My Nexus was stolen. Prey was installed, but no remote wipe software. Suggestions?

  1. smileman

    smileman Well-Known Member

    In terms of security, I had draw unlock feature and Prey installed.

    I can see a rough location of where the thief took the phone, but I don't know the exact address. Without an exact address the UK police won't go investigate. If only I had left the GPS turned on for a more precise signal!

    The other concern I have is how much of my life is accessible from my smartphone. I've already changed my google password, so that should disable access to most of my personal information. Other suggestions? Hopefully the draw unlock will keep the person out.

    I tried to remotely install Lookout Mobile Security&#65279; and LostAndroid. In the Android Market their Status are both listed as 'Complete', but I have not been able to get LostAndroid working remotely. I'm wondering if by changing my google password I've prevented my phone from being able to remotely install Lookout Mobile Security&#65279; and LostAndroid&#65279;? Since I have the draw unlock feature active, should I change my password back to what I had it when I was in possession of the device, and then try to remotely reinstall a remote wipe software?

    Thanks for your help. This is my first stolen smartphone. It's amazing how dependent I've become on it.

  2. quantumrand

    quantumrand Well-Known Member

    I suppose it could be possible that since you've changed your Google account password that it can't install the apps. It would have to be able to log into your Google account in order to sync the data (such as new app installs). If you can find a window in which you know the phone is on and has a network connection, you can try changing your password back temporarily to see if that allows the remote install. I would not leave your account with the old password for very long, as if the thief ever did manage to unlock the device, he could potentially buy a bunch of apps, or if he's clever (which most thieves aren't), he could stick a dummy app on the Android Marketplace that costs say $500 and buy it with your account, giving him the 70% share or whatever it is.

    More than likely, though, the thief has turn the phone off and/or removed your SIM card, meaning it has no network connection in order to receive the new app download queues.
    smileman likes this.
  3. smileman

    smileman Well-Known Member

    Good points, thanks.

    My phone stopped broadcasting this morning, so I suspect it ran out of juice. S/he will need to find a charger for it before it can rebroadcast again.

    If a thief is really persistent then I imagine cracking the swipe lock is not too difficult, generally speaking?
  4. quantumrand

    quantumrand Well-Known Member

    I'd imagine most thieves wouldn't bother to try more than a few lock combinations, probably the 'Z' and 'O' combinations first. I doubt they'd have the patience to try much else with it. If he knows what he's doing, he'd boot up into the recovery mode and just wipe the phone, then sell it quickly, before the IMEI is reported. But most thieves probably aren't all that up to snuff with Android phones.

    If it's just some low life who "found" your misplaced phone and doesn't want to return it. He'll probably try to sell it right away for really cheap (like $50). Depending on who buys it, it probably won't be long after that when it gets a factory wipe from the recovery mode.

    Once you've exhausted your options with the various recovery apps (and you're not seeing it active on the network anymore), I'd recommend reporting your IMEI number to your cell carrier as stolen.
    smileman likes this.
  5. bobadopalis

    bobadopalis Well-Known Member

    if i was you id report it as lost/stolen, so if it gets sold then their more likely to hand it in??? and in the uk you can get it un-blacklisted once its returned
  6. smileman

    smileman Well-Known Member

    i reported it to my carrier that it was lost stolen.

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