Android IMEI tracing
- Thread starter vivek90a
- Start date
nRiTeCh
Skilled
You can use google to trace but first step is to ensure remote format through your google account. You can login and select format phone.
Data is of utmost importance forget the device you can still buy another one.
enthusiast29
Skilled
These thieves today are know-it-all. Do you really think they'll keep the device on after stealing or try to turn it on without erasing it?
They'll go into recovery and wipe it all, throw the SIM away. Sell it in chor bazar.
Forget the device as you aren't getting it back. It's harsh but sad truth.
File a police report for stolen phone, you can do this online. They won't do anything about it unless you file an FIR which ain't that easy. Ultimately filing a stolen phone report protects you if in-case that device in future is used for illegal activities which is what you should want.
They'll go into recovery and wipe it all, throw the SIM away. Sell it in chor bazar.
Forget the device as you aren't getting it back. It's harsh but sad truth.
File a police report for stolen phone, you can do this online. They won't do anything about it unless you file an FIR which ain't that easy. Ultimately filing a stolen phone report protects you if in-case that device in future is used for illegal activities which is what you should want.
Danielman
Disciple
When my phone and laptop were stolen (before covid) I reported the same in police station but they were not at all interested in finding them .Everytime, I asked them about the case they used to say that they are searching but no progress to show.
One constable told me outright that no one cares about your items and you should forget about them.
Then one of my friend suggested to register an FIR. When I asked to file an FIR, police always kinda downplayed its role and kept saying, you dont have to file one, it is no use, etc. But I was adamant and even made a local news reporter talk with police. With this I finally filed FIR.
Few days later, police found the thief and my phone plus laptop. From what I understood, police dont care about lost items. Your chances of getting ur items back increases if you file an FIR (idk how true this is, but people kept telling me that promotions in Police department are sometimes based on number of FIR cases solved, so police dont want unsolved cases during promotions time. This is the reason they wont let people file FIR, because no FIR implies no cases to solve and everything is under control) and most importantly, use your connections to pressure them.
Police caught the thief and found my items in 25 days. But it took around 5 months for those items to get handovered to me in court.
My suggestion is go to nearby PS, register an FIR, if you have an powerful connections, use them. Once they find your phone, hire a good lawyer.
If the phone is cheap and you dont care about it, forget it and move on.
One constable told me outright that no one cares about your items and you should forget about them.
Then one of my friend suggested to register an FIR. When I asked to file an FIR, police always kinda downplayed its role and kept saying, you dont have to file one, it is no use, etc. But I was adamant and even made a local news reporter talk with police. With this I finally filed FIR.
Few days later, police found the thief and my phone plus laptop. From what I understood, police dont care about lost items. Your chances of getting ur items back increases if you file an FIR (idk how true this is, but people kept telling me that promotions in Police department are sometimes based on number of FIR cases solved, so police dont want unsolved cases during promotions time. This is the reason they wont let people file FIR, because no FIR implies no cases to solve and everything is under control) and most importantly, use your connections to pressure them.
Police caught the thief and found my items in 25 days. But it took around 5 months for those items to get handovered to me in court.
My suggestion is go to nearby PS, register an FIR, if you have an powerful connections, use them. Once they find your phone, hire a good lawyer.
If the phone is cheap and you dont care about it, forget it and move on.
Last edited:
ishanjain28
Disciple
If you are from Delhi/MH, You can block the IMEI here. https://www.ceir.gov.in/Request/CeirUserBlockRequestDirect.jsp
Police will put it in their tracker for maybe 2-3 days and then it's removed but if you know someone in police, Ask them to leave it in the tracker. I found my phone exactly 1 month later. A shopkeeper picked it up, Switched it off for a month and turned it on with his sim card exactly after 1 month. Went there with some constables and the whole thing only took like 10 minutes.
I had filed a lost article complaint online but no FIRs.
And there is no way to track it with IMEI. Internet based(or proximity based) services like find my android can break easily. Apple's find my service is a bit more reliable.
Police will put it in their tracker for maybe 2-3 days and then it's removed but if you know someone in police, Ask them to leave it in the tracker. I found my phone exactly 1 month later. A shopkeeper picked it up, Switched it off for a month and turned it on with his sim card exactly after 1 month. Went there with some constables and the whole thing only took like 10 minutes.
I had filed a lost article complaint online but no FIRs.
And there is no way to track it with IMEI. Internet based(or proximity based) services like find my android can break easily. Apple's find my service is a bit more reliable.
ajinkyapatil
Disciple
I too had my phone stolen a long time ago (2006-07). The police straight away refused to file an FIR, but instead asked me register it in the lost items register that they maintain. In the eventuality that they nab the thieves with the items, they use this register to match the items. Luckily for me, my phone was modded to put on a custom skin (theme), I think it was a Sony Ericsson K500i, which could be removed without formatting a phone with specialty kits (this was before android), that were available with only a few shops in the city, and they straight away refused to reset/flash the phone if they were not provided with a bill. My classmate by chance saw the phone for sale in one of the mobile shops and confirmed it was mine after he saw the theme. That's when my dad along with my uncles went to the shop and with a few pleasantries and maybe some physical encouragement, shop keeper gave away who it was that sold him the phone. It was a another tuition classmate who was tasked with guarding the bags while we played after the classes, dude came from a good family, but had a habit of doing this.
The issue here is they are ready to take complaint, not finding it.
They can but its not in their interest...
what 5months ??? back and forth traveling to court... this is hell
Already moved on but asking you all if any chance...
I'm based out in Bangalore and it will not accept. Are mobile thefts happening in delhi & maharastra only...
Danielman
Disciple
Yeah, the approx breakdown of 5 months is somethiing like this,
Police took 1.5 months to submit the recovered items from the thief to court.
Our courts are filled with cases and are severely understaffed. It took 3.5 months for my case to come infront of the judge.
It barely took 30 mins for the judge to give me back my stuff.
Cherry on top, I had to pay bribes to multiple people aswell.
Yeah this is what.. :/
if its iPhone 11 and later if bribe is the only why you have to, as kidneys were sold to buy one.
Thanks man, i can understand the agony.......
Well on the topic of IMEI tracking how good are these IMEI tracking apps on phone . They can click pics of thief , lock phone , generate alarm etc
Had uses cerberus long back , now its 5 Euro per year . Thinking of taking it .
Any reviews of recent or any other known service of such kind
Had uses cerberus long back , now its 5 Euro per year . Thinking of taking it .
Any reviews of recent or any other known service of such kind
enthusiast29
Skilled
They don't trace on GSM mobile radio signals which is what IMEI tracing should do. Any IMEI based tracing techniques/software if available would certainly not be made public. They are restricted to the police and mobile operators.
The apps you're talking about are based on mobile data/internet based tracing.
- The mandatory thing about such apps is that the app has to be installed on the device (can be bypasses easily by wiping the phone from recovery). If device is rooted then some apps can be installed as system app. That can also be bypassed by stock ROM reflashing.
- Another thing the device has to have active internet connection (wifi/mobile data) along with the app installed to be able to trace it and perform remote actions. No stupid thief will do that.
So pointless in my opinion. These are helpful if you forget your phone somewhere and want to locate it but if it's stolen there's very slim chance you'll ever get it back.
Ssreek
Adept
So when everything was over and you got your phone, was it still in the same way it was with you before ?
Imagine going through all this hell and getting your phone back with a cracked screen!!
Danielman
Disciple
Yes, I got the same phone with no damage. All the data in phone was cleared (this is expected ). My phone had a cheap case but that is gone.
But with my laptop, things happened differently, police could not find my original laptop and instead gave me an different unclaimed laptop of similar specs. I had to take it.
I think I am lucky, to have got my phone and laptop(different one) without damage. 5 months in police station and court means anything could have happened to them.
c052463
Recruit
There is no way to track via IMEI. File an FIR now! If you don't file an FIR and your device becomes part of some crime, you'll be picked for interrogation.
Also the police might try to shoo you away and try to convince you to not file an FIR, but insist and do it; if they do not do it, get it written on piece of paper that they are denying to lodge a complain.
Keep that copy or copy of FIR with you. It's better to go through the headache of filing an FIR than risk being questioned for an unknown crime.
Also the police might try to shoo you away and try to convince you to not file an FIR, but insist and do it; if they do not do it, get it written on piece of paper that they are denying to lodge a complain.
Keep that copy or copy of FIR with you. It's better to go through the headache of filing an FIR than risk being questioned for an unknown crime.
blr_p
Skilled
A few years back a cousin of mine did that when a new iPhone delviered to her work place was stolen by people who were renovating the office (!)
She never received the phone.
A few weeks or months later she kept checking some apple website that had IMEI tracing and the phone suddenly showed up.
She called the police told them that the phone has shown up on the website and they looked into it and a week later Bangalore's finest handed it back to her and told her to be more careful the next time.
It had changed hands a few times and the present owner was some student who picked it up for a fraction of the new. He had to let go of the phone and was most distraught.
She thinks iPhones are 'un-stealable' !!
No bribe, no running around. Don't know if she even filed an FIR. Just worked like that.
rkkaranrk
Skilled
How the user becomes the part of the come how would police finds out that the perticular device belongs to him ?
They'll only interrogate if the number registered in his name is used for crime.
sauravghosh
Adept
Not much to add here. Phone stolen in this country means it's gone for good. Buy new phone, full stop. Or, you could bribe the uniformed criminals called police, who then may try to do something to track it and all. But whatever happens, one must lodge a written complaint after phone stolen, with IMEI and ph. no clearly mentioned, preferably within 24 hours of the incident.