Can you locate a cell phone when it's off?
If the police are looking for a suspect, they can locate a cell phone with the help of the network operator. But does that also work when the cell phone is off?
Cell phone tracking is no longer a secret and many providers advertise that you can simply get one Phone number You have to state on your website and you can always know what your partner is doing. However, such services are not exactly reputable. It is even a criminal offense to locate cell phones without permission. Only the police can do that when it comes to tracking down a suspect.
This is how a cell phone can be located
A mobile phone can be located using various methods.
- One variant works via cellular cells and cell phone masts. The cellular cells are areas that are covered by a transmission mast. A cell phone always receives its signal from the mast that is closest to it. So you can be a person or locate their cell phone relatively well, as the signal is only transmitted over a certain range.
- Cell phones can be located much more precisely using the GPS system. In case you are a Smartphone that is GPS enabled (like most modern Smartphones), then you can be localized very precisely by satellite.
- However, this only works if the service is activated and you are not in a radio shadow (e.g. B. in a building).
- If you are Apps for iPhone, Android etc. use and z. B. If you use Google Maps, you shouldn't be surprised if Google & Co. know your exact location. In addition to data, these services also transmit the GPS coordinates of your mobile phone. This is mainly used to collect data in order to send you the appropriate advertising. Nevertheless, it has something of Big Brother (cf. George Orwell's novel "1984") and is an invasion of privacy.
A tracking order can be created very easily online. Especially in emergencies ...
Cell phone tracking when switched off
There is a lot of vague information on this topic, but there is hardly any concrete statement as to whether you can locate a cell phone when it is switched off. The police, of course, do not like to raise such information and Apple's data collectors, Facebook and neither does Google.
- Officially, it should not be possible to locate a cell phone if it is not switched on. But supposedly it is technically possible to simply switch the device on again externally.
- If the SIM card and the battery are in the mobile phone, you should still be able to locate them. There was once an article about this in "Spiegel" that confirmed this.
- If you have lost your mobile phone somewhere and want the network operator to locate it, they will only be able to tell you the last position at which it was switched on. Because - as I said - the network operators, the app providers and the police are silent about the exact possibilities for "spying".
- If you do not believe in the possibility of being located at any time, then it probably only helps that you do not have a cell phone. This is the safest way to feel unobserved (provided you are not near a security camera).
