If your phone is stolen or found and it's then factory reset, you will not be able to rely on any apps or services to find it; a factory reset will wipe out any of the original data, accounts, or passwords that are needed to remotely find your Android phone. As always, exercise caution when retrieving a lost or stolen phone. If you have any concerns about it being lost or stolen, it's best to set up and test your preferred tracking system as soon as you buy it and contact the police.
It can be a bit of extra front-end work to register some apps, but it will be more work trying to locate a missing phone if no safety nets are in place at all. What app do you use to track your Android phone, if any at all? Let us know in the comments section below!
Refreshed with more up-to-date instructions on working with Google's Find My Device service. Skip to main content. Forums Shop Toggle Search. How to find your lost phone Worried about misplacing your phone or worse yet having it stolen? Tap Find My Device so that a checkmark appears in the checkbox. Tap the back button in the top left corner of your screen. Tap Location in the main Settings menu. Tap the switch beside Location at the top of the screen so that it turns on. Tap High accuracy so the circle is filled in. Tap the back button in the top left corner. Tap Google Location History.
Tap the switch beneath Location History so that it turns on. Tap the switch beside your device so that it turns on. How to locate your phone with Google Should you happen to lose your phone, you can locate its whereabouts by logging into your Google account from any computer or even from another phone. Launch a web browser from a phone, tablet, or computer. If necessary, enter your email address and password just as though you were checking your email.
If you have 2-step verification set up on your Google account and you most certainly should , you'll need to complete that process as well. With Find My Device open, you have three options to choose from: You can play a sound so that it makes noise even if you had it on silent. This feature is helpful if the map indicates that the phone is within earshot and you simply can't see it.
You can secure your device so that the finder can't access your home screen.
How to locate your phone using Google
This feature is most helpful if your phone wasn't previously secured with a passcode or a fingerprint sensor. You can erase your phone. This is the best option if you know for certain that you aren't likely to retrieve your phone. Find My Phone , and so on. Let's take the first one for example. Make sure your phone is running on Android 4.
Then, start installing the app. After finishing the installation, run the app. Give all the permissions that the app asks for, including contacts, calls, storage, SMS, and location.
Tracking with Native Features
In case you need to track your phone, all these permissions will be necessary to activate full functionality. Press "continue" to move on after watching a short commercial. This free app is great, but the only problem is that it contains ads that you have to watch. Unluckily, you cannot skip the ads, if the video is not yet loaded, you will not be able to go to the next step. A small window with a list of places will appear, indicating the location and the close proximity of your phone.
There are also some important anti-theft functions that you should know about. Your phone could be off, disconnected from the internet or your Google account.
The best monitoring solution
I recommend that you keep trying to locate your phone every half hour or so. Your phone might have a bad connection or someone else turns it on and connects to the web.
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Do you still have unanswered questions? We received a lot of emails, tweets and comments the last months from people that found their phone thanks to this article. Both tools can be a great help when you lose your device. With Find My Device you can track your device, make it ring and erase its data. Location history shows you the last recorded locations on a map. Quite a lot of people already use lock screens to keep unwanted people from accessing private files like images, texts or videos.
It also prevents thieves of changing any major settings such as disabling mobile data or disconnecting your phone from your Google account. Have you been able to get back your mobile device after it got lost?
How to find your phone: Track and locate your lost Android phone
How did you get it back? Share your experience with us in the comments! Are you interested in more Android related guides? Track and locate your lost Android phone. How do you find your Android phone?
Let us show you how. Your device has access to the internet.
- Remote Control.
- Surest Way to Spy on Multimedia Content Secretly.
- How to find your lost Android phone.
- How to find your lost phone with Google and its own services.
- Hidden Monitoring Application for Android Devices.
This can changed in the Google Settings app. Your device has or had access to the internet before it was turned off. Location Reporting and Location History need to be activated on your device can be done in the Google Settings app on your device. Use Google Photos to find your stolen Android device Requirements: Someone needs to take pictures with your lost device. Assuming all those requirements are met, what do you need to do? Here it is, step by step: Check if any pictures were taken after your device was stolen. If yes, then click on the image.
Tracking Smartphone Android App - Remote Monitoring Tool for Android
Now, click on the info icon on the top right corner. You need to have a Samsung account and your device registered with it. Find my mobile needs to be set up on your Samsung phone enabling remote controls. Cerberus free with in-app purchases Cerberus is our top recommended tracking app which features a large selection of remote control options. Download Prey Anti Theft free Frequently asked questions With the large number of questions people posted in the comment section, we figured it makes sense to address the most asked ones.
Can I still locate my phone?