My How To first Article how to find stolen android phone

Saturday night, about an year ago, in a Genoese street a thief stole my Android smartphone

An object of little value but which was extremely helpful to me.

My article realistically describes what you can do to identify the thieves of mobile phones and tablet using Android S.O. and to find the devices with a high probability of success.

It is divided into several paragraphs in which describes all the initiatives that can be taken in the event of theft or loss.

It specifies what initiative is, almost certainly, resolutive and what are the alternatives that can still be useful in some way.

This article refers to the Italian reality but can easily refer to the reality of other countries.

Simple file a complaint and intervention of Police [NOT RESOLVING]

I chased the offender for some time then I missed ..

At that point I called the police from another phone.

The call was useless because the operator did not understand what had happened and asked "What have they stolen ?? The shoes?" For about 20 seconds.

I interrupted the call and I went to the nearest police station where I started to tell the facts.

Because the mobile phone was protected by 3 APPS Antitheft agent advised me to check them and, if I had news (localization of the street,map, coordinates, photos of the robber etc ..), to warn them by phone immediately or to file a complaint the next day.

I went to file a complain the next day.

I provided IMEI code and I briefly described the facts and the thief.

The first call is served only to have the precise time of the theft.

In the area they had to be surveillance cameras that may have recorded the thief.

If the pictures taken are clear and if the thief is already known to the Police is certainly possible to identify it.

Surely Police do something if pictures are clear and the thief use violence,

Tablets and smartphone theft s are numerous and my impression is that the simple complaint, is not really useful to identify the thief and find the cell phone;

Police can not investigate because the very limited information available.

Simply the judge close the case without doing anything.

IMEI's Lock by the Mobile Provider [NOT RESOLVING]

The IMEI code for mobile phones is what the plate is for a car!

The IMEI (short for International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a sequence of 15 numbers that uniquely identifies a mobile phone.

The IMEI code is found in the original packaging of the cell phone or can be retrieved by dialing * # 06 # on the keypad.

It must be provided at Police in order to:

• trace and identify android phones whether the investigation has been successful (remote event as i explained in the previous paragraph)

• Lock the cell phone: prevent it from receiving and making phone calls.

The information about IMEI's lock can be provided by your mobile operator through the outlets, customer service phone, searching on internet.

I must specify a few things:

• The lock works only in the mobile provider's country, so if the stolen phone in Italy is used in Austria, for example, work perfectly

• You can change the phone's IMEI code making lock useless. Changing the IMEI code is not easy as it depends on a variable number of factors. Search on the Internet you can find information on how to change IMEI.

• The locked device can always connect to the internet using free WiFi Hot Spot so remain very useful!

• The Police can locate your device via the Mobile network: the IMEI code is transmitted to every phone call and, apparently, is traced by cells of the Mobile network; this method of investigation, which could be decisive, however, is not ever actually used.

My smartphones was protected by 3 Antitheft APPS that should locate transmitting street addresses, coordinates on maps, photos and other useful information.

Really, as we will discover in detail in the next paragraph the antitheft APPS are useless

but reading the reports I discovered that the IMEI code actually transmitted from my cell phone did not correspond to the one shown in the original package..

Probably because the phone was under warranty and I have it after a fix it is possible that it was a "refurbished" device and boxed in a wrong pack.

If I lock my phone using the wrong IMEI code listed on the box, I would have ruined the phone of someone who had nothing to do with the theft.

IMEI lock does not allow to track your cell phone, but phone calls lock damaging theft.

A sort of useless “Drawn Game” with the thief.

The Antitheft APPS [NOT RESOLVING]

Usually the antitheft APPS should locate the stolen device and identify thieves transmitting to a web site: street addresses, maps, IP addresses, photos and other useful information.

The antitheft APPS are numerous and are all completely useless because the thief can easily delete it with an "Hard Reset".

In each Android device you can irreversibly format all your data (photos, text messages, contacts, etc) and the installed apps, (Antitheft APPS also), restoring to factory settings.

This procedure is called "Hard Reset" and searching on the Internet, you can find out how to easily perform it on your phone model.

On my smartphones were installed 3 APPS antitheft

Preyproject (

Android Device Manager (

Avast Anti theft (

None of these has been activated after the theft.

I fear never work.

Customer support confirmed to me what I already suspected: the APPS are useless because they can not survive a "Hard Reset".

They are also easily recognizable and can be uninstalled.

I notice that even the anti-theft software installed on laptops are perfectly useless if the thief formats the hard disk or proceed to uninstall.

Despite this, by the staff APP Alarm Cerberus ( I received some interesting advice:

each device on which Android is installed comes with some " System APPS" that are an integral part of the operating system and can not be deleted: Gmail, Google Maps, Twitter, facebook and others.

Following the instructions that an advanced user will find on the internet you can install as "System APPS” any APP, also a antitheft APPS, so that it can NOT be canceled by a "Hard Reset".

I have not checked if user information, that every APPS manage differently, are undeleted after a "Hard Reset" but if the reader, experimenting, discovers that Antitheft APP continues to transmit consistent data after a "Hard Reset" has found undoubtedly an optimal solution for discover device and identify the thief.

I wonder why Android developers have not yet implement an efficient software for tracking lost or stolen Android phones.

To hold an official inquiry in "Google inc." by the Criminal Court [ALMOST CERTAINLY RESOLVING]

Is possible to identify thieves and receivers of stolen mobile phones on which the Android operating system is installed by connecting:

• The identification data that the criminal transmits when log in "System Apps" Google's, "Gmail", "Google Maps", "Apps Store" ...

• The IMEI code which is automatically transmitted when the criminal log in "System Apps” Google's"

The reader can verify that his data and the IMEI code are automatically transmitted and stored at this link

The victim of the theft, to find the stolen Android device and identifying the thief must file a complain asking clearly that the judge request periodically to the Company "Google inc." the identification data of the users who have logged in "System Apps" Google's in the time after the theft using as a search key IMEI stolen phone's.

If the search is successful the judge, from IMEI code, can discover a lot of useful information about the criminal: Username, Password, First Name, Last Name, contacts, content of his mail, cell phone location through topographical maps automatically tracked , etc and then identify it!

known that

• The Criminal Court is obliged, after the complaint to request information and "Google inc." Which legally must provide.

• You can not delete the "System Apps” Google's: "Gmail", "Apps Store" with a "Hard Reset"

• It is not easy to change the IMEI code

• The research technique in the database that I mentioned is a very common procedure can be performed from the Google technical staff in a very short time.

The request to the Company "Google inc." can also be done through a legal office, but the fee may be more expensive than the phone.

In any case I think it is better to file this kind of complaint to the police department qualified in computer science Crime

Identification information, covered in this paragraph, are stored in the Company's "Google Inc computer.".

At this link you can locate Google offices around the world

At this link the company "Google inc." explains how the Criminal Court or a law firm can request the information

I attach the Google Dashboard site screenshoot with my identification data, and IMEI code of my cell phone.

Conclusion

I am the first man in the world to discover that the IMEI code that identifies the phone is automatically sent to Google and is persistent between different accounts!

The thief who login to download the game: "Hungry Bird" from APP Store also provides at the Criminal Court, Its identification data!

It would be interesting discover if the other "APPS System" which are not formatted by a "Hard Reset" storing and transmitting the IMEI code.

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