Cell phones, because of their small sizes, are prone to getting lost easily. One can drop or leave them in places, unknowingly or they might even get stolen. Now, with advances in technology, there are a number of ways in which one might attempt to find one’s lost cellphone.

These are dependent on a number of factors such as the manufacturer of the phone, service provider, etc…

The most obvious method that one might adopt would be to call up the service provider  and report the loss. For example, AT&T offers a provision through which one might suspend one’s wireless service upon the phone being lost or stolen.

There are a number of web based services available to track down phones. AT&T  provides the FamilyMap service for tracking down cellphones, especially to keep a watch on family members.This service is easy to use and comes at a cost of $10.0 per month. This service is available only for AT&T wireless customers.

Some other services, like MobiWee, allow one to remotely manage one’s cell phone. After installing the software, one can send commands to execute on the phone silently like sending messages and viewing call logs remotely. In the event of the cell phone getting lost, one can avail the GPS in the phone to locate it on Google Maps.

Apple’s iphone comes with the MobileMe software, which has an in-built “Find My iPhone” feature. There are also a number of third-party software packages like iHound and Mobile Spy, which enable owners to track down their iphones.

There are a couple of things one should know about cellphones, which would enable one to track them down. Every cell phone has a unique 15 digit IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number. This number is located at the back of the cell phone, on the battery sticker. One can also dial “#06#” from one’s phone to know the number.

This number is to be reported in order to deactivate one’s cell phone from the service provider’s network. Thus, tracking one’s cellphone through software services and disabling it through the IMEI number are measures one can resort to when one’s cell phone gets lost.