How it Works: Cell Phone Locator

Last Updated on February 28, 2018 by Sohail Qaisar

What are cell phone locators?

Cell phone locators are apps which help in cell phone location tracking by establishing or determining the exact location or position of a cell phone whether stable or moving. This can be done in two ways:

  • Multilateration of the radio signals between the different cell towers of the network and their phone but for this the cell phone must be emitting roaming signals for the nearby cell tower to catch them effectively.
  • Using the in-built GPS of the cell phone

How to track a cell phone location with the help of GPS?

The cell phones of this generation have built in GPS systems. The working of these GPS is similar to that of the commercial GPS receivers. The determining of the location of a cell phone by GPS is done on the basis of calculating the time lapse between transmission and receiving the GPS signal from a satellite to the phone. If the cell phone detects two satellites then a 2D position of the device can be calculated. Hence more the number of satellites detected by the phone, more accurate can be the determination of the cell phone. When the location tracking of a phone is turned on in the device, with the help of GPS and its satellite, it determines the exact location in real time, depending upon the type of cell phone used.

Now that we know that most of the smartphones are aware of their location, half of the job to track a cell phone location is completed. The further task is entitles to the location tracking apps. This cell phone tracking apps forward or communicate the position or location of the device to the user of the location tracking app. This task to track a cell phone location is completed by transmission of the location on the WiFi or SMS text, depending upon the cell phone used by the user of the app.

The best location tracking app as of now is the mSpy app. This app is known for its reliability and accurate position of the lost or stolen app through its GPS location tracker feature.

What are the causes that can disrupt the GPS accuracy of a cell phone location?

Following are some of the reasons which might be the reason for non-accuracy in getting exact location of a cell phone with the help of GPS:

1. Delay due to changes in atmosphere:

The signal emitted from the GPS of a cell phone travels through the atmosphere of the Earth which are the ionosphere and the troposphere. Although the settings in the GPS have a grace period determined for the time taken for the location to be determined but there can be further delay due to the changes in the atmosphere.

2. Obstruction in the path:

When the signal reflects of tall buildings and huge mountains, they create an obstruction in the path of the signal which may at times be the reason for errors on the location tracking of the cell phone and in that manner also give incorrect information to the user of the location tracker app of the positioning of the phone.

3. Visibility of the number of satellites:

As explained earlier, the more the number of satellites visible from the cell phone being located, the more accurate would be the positioning of the lost or stolen device. If the number of satellites visible is 2 or less then there might be chances of non-accuracy of the location of the device.

Sohail Qaisar

Sohail Qaisar is the founder and managing editor of TechBead, he founded TechBead in 2011. He is a tech geek, social media enthusiast and gaming addict. Contact him on the following email address: contact@techbead.com

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