Understanding How Cell Phone GPS Tracking Works?

Answer 1

GPS cell phone tracking was not a complicated bit of technology to figure out. It’s even less difficult for satellite phones, although the latter common technology is far less common. The technology allows employers to keep track of employee movements, help parents locate where their children are, and it can even help a person got to where they are going. What is not always clear to the average person is how GPS cell phone tracking works.

Cell phone towers send out microwave signals that able them to communicate with phones in the area. A common household appliance also uses the same type of radiation to heat food quickly. Specific phones require software to figure out the phone’s location.

Global positioning system coordinates for each cell phone tower are known and typically do not change. The tower is simply there so it can relay messages to other towers and to the phones themselves. Software installed on the phone can use the time it takes for a signal to get from a specific tower to the phone itself to pinpoint the location of a GPS enabled phone.

GPS cell phone tracking is not without its limits. The service can only tell a person where the phone is. If the phone owner has lost the phone or has deliberately left it behind, the tracking software can only work to find the current location of the device. The second limitation is even more problematic. The service only works when the cell phone is powered on. If a person turns it off or powers the unit down, a GPS cell phone tracking service will do no good for rescuers or a company who wants to use it.

GPS cell phone tracking is a service that many people pay for as part of their cell phone service rather than paying extra for. The technology is similar to those used by companies such as Garmin, although the latter type usually has screens that are easier to read.