If a cell phone is truly turned "off" and is not responding to pings
from cell towers and is not periodically broadcasting its location, then
there's no way in hell that anyone is going to know where it is. If
you're really paranoid about it, borrow some foil from your tin-foil hat
and wrap the phone in it. I suppose it's possible that some deep dark
conspiracy exists to never really "turn off" your phone, (short of
removing both the battery and the secret backup battery) so the NSA can
track you, but if you're that worried, I suggest you see a shrink.
As far as battery drain goes, remember that 1) batteries self-discharge
all by themselves, even on the shelf, 2) there may be a "power-on"
circuit energized at all times, even if the rest of the phone is off, 3)
most phones need to draw power to keep their memory of your phone number
list, ring tone, etc. If that (item 3) stuff is in flash memory, that
may not apply. Note that car batteries also discharge over time keeping
the clock, radio presets, engine/transmission computer status,
anti-theft system, remote entry receiver, etc. energized.
I remember hearing something a number of years ago about how Mossad (the
Israeli intelligence agency) supposedly "got" a terrorist leader (or
freedom fighter leader, depending on your point of view). They futzed
with his (and only his) cell phone service until he sent the unit in for
repair. It came back repaired with a little "extra" -- some plastic
explosive inside. When he was talking on the phone, it was triggered,
giving him, uh, quite a headache. Possibly only an urban myth, but
unless you're doing something to draw the attention of the authorities
in a negative way, I wouldn't get too worked up over their ability to
track you. Why would they waste their time on you? Did you donate to the
wrong presidential campaign? Are you on the run with a kidnapped child?
Mark Wallace wrote:
When my cell phone is turned off, it goes directly to voicemail
without ringing the phone. This means that they have to scan their
entire network for it in a second or two (I might be in New York or
California). If what you say is true.
If their regular pinging of your phone (or regular "here I am" broadcast
from the phone) hasn't been happening, you're off the network and they
won't bother looking for you. They're certainly not going to do a
nationwide multisystem broadcast to try to find your phone.
I was also told by law enforcement that they can find a turned off
cell phone if they try hard enough (It would have to be at the level
of a missing person investigation, not a lost cell phone)
Again, if the cell phone is REALLY off (not responding and not querying
for a nearby cell), no way they can do that. It has to be on and
querying for cell service (or responding to pings) for anyone to be able
to triangulate for it. Anything else is sheer paranoia.
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