To track down your lost phone, you do not need to go for extreme options like filing a police complaint. The best way to track your phone is by using a tracking software that is previously installed on your phone. You need a software that could turn on your phone even when the phone is switched off. Wavesecure, Antidroid, iTag, and Lookout mobile security are few authentic apps that would work well on mostly all smart phones and control it remotely as well.

An alternative option is tracing locations of the mobile and tracking where the number is calling from is handy in most of the devices. It all depends on how much money you want to spend, how much information you want to gather, and why you want this information. All mobile companies will have their own tracking options and the same goes for MetroPCS.

Search through Google:
This is a very basic thing one would do to know the mobile holder’s name. Just by typing in the mobile number in the search bar, you can extract a lot of information about the cellphone number and its current location. Initially it will detect the area code, providing you the region of the country where the mobile call was made. This will give you a hit where the person calling you is and the place from where they bought the phone and where they are actually calling you from. Meanwhile the internet search does not give the exact area of the MetroPCS phone, it will generally give an idea where it was purchased.

GPS tracking:
Not all phones would automatically display who is calling you. Certain mobiles need to be connected with the internet or need a tracking software to instantly reveal it. Some smart phones with MetroPCS service will help you can who is calling via MetroPCS’ screenIT service. It gets linked with your contact list and instantly recognizes the one calling if the name is registered to the number and reveals the city and state; however, it will only show the number if the number is not registered by the name.

Help from service station:
Suppose a stranger is calling you from a MetroPCS phone asking for a help with any bad intention or is harassing you, one of the ways to track them down is by contacting the authorities and their general, if they could not guess the area, they could at least point out the location. Many people are unaware of this option and directly go for filing a police complaint. Certainly, the MetroPCS service doesn’t encourage people who come up with such queries because many would use it for things that would violate laws. But during emergency situations, they can help you out provided that you give a genuine reason.

Losing a cell phone, though a very regular incident, sends a shiver down our spine for sure. Thanks to technology, however, locating a lost or misplaced cell phone is quite easy now. Cell phone tracking helps us ascertain the location of our phone whether it is moving or is stationary. The positioning system involves location based services to disclose the exact location of the phone. Tracking a cell phone is made possible either through the radio signals between the towers of the network and the cell phone. An easier way is simply through GPS(Global Positioning System).

Different tracking methods

Based on the network: A cell phone always coordinates wirelessly with nearby network towers. The network is often received from the closest tower. So locating the tower proving network to the lost phone helps us find the rough area the phone could be in. However, it is not very accurate.

Based on the handset: Client software installed on the handset helps us locate the phone. This technique uses cell identification and signal strengths of the home and neighboring cells. However, a handset equipped with cell phone GPS tracking can be more accurately located. An Android phone can easily be tracked through the Android Device Manager app from another phone or the web browser.

SIM-based: Obtain raw radio measurements from the handset through SIM(Subscriber Identify Module) in GSMs. This is possible even if transmitting radio signals though the handset is not possible.

Wi-Fi: One can also use crowdsourced wi-fi data to locate a lost phone even in cases of the poor cell phone network.

Hybrid: The Hybrid Positioning System combines network-based tracking and handset based tracking to locate a lost phone. Both types of data make the location more accurate. The utilization of the GPS and the information provided by the network to locate a phone is an example of hybrid cellphone tracking.

How to track a cellphone with GPS

• It is quite easy to track a cell phone with the use of GPS.
• Open The Android Device Manager App
• You can download and open the app in another Android enabled device or the web browser to track a stolen device.
• Log Into Your Google Account
• You will be asked to log into your google account with the ID that is registered in the Google account of the lost phone.
• Locate Your Device
• After logging in, the app will attempt locating the lost phone by tracing the last the location the phone had been in. You can find the precise point your phone should be in.
• Act On The Phone
• After the last location is found, you have several options.
• Ring- Make the phone ring if you think it might be near you.
• Lock- Set a new lock so that an unknown person cannot have any access to the information on your phone.
• Erase- Erase all data on the phone to save it from the person who stole it.