Carelessness is a part of human nature but many people are not comfortable with losing even their cheap mobile phones because they contain one’s most important personal information. Saved files from work, family members’ or friends’ contacts, heartwarming messages just disappear when cell phone is stolen from the rightful owner. And to find a lost mobile phone, one has to follow certain procedures to locate it successfully. Recommended reading: 5 safety tips for the “smartphone”.

1. The first step one should take if the phone was actually stolen is to report to the police to get a crime reference number for a chance to get it back if the thief is found, or in some cases to lay an insurance claim in case it won’t.

2. The other thing one can do after losing the phone or after it’s stolen is to log in using another system and suspend your accounts that were connected to the phone. Immediate action should be taken after realizing your phone is missing or has been stolen to avoid interference with your accounts. After suspending your accounts, you may use the phone GPS to locate it. If you are an iPhone user, iCloud and many location tracking applications (being previously installed) allow to do that. If you have Android, Blackberry or Windows Phone, there are similar solutions every owner should consider before the actual loss occurs.

3. If any cell phone spy software had been installed on the lost device, it will make it easily traceable using another phone or a computer. The cell phone spy software is primarily used to keep track of call logs and incoming and outgoing messages on a targeted device but when the phone is stolen, such software will help to track its location using Google maps, for example.

4. Since not all of us own a fancy phone able to install tracking applications, there is still a solution. For instance, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint offer locator services and help to track down your phone if only it has a battery life or a signal. But if the phone battery is removed and the SIM card is plucked out, you have to count yourself unlucky.

5. Android users have an extra advantage where they can install the tracking app directly from a computer after losing their phone. By visiting a Google Play store and installing the app remotely, it will be installed automatically on your phone and start working immediately. The physical location will be instantly emailed to your email address. You may also receive email updates when the person using the phone changes the SIM card, and that new phone number will be emailed to you.

6. Having lost a phone by misplacing it, one may log in into certain websites using any desktop computer and enter his/her phone number. Then the phone will automatically ring. That’s a great solution is when nobody’s around to help you to call your phone number to check if it’s misplaced. As long as your phone isn’t in silent mode, it will ring, and you will be able to find it.

7. What’s more important is that there exist some apps that help to lock the phone until you find it, and the phone can get unlocked only by authorized parties. One may send a self-destruction text if a phone thief swaps the SIM cards.

8. You may choose to notify your mobile provider immediately about the theft so they disable the phone in a minute. However remember that the service provider will ask to provide him with your IMEI number, and then he your phone will be disabled from making further calls until you find it.

9. There are some applications which cause the phone to play a loud sound alarm even when it is silent or sent a pop-up message to the phone so the thief reads it.

10. Another solution, or it’s better to call it a suggestion, is for you to keep your home number in the contact list or somewhere among phone data where it will be easily found by someone who is not planning to steal your mobile phone. So he may call you and give it back.

If you call your lost or stolen phone and it is picked by someone, offer a particular reward to the person and they may consider giving it back for a little reward. If you have tried all possible options and you still can’t find your phone, it is best for you to remotely wipe off all the data from the phone. So surely, if you don’t think you’ll survive the potential loss of your favorite gadget, it’s high time for you to download and install tracking applications just in case. You never know what may happen.

Author Bio:

The tips are written by Tiffany Trepanier, a blogger, gadget geek and all tech lover. Tiffany submits to a few sites and can’t spend a day without writing or exploring a new app.