Stolen Z3

[Vern1]

My Xperia Z3 was stolen and almost immediately switched off so I was unable to track it using My Xperia. The phone is not insured so my only option is to trace it using the IMEI number, however I'm not even sure if that is possible after blacklisting it. Can anyone assist with any possible suggestions or solutions?

[Qatrium · Accepted solution]

Sorry to hear that.

Depending on your country actually, some countries you can just call the police and provide them with your IMEI number, other countries you can call major carriers and ask then to block/trace your IMEI after you prove your ownership with reciept/box.

[emk]

@Vern1 have you installed avg anti theft on your phone? Or have you enabled tracking through Google maps?

[Vern1]

I haven't installed AVG. I enabled a google plus account and was able to track the phone using Android Device Manager when I tested it and I registered with my Xperia and was able to locate it as well when testing that. It was naive of me to assume they would both work in the case of the phone being switched off.

[emk]

You still can track your phone using Android Device Manager when the phone is switched on and connected to Internet but you would never know when it would
Another solution
Go to Google maps; there's 3-line srttings icon > your time-line
Choose the day you lost your phone on and see where it had been to
And keep me updated
Ps, you have to be signed in with the same Google account on your Sony

[Vern1]

@emk I was unaware of the timeline feature up until this point. As a result the history feature was not activated on the device. I have however activated it now in the hopes that it may prove useful as of this point. The concern I have is that I assume the device still needs to be switched on, connected to a mobile or wifi network, as well as being logged in with my Google account to be logged in my timeline, meaning the thief/new user would have not wiped the phone before switching it on. Your contribution would have been brilliant had I known about the feature earlier and will be brilliant if the above reuirements are met and for this I'd like to express great gratitude.

[emk]

Actually I use an app called prey
It prevents the phone from switching off when it's locked
And I also installed avg anti theft which can send me the new user number in case they changed the sim and it can also take pics of the user when they put the lock pattern incorrectly
So I would have a picture of the user, their number and location
It would also be very easy for the police to return my phone back
Good luck next time