GPS Trace guide

GPS-Trace result guide

The GPS Trace can be used to accurately locate a mobile phone by sending a SMS containing a special tracking-link. When the owner of that phone opens the link, CellTrack will try to activate the built-in GPS location service and retrieve the exact location for you

Sending a tracking SMS

A tracking SMS looks like any normal SMS.
You can choose a message template from the dropdown menu or leave the default values.

What does a tracking SMS look like?

The SMS would look something like this:

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FROM: DHL
Dear client, you have a package waiting for pickup.
Please go to www.DHL-Parcel.com/[PhoneNumber]
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After you choose the desired SMS, press the send button and wait until you get the location by email.

You can also choose a predefined template or write custom content:

Tracking email explained

The tracking SMS uses two techniques to trace a location.
One is by activating the built-in GPS inside the target phone.
The other is by utilizing the IP address of the phone’s internet connection.
Even if the GPS is turned off, you will still get a location based on the IP address.
The first email you will get will show the location based on the IP address of the phone.
The email will look something like this:

It is important to know that this location is not an exact location but an estimate.
In the mail you will find the following items.
1- Represents the phone number you are looking for.
2- The IP address of the phone.
If the phone uses a VPN or Proxy server, you won’t be able to get an accurate location.
If the phone is connected to 4G/GPRS , the location could be off by 1 to 300 Km.
3- The continent the phone is located on.
4- The accuracy of the traced location in.
5- ISP is the name of the Internet Service Provider that is providing the internet connection.
6- The name of the organization that owns the ISP.
7- The name of the domain.
8- The estimated coordinates traced to the IP address.
9- The city the phone’s IP was traced to.
10- The country the phone’s IP was traced to.
11- A google maps link that will take you to the location that was traced to the IP.

The second e-mail contains the exact location acquired by activating the phone’s GPS antenna.
Please note that if the GPS antenna was disabled you won’t be able to get an exact location.
The time of the email is the time of the trace.
The email containing the exact location would look like this:

1- Represents the phone number you are looking for.
2- The IP address of the phone.
If the phone uses a VPN or Proxy server, you won’t be able to get an accurate location.
If the phone is connected to 4G/GPRS , the location could be off by 1 to 300 Km.
3- The exact coordinates traced to the phone’s location.
4- The city the phone’s was in at the moment it was traced.
5- The Exact address that the phone’s GPS sent to us.
6- The country the phone was in at the moment it was traced.
7- A google maps link that will take you to the location that was traced to the IP.

If for some reason you did not receive the emails, please check your SPAM folder.
You can also find the trace results on our website. To do this log-in to CellTrack and select
“Account history” from the menu.

2- Scroll down until you see: GPS Trace history

1 – Phone Number: This represents the phone number you are looking for.
2- Expired: This shows you is if the GPS location was grabbed from the phone. ‘Yes’ meaning that the coordinates were found and ‘No’ meaning that it wasn’t possible at the time and the tracking-link is still active.
3- IP location found: When the tracking link from the SMS is opened, a red pin with the word ‘Yes’ and the IP-address below it will show up. If you click on the pin, a google maps with the estimated location will pop-up.
4- GPS location found: When the tracking link is opened, a red pin with the word ‘Yes’ next to it will appear. By clicking on the pin you will be taken to the location on Google maps.
5- SMS status: Here you can see the status of the SMS containing the link.
There are 4 possible options here.
SMS sent – The SMS was sent to the phone and is awaiting delivery.
SMS delivered – The SMS was delivered to the target phone.
Added to queue – The SMS could not be delivered yet. It had been queued by the network.
SMS delivery failed – The SMS was not delivered to the target phone. The phone might be turned off or the number is no longer active.
6- Date: This is the date on which the SMS was opened.

GPS-Trace trouble shooting

I did not get an email with the location yet. What should I do?
To get a location, we need the person to open the tracking link inside the SMS.
As long as this does not happen, CellTrack cannot activate the built-in GPS.
Sometimes the phone is turned off or the phone number is no longer active.
If this is the case, the SMS will not arrive on the phone.
You can check the status of the SMS you sent. To do this log-in to CellTrack and select “Account history” from the menu. Scroll down until you see “GPS Trace history”. At the end you can find the status.
If a phone was offline, the SMS will be delivered as soon as the phone is switched on again.

I only got one email with the estimated location. When will I get the second email.
When you get only one email, it means the person opened the SMS and clicked on the tracking link.
However, access to the built-in GPS was blocked of the GPS was disabled. Newer phones tend to do this and there is no way to bypass this.
What you can do is send another GPS-Trace with a different topic at a time when you think the phone will be connected to WIFI. Sometimes it takes a second try to get good results!

I traced the person but the location is incorrect.
When we calculate the location of a phone, we use IP address information to do so..
The IP-address is an address that is specific to that phone only.
This can work pretty well when someone is using WIFI at the moment of the trace.
If the person is using GPRS or 4G the results can be less accurate as the IP is bound to a much larger area. Of course this differs from city to city.
Something else that can cause a wrong location to be sent to you is a so called VPN.
A VPN is a computer in the middle that protects the phones real IP from being traced.
The owner of the phone may have installed VPN software , but some phone companies also do this for their customers.
In the first email we send you, you can see to what company the IP belongs.
You can look up this company and find out if it’s a VPN provider or not.

I traced the person but the exact location is incorrect.
When we grab the exact location of a phone, we do so by activating the GPS that is built in to the phone. We use the original coordinates and do not edit this in any way. If the address is off by a couple of kilometers, than this is the result of bad reception. Sometimes when inside a building, reception can be pretty bad. In such case the phone will use it’s last know location. This can be a couple of kilometers away from the actual location. If this happens you could try sending another GPS-Trace at a later time.

I did a GPS-Trace and I can see the SMS was delivered but the person won’t open the link!
Unfortunately this happens. Some people don’t trust links that are received via SMS.
In such case its possible to send a tracking link per Whatsapp, Facebook or even email using the SocialMedia trace.