Finding lost muted phone

Work just gave us Verizon 9630 Tours, and knowing my 3 year-old's tendency to grab anything electronic within reach, I have the keypad locked out. Now he has walked off with it, and I can't find it in the house. Since it won't ring when I call it, I am wondering if he muted it with the top button when he walked off with it (is that possible?)

If that's the case, is it possible the carrier can push new settings to the phone so I can hear the ring again? If not, any other ideas besides tearing the house apart?

Thanks!

Hmm sounds more like the phone is shut down as opposed to muted (or in standby mode). Actually it's plausible your child has taken the battery door off and the battery with it. Not that hard for a child even for a 3-year-old, trust me.

Best you can do is keep looking for it. Good luck!

Check the toilets first, if it's are not there, you have time to find it.

If it vibrates, any solid surface will amplify the noise helping to track it down. If not, that tell you to check the soft surfaces like beds are inside furniture.

I've got an OtterBox Defender on it, and he can barely get it out of their holster, so I'm betting it's in one piece and cuts down on potential keypad pressing. That also cuts down on vibration. I checked the toilet yesterday morning when I noticed it missing, so it's not soaked. Now I'm trying to find it today before having to go back to work tomorrow with no phone.

For the future I would recommend eGPS which can be set up so you can send a text or e-mail that will allow the phone to make an alert noise even when silenced. It overrides normal settings. This can also be used to wipe the phone/memory card in case the phone were lost/stolen and you were worried about the data being compromised.

Good luck with your immediate need of finding it.

Originally Posted by BerryWriter

If you know your three year old grabs everything why on earth did you leave it where he could reach it??

Accidents happen to the best of us....

Found it behind the couch! When I lifted the couch, there was enough signal for it to ring, but evidently nothing when the couch was in place.

BerryWriter, nothing is out of reach of a motivated three-year old. :p

Hey, this 20 times 3 year old came home from a bike ride, placed the Tour down in the basement somewhere!!!! Darn Verizon, with their short ring cycle made it hard for me to locate before it kept going to voice mail!!!!

Originally Posted by F2

Darn Verizon, with their short ring cycle made it hard for me to locate before it kept going to voice mail!!!!

Call Verizon CS -- they can change the number of rings before your phone goes to VM

glad you found it! now that you have, you should consider installing SmrtGuard on your BB. in addition to its security benefits, you can use their website to force your phone to emit a very loud beeping sound to help you find it when it is lost. this works even when it is on mute/vibrate and continues for 10 minutes or until you find the phone and press a button to make it to stop. i have used this feature several times on my BB and now could not live without it. oh yeah, and it's free!

HA! Obviously said by a person who's never had children? It's virtually impossible to keep things 100% child proof 24 hours a day. We're humans, we live, we do things sometimes without thinking it through (I mean, really, you set your phone down as you're reaching for the paper or a cup of coffee or to start a project and sometimes, just sometimes, it's entirely possible to forget that jr. is just waiting for such an opportunity.

Originally Posted by BerryWriter

If you know your three year old grabs everything why on earth did you leave it where he could reach it??

I love SmrtGuard, can't imagine having a phone without it. That being said, the "very loud buzzer noise" isn't quite as loud as I would like it. I am trying to imagine if my phone were hidden under some couch cushions, if I'd be able to hear it...maybe I'll test it out!

Originally Posted by SolidOrange

glad you found it! now that you have, you should consider installing SmrtGuard on your BB. in addition to its security benefits, you can use their website to force your phone to emit a very loud beeping sound to help you find it when it is lost. this works even when it is on mute/vibrate and continues for 10 minutes or until you find the phone and press a button to make it to stop. i have used this feature several times on my BB and now could not live without it. oh yeah, and it's free!

Originally Posted by EnergyPlus

I love SmrtGuard, can't imagine having a phone without it. That being said, the "very loud buzzer noise" isn't quite as loud as I would like it. I am trying to imagine if my phone were hidden under some couch cushions, if I'd be able to hear it...maybe I'll test it out!

it has definitely worked for me, although maybe i have very thin couch cushions. :p

either way, it's louder than the ringer on max volume, so i can't complain.

Ah, the old behind the couch. I remember my oldest daughter loved collecting my stuff and putting everything back there. Phones, keys, wallet, (however, contents of wallet would be scattered), my glasses and all sorts of things I need would always wind up behind the couch. I'm glad you found that phone!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

One of the worst, I think, is when your kid drops your car keys down a floor heating grate...and you're running late for work! HOURS spent looking for the keys...and then MORE hours!

Originally Posted by Mamaluka

Ah, the old behind the couch. I remember my oldest daughter loved collecting my stuff and putting everything back there. Phones, keys, wallet, (however, contents of wallet would be scattered), my glasses and all sorts of things I need would always wind up behind the couch. I'm glad you found that phone!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Originally Posted by echucker

Found it behind the couch! When I lifted the couch, there was enough signal for it to ring, but evidently nothing when the couch was in place.

BerryWriter, nothing is out of reach of a motivated three-year old. :p

Next time just buy the ice-cream when they ask, it's easier than the ransom :)

Originally Posted by EnergyPlus

I love SmrtGuard, can't imagine having a phone without it. That being said, the "very loud buzzer noise" isn't quite as loud as I would like it. I am trying to imagine if my phone were hidden under some couch cushions, if I'd be able to hear it...maybe I'll test it out!

This might be one of the few scenarios where Smrtguard can't help. If I read the OP correctly the sofa was knocking out enough signal to prevent the phone connecting on the network to ring, so Smrtguard would be unable to command any actions. The location feature would also be pretty useless if it should manage to work, he already knew the phone was "somewhere around the house" and the accuracy from GPS and mapping isn't likely to get him much closer. The only hope would be a sweep for RF bugs and hope to catch the phone looking for the network.

True enough. My GPS tracker usually tends to show my phone as being at the next door neighbor's house (that crook!) though, if I am on the other side of my house, it will show it laying out in the street, lol.

Regarding the sweep, I doubt there are many of us that have RF tracking devices (perhaps only the paranoid, lol).

Originally Posted by Branta

This might be one of the few scenarios where Smrtguard can't help. If I read the OP correctly the sofa was knocking out enough signal to prevent the phone connecting on the network to ring, so Smrtguard would be unable to command any actions. The location feature would also be pretty useless if it should manage to work, he already knew the phone was "somewhere around the house" and the accuracy from GPS and mapping isn't likely to get him much closer. The only hope would be a sweep for RF bugs and hope to catch the phone looking for the network.

Just a thought for future readers - cellphone detectors are becoming cheaper and more commonly available (as found in schools, security restricted areas...). It might be worth checking, a quick visit to Google suggests the prices start around $100 which is cheaper than a new phone or getting fired.