# Cell/Mobile Phone Tracing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-mobile-phone-tracing/197764>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 26, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-mobile-phone-tracing/197764 "2003-08-26T15:57:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yastobaal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/258eb7/32.png) [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-mobile-phone-tracing/197764/1 "2003-08-26T15:57:08Z")

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From movies and television I am pretty certain that cell/mobile phones can not be traced when turned off. But my friend has read something in a recent UK paper about somebody being found via their mobile when it was switched off. Can anybody verify or debunk this?

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**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-mobile-phone-tracing/197764/2 "2003-08-26T18:12:08Z")

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Once a cell is turned off it is no longer possible to locate the cell phone _if it starts to move again_. I can always check where the cell phone last registered itself and the log of the phone itself (for instance, I can tell if a phone is turned off or if the signal was immediately cut).

There may be a new tracking feature in newer cell phones using the 911 tracking chip that I’ve heard about but I don’t know anything about that.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-mobile-phone-tracing/197764/3 "2003-08-27T03:04:24Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by badmana \*  
> \*\*There may be a new tracking feature in newer cell phones using the 911 tracking chip that I’ve heard about but I don’t know anything about that. \*\*

Not so far as I know, and I work really, really extensively with that very feature 🙂