile version (for Android and iOS) is the control area. It sends you an alert when your phone or tablet enters or leaves a specific area, such as your home or office.

The free version of Prey can track up to three devices and enable one control area. You need to pay $5 or more per month to add more devices, set up additional control areas, and get the ability to remotely wipe the device.

Physical Tracker: Tile

Software is not the only way to track devices. You can connect a compact Tile tracker to almost anything, although this method is best for items lost in your own home: the physical tracker communicates with companion apps (for Android and iOS) via Bluetooth, so the scope is only Limited to 200 feet.

When something is lost, you simply open the Tile app to see where each tab was last reported. This should give you a place to start looking for. You can also get the Tile tracker to make a sound, whether it's through an app or pressing another tracker paired with the lost tracker, and it also supports commands for Amazon Echo and Google Home, so you can find yours with a smart speaker equipment. If you lose your phone, you can have the tracker ringtone even if the device is silent. Finally, downloading the app to your phone or tablet will turn the device into a virtual Tile. Since your device has GPS and Bluetooth, the Tile app will let you find it even if the Tile is far away.

Tile offers four sizes and styles of trackers with varying range, maximum volume and waterproof ratings. The single-piece Tile starts at $25, and you can get discounts if you buy a four- or eight-piece tracker.

Physical Tracker: TrackR

Tile is not the only compact Bluetooth tracker. The TrackR device has roughly the same functions, but has slightly different appearances. While the range of TrackR is shorter than Tile (only 100 feet, while Tile is 200 feet), if you have an Amazon Echo at home, you can find your phone using TrackR and Alexa commands.

Like Tile, TrackR can connect to almost any device and report its location to the TrackR app (for Android and iOS) via Bluetooth. Through the app, you can also force a ringtone from TrackR or connected phone. Although the range is limited, if the TrackR connected to your tablet or laptop is too far away, it will automatically record the last known location in the app, so you can know whether to start looking at home or in the office.

TrackR currently sells two models, the Pixel and Bravo. The Pixel is smaller and is made of plastic, rather than Bravo's brushed aluminum. A Bravo costs from $25 to $30, and a Pixel costs from $21 to $25, but you can save more if you buy a five, eight or twelve-packed device.

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