Find Your Phone at Home: Make It Ring From a Computer

You know the situation: the phone was in your hand a minute ago, and now it is gone. If you have a laptop nearby but no second phone, a browser call can make the missing phone ring so you can follow the sound.

When calling your own phone works

• The phone is switched on and has mobile signal or can receive calls over Wi-Fi.
• It is not in "Do Not Disturb" with calls blocked. Some modes silence calls from unknown numbers, so try more than once.
• It is probably nearby: in a bag, between cushions, in another room.

How to do it

1. Open the Globfone calling tool and sign in.
2. Allow microphone access if asked. You do not have to speak, but the call tool needs the permission to start.
3. Choose your country and enter your own phone number.
4. Press call and listen. Call two or three times, because a phone on silent may only vibrate and the call can go to voicemail after a few rings.

Free calling needs a verified account (credibility level 3/3) and uses a small amount of free Credits, so a few short attempts are enough. Hang up as soon as you hear it.

If it does not ring

• Straight to voicemail: the phone is off, out of battery or has no signal. Use a location tool instead, described in our guide to finding a lost Android or iPhone.
• Rings but you cannot hear it: turn off the TV, stand still and listen in each room. Check pockets of coats and the bottom of bags.
• Left outside the home: do not rely on ringing. Use Find Hub or Find My, notify your carrier and change important passwords.

Prevent the next search

Enable your phone's built-in location service now, while you still have the phone. It takes a minute, and it is the difference between a short walk and a long afternoon.

Make the search easier next time

• Choose one place at home where the phone always lives when you are not using it, such as a charging spot by the door.
• Set a distinctive ringtone so that you recognise it quickly in a noisy house.
• Keep a Bluetooth tracker on the keys or the phone case if you lose things often.
• Bookmark the calling tool on your laptop.

Questions

Will a call work if the phone is on silent?

The ring will not be audible, but many phones vibrate, and the buzzing against a table or in a bag can give the phone away.

What if the call goes to voicemail straight away?

The phone is probably switched off, out of battery or out of range. Use the location tools described in finding a lost Android or iPhone.