Tutorials

How to transform your old Android into a GPS locator

A mobile that has ceased to have daily use does not have to become useless: it continues to offer many uses. Such as become a handy GPS tracker. Do you want to make sure you can find your car in case of a possible theft? And without applications, Android offers it as standard.

Location is one of the most useful tools on a smartphone. It allows you to place yourself on the map in order to get anywhere, it also improves the practice of outdoor sports, for example. Unfortunately, the fact that a mobile phone has tracking capabilities has its downside: privacy risks if the data reaches certain applications. Yes indeed, there are ways to use GPS tracking in your favor.

Locate your car, your wallet, your motorcycle… with an old mobile

Image 2020 11 09 15 57 32

A smartphone is not as practical when it comes to locating as an Apple AirTag or Samsung SmartTag, but it gives the same result: accurately find the extra objects

If your old Android is still working fine, the battery lasts several days without continuous use and the mobile connectivity works you can turn it into a GPS tracker. Ideally, it should be as small as possible since, surely, you want to hide it so that it goes unnoticed, but it will serve you even if it does not meet this premise. The main thing is that it works as a smartphone.

If your old mobile continues to function as a smartphone, you won’t have any problems turning it into a practical GPS locator

The mobile is essential, although not the only thing. Let’s see what other requirements you must take into account for everything to work.

A SIM with an active data rate

Locators send their exact position in order to recover both the device itself and what it was protecting. Thus, must have mobile connectivity: SIM is essential.

Our recommendation is that you use a prepaid data rate to avoid the inconvenience of being charged for almost zero consumption. Choose an economic rate, make sure you have at least one gigabyte of data (even less, having the mobile connected does not consume much) and make sure that the rate does not expire while you are using the mobile as a locator.

an external battery

power bank

It is not essential if your mobile lasts for several days, but it is recommended: it provides peace of mind. With an external battery of, for example, 10,000 mAh you will have for more than a week of location without having to charge the phone (and battery) in between.

POSUGEAR Mobile Power Bank 20000mah Quick Charge, 18W Power Bank Quick Charge 3.0 Type c with 3 Inputs and LED Display (Two Cables Offered - USB C & Micro)………

POSUGEAR Mobile Power Bank 20000mah Quick Charge, 18W Power Bank Quick Charge 3.0 Type c with 3 Inputs and LED Display (Two Cables Offered – USB C & Micro)………

RRP on Amazon €18.99

Xiaomi Power Bank Essential, MI Wireless, 10000MAH, White

Xiaomi Power Bank Essential, MI Wireless, 10000MAH, White

RRP on Amazon €22.43

with external battery the mobile will take up more space, you must take it into account. This makes it difficult to hide the locator so “would-be thieves” won’t find it.

A Google account registered on the mobile

Find My Device

Google remote location service is active

To locate the phone we will use the native Android function, to find the devices. Therefore, you need an active Google account with which to register the mobile. Make sure everything is working correctly as follows:

  • Enter the settings of your old Android mobile and go to the Google section.
  • Go to “Find my device.
  • Make sure the “Use Find My Device” option is turned on.

Once you have all of the above, you can use your phone as a GPS locator. In principle, it is already configured so that, in case you lose where you keep the old mobile, you can know where you are at all times with an accuracy of a few meters.

How to use Find My Device

GPS locator

Accurate GPS location thanks to Find My Device

google allows find an Android mobile with great precision if it is lost or stolen, operation that you can take advantage of to turn the phone into a GPS locator. Once you have met the above requirements, it is time to know how to find everything you can lose.

  • Go to this link from a browser (web or mobile).
  • Sign in with the Google account you used to register the old phone.
  • Choose the phone you used as a pager.
  • Google will contact the mobile remotely, ask for the precise location and the phone, thanks to the mobile connectivity of the SIM, in

Related Articles

Back to top button