How To Find Your Lost Android Device

Smartphones are not a luxury anymore. We have made them as an inevitable part of our lives and the writing is clear on the wall- “We can’t live without our devices”.

Smartphones contain many private things like our photos and videos, bank details, contact list and what not. It’s so important that we would have liked them to be chained to ourselves.

But, as that’s impossible, we would have take care of our devices using the existing technology.

How scary can it be if you lose your Android phone and don’t get it back. Well, don’t freak out because there’s a way to track your lost Android phone through Android Device Manager.

Note:- Any mobile device that has a Google account logged into it can be traced with the help of Google account.

Disclaimer:- Your phone should be connected to the Internet.

I will explain to you how you can trace your lost device by sharing a small story with you.

I love Android technology and hence always remain on toes with the most recent Android updates in the market. I didn’t know my habit was going to help a fellow being.

I was at my workplace with my boss when his phone rang and he got to know that his best friend’s daughter had lost her phone in a metro train. It was a Samsung S6 Edge and it contained all her important files. She was terrified and was about to lose her hopes finding her phone.

“The purpose of life is not be happy but to be useful”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I personally follow this philosophy and I feel happy when a fellow being gets benefited because of me. I asked my boss to tell her to login to her Google account from any device immediately and access “Find My Device” feature. She could luckily manage a device to access her account. With “Find My Device” feature, you could ring your phone for 5 minutes even if it is in the silent mode. Even if you are not able to track the phone in 5 minutes, you can always use its ‘Erase’ feature to delete all your data from your phone so that no person could not get access to your private files. Hence, using “Find My Device” feature though she couldn’t track her device (it might be stolen), she could delete all her important files and be at peace.

I was happy that she was relieved and hence, I have decided to share the procedure with you to help you find the phone or at least rescue your important files from wrong people. Here’s how you can also trace your lost or stolen phone with “Find My Device” feature: –

• Let me introduce Android Device Manager. It’s a useful feature in Android devices through which you can locate your device. Generally, Android Device Manager is activated by default in all latest Android phones. In case if it is inactive, you can activate it by following these steps: –
• Open your Phone Settings.
• Search for Google in the search bar and then tap Security.
• You will see “Find My Device” option where you can enter and turn it ON by sliding the toggle bar.

Note: – It’s mandatory that your device’s GPS should be switched on to locate your device

• Now, to track your lost phone, type “find my device” on Google. And you will see
  

You can ring your phone or just sign in to view all the options. Once you sign in to the account which is linked with your phone, you can view these options:-

• Play Sound
• Lock
• Erase

Play Sound enables you to ring the phone for 5 minutes even if the phone is in the silent mode.

Lock Mode will lock your phone and display a message and a number to connect with you.

For example, you can write a message “Call Owner” and provide a number to contact you. Therefore, anyone who finds the device can contact you even if your phone is locked.

Erase Feature enables you to erase all the data from the device. It means that you will no more be able to connect with or locate your phone. You should only use this option if the previous options are not fruitful.

Important: – Erase feature can delete all files that Google has rights upon. Therefore, you may not be able to delete all the files that are protected in your memory card. Moreover, files will be deleted only if your phone is online. Hence, if your phone is offline, Google will delete files once your phone is available online. In case, it remains offline, the content will not be deleted.

There are some requirements to access “Find My Device” feature:-

• Your device should be connected to the Internet.
• It should be linked with your Google account.
• Android Device Manager should be activated.

“Find My Device” is useful to track your device’s last location and help cops find your device.

Further, remember to change all your Google and social media account passwords immediately if you lose your device. Also deauthorize your mobile device for additional security. Click here to understand the procedure. Also log out your lost device from active sessions if any from another device. At least, your private information will remain intact even if you lose your phone.

Next Read:How to Track Your Lost iPhone