These are the things that I always check before I leave my house — and for a good reason, right? Losing any of these would be such a hassle, and it could affect your entire day. So, what if your phone gets stolen or misplaced? Now we have a problem. When you lose your phone, you don’t just lose an expensive gadget. Unless you have a cloud backup, you also lose hundreds of contacts, important emails from work, cute photos of your pet, and a whole lot more! Fortunately for you, it might not be too late just yet, because there’s still a way to find your phone. How? Well, find your phone using Google Find My Device. That’s how.
What’s Google Find My Device?
Find My Device is a feature created by Google to help locate lost devices running on Android 4.4 and up. Google Find My Device was formerly known as Android Device Manager. Its forefront was that it can be used to remotely unlock your Android phone or tablet using a different device, as long as you have the logins of your Google account. It was then, however, in 2017 that Google updated it and ditched the unlock feature because some users found it troublesome. At the same time, Google also changed its name to Find My Device. On the other hand, Google kept important features that let you lock your device or make it ring. For now, we’ll first talk about how to locate your Android phone using Google Find My Device.
3 Steps to Find Your Phone Using Google Find My Device
Whenever you forget where you placed your phone — or it gets stolen, God forbid — it’s all finding a needle in a haystack from there. Luckily, Google made it easier to locate our Android devices with only three simple steps.
1. Access Find My Device
Go to google.com/android/find using a computer or any other device with the internet.
2. Sign-in Find My Device
After that, you will see the interface of Find My Device as shown below.
3. Choose Your Device
After choosing a device, the map on the side of the interface will automatically populate as in the image below. If you click or tap on the green icon on the map, a new tab will open another map interface. In this map, Google will show the details of the location of your device as in the image below. Note that this is only an approximate location of your device. However, it is still useful if you want to know if your phone is at home, or if you need to know at least the area where your phone is. If you’re convinced that your phone is truly lost, you can choose from the three options that Find My Device will let you do.
Google Find My Device Remote Options
The latest version of Find My Device as of 2019 boasts three options that you can choose from, namely Play Sound, Secure Device, and Erase Device. These options allow you to control your phone remotely, and hopefully, eventually, get it back.
Play Sound
The Play Sound option allows you to make your phone ring even if it’s on silent. The ringing will last for five minutes, or until you click or touch the “Stop Ringing” button like in the image below. When you have finally found your phone, you can also stop the ringing by pressing the power key on your device. This is my personal favorite because, with this option, you can easily find your phone if you don’t have another device to make it ring. I’ve used this option a couple of times now, and it has helped assure me that I don’t have to panic because my phone is just around.
Secure Device
The Secure Device option allows you to remotely lock your device with your PIN, password, or pattern and logs it out of your Google account. It also lets you leave a message and a phone number to notify whoever lost it. When you select the Secure Device option, your screen will show an interface like in the image below. I deliberately used this option with my phone to give you guys a better view of what it looks like when you select this option, so you guys owe me big. Kidding. And as expected, my phone was logged out of my Google account, and notification like in the image below will appear on your phone. This, of course, is only visible as soon as your phone has been successfully unlocked by you or someone else. If your phone has been unlocked, Find My Device will show a notification text below the interface.
Erase Device
I like to call this option “the point of giving up.” Why? Well, because the Erase Device option will literally erase everything on your phone, and you will no longer be able to locate your device. This, of course, is permanent. Hence, never choose this option if you still believe that you’ll get your phone back. The image below shows the interface of the Erase Device option. You’ll notice that it says that your phone will have to be online for the data wipe to be successful, but the erasing will still push through as soon as the device is online. Before Anything Else Now, all of the above options will not be executable if your phone doesn’t follow some conditions set by Google. Find My Device will only be used if your Android device is: I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably worried about your phone’s battery life. I don’t blame you, I was at first, too. So what I do is, I always turn on my phone’s GPS or location whenever I go out. Anyway, just in case you’re not sure if your phone’s Find My Device is active, go to Settings>Security & Location (or Google > Security) > Find My Device. If your Settings has the search feature, just type Find My Device, and it should appear. Next Read: Find My Phone Android
Never Lose Your Phone Again
Before this technology, we only prayed and hoped that we get our phones back. With luck, it could just be lying underneath your bed or hiding in the depths of your couch. However, if your phone gets stolen, chances are you’ll never find it again. With Google Find My Device, you can at least have a clue about the proximity of your phone. Plus, you can bring the cops with you and catch that ne’er-do-well. So next time you lose your phone and Find My Device helped you get it back, don’t forget to thank Google. Have you ever successfully located your Android device with Google Find My Device? Share your story in the comments below!
