How to track down lost or stolen Android
We know how horrible it feels to lose or suddenly get your smartphone stolen. In addition to losing an expensive device, you also end up having your information and files exposed in a danger situation. The good news is that you can track Android in these situations with a feature of Google itself.
The best is it is present on any Android device. You only need to have the device turned on and GPS enabled. To learn exactly how to use this feature to track Android, check out our tips in the tutorial below!
Using Find My Device
As we mentioned, Google has a feature called Find My Device, which is available on all smartphones with Android installed. It is used to track Android and perform certain security actions remotely if you ever lose your device.
To use this feature, there are some specifications. First of all, it needs to be enabled on your smartphone, something that happens by default on all devices. This is a measure so that you do not have the problem of only finding out that the feature exists after you have already lost the device.
Still, if you ever want to check, the option is in the settings, under the "Security" tab. Of course, there are other requirements that Google has for this feature to work as it should. You can check them out below:
- The appliance must be switched on;
- Must be signed in to a Google Account;
- Must be connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi;
- Must be visible on Google Play;
- Must have location enabled.
These are very basic factors that are also already enabled by default on most smartphones. With all that right, you should go to the "Find my device" site when you want to find it. Do this through the following link.
How to track Android
Previously, you had to have your own Find My Device app, but it's now a native feature of Android. Therefore, when you visit the site and sign in to the same Google account you use on your device, you should see some basic information.
This includes the model of the device, which network it is connected to, its battery level and its exact location on the map. All of this is precious information when tracking down lost Android.
As we mentioned, this is possible information with GPS enabled and the internet on. If they do not have one of these features, the information will be scarcer. The same holds true if the device is switched off.
To make the process easier, you can use the "Play Sound" option.
This causes the device to play a sound for 5 minutes without stopping even if it is in silent mode. As you may see, this is great for finding the device if you are already very close to it.
Other Find My Device Options
Another advantage of using Google's "Find My Device" is that you have options even if you can't track Android right away. You can lock the device with the option “Protect device”, for example.
This causes the device to be completely locked and it to sign out of your Google account. You will still be able to track it, but your information will be more secure as you try to track Android.
The other most drastic measure is to resort to the "Clean Device" option.
This will simply erase all data from the device and will no longer be able to track Android afterwards. We suggest this if you really can't find the device and don't want your lost data and files out there.
Of course, since Google backs up everything in the cloud, you can still restore your data on another smartphone. Even so, it does not end up being a bad option in such a situation.
Anyway, you can see how easy it is to use Find My Device to track Android, right?
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Did you manage to track Android?
Could you take our tips on tracking lost or stolen Android? So be sure to leave your comment telling us what you think about the tutorial and if there are any other suggestions you think should be here.
