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Question
My son lost or his phone was stolen from school. I now have the familymap from AT&T to locate the phone but his battery is dead on the phone because it goes straight to voice mail when I call the phone. Therefore familymap will not locate it. Is there anyway of tracing the sim card even if the phones battery is dead? Thanks
Unfortunately, there is no way to trace a dead phone. The way that the phone is traced with Familymap is when the phone periodically checks in with the cell towers. When the phone is dead, there is no way for it to check in with the tower. The SIM card just contains wireless info, it has no power or ability to do anything without being in a phone device that is turned on. Unfortunately, without battery power, there is no way to trace your phone. I hope he finds the phone. If the person who has it removes the SIM, you will not be able to locate it either because whatever phone the SIM card is in is what will show on Family Map. If that person has AT&T service, he can just remove your son's SIM and use his instead and you will unfortunately, never know. I hope this helps. Thanks. DebiN
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DebiN
Expertise
I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.
Experience
Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.
Organizations
I belong to several organizations
Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications
Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years
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