Introduction: Simple Phone-theft Alarm Shell Script

By My github page
About: Sucks at soldering, [hopefully] compensates with coding.
Last week my phone was stolen (most probably through the same window you see in the photo). I've decided to write a small but effective phone-theft alarm shell script that keeps checking whether phone is still on and within bluetooth range.



What you need:
  1. A Unix platform (tried this on Ubuntu, but this would probably work on other platforms. Maybe even Mac)
  2. Ability to browse files on your phone via bluetooth
  3. hcitool (if your OS supports bluetooth, you've probably got it)
  4. sox (for the play command), or any other way to make noise from command line :)

Step 1: Install the Script

Step 2: Browse Files on Phone(s) We Want to Protect

Browse file on each phone you want protected. You can close the file browser window once you get it. The phone will stay connected, and the script only needs to track the connections.

You're no ready to run the script.

Step 3: Run the Script

  • Run the script in a terminal.
  • You'll see the list of the phones you're browsing, and their rssi (received signal strength information) level.
  • If a phone gets below the value the value of MINRSSI (in the script file), or gets powered off, the script will start beeping.
  • Move the phone around the house in order to decide what's the optimal value for MINRSSI