Phones have grown so integrated into our everyday lives that losing your phone — whether you left it in a cab, inadvertently slipped it out of your pocket, or misplaced it beneath your bed — may be painful. If you have an Android phone, you can (hopefully) locate it using the Find My Device feature.
Find My Device is dependent on two things being turned on: the app itself (of course) and Google’s Location services. Furthermore, the phone must be switched on and registered into a Google account.
The Find My Device function is included with the basic operating system on Pixels and numerous other Android phones, and it is typically enabled by default. Keep in mind that some Android models may come with a separate software; for example, Samsung phones have their very own Find My Mobile app.
If you wish to utilise Google’s Find My Device, you can see if it’s included in the Android version of your phone.
- Navigate to Settings > Security and search for Find My Device.
- If the app is listed but disabled, touch on it and use the toggle to enable it.
If you don’t have the Google app and want to use it instead of the software that your manufacturer has installed — or if you want to find your phone or watch using an Android tablet rather than a PC — you can head to the Play Store and install Google’s Find My Device app as well.
Check to see whether Location is enabled next:
- Locate Location in your phone’s Settings. It will mention if it is on or off directly beneath the heading.
- If it’s turned off, touch on Location and turn it back on.
- You can also see which apps have access to your location and which have recently used it. If you wish to fine-tune this setting, tap on “App permission” to change the location permission settings.
FIND YOUR PHONE
You’re all set now. If you can’t find your phone, simply type “Find my device” into Google’s search bar. If you’ve never used it before, you may need to grant Google permission to use location data to find your device. You may also be able to call your phone directly from the Google search page to try to locate it.
Alternatively, click the link to be directed to the Find My Device page, which will display the name of your phone, the last time it was pinged (as well as the name of the Wi-Fi network it was connected to), and the current battery power. A Google map will show you the last location of your phone. Once you’ve found your device, you’ll see three options on the left side of the screen. Which option you select is determined on whether you believe the device is in a secure location. You can do the following:
- Allow the device to play a sound (often the ringtone) for five minutes so you can find it.
- Lock the device and log out of your Google account to keep your data safe while you go to recover it.
- Delete the device. This is for when you are quite certain it has been stolen and is unrecoverable; you will not be able to locate your device after that, but your material will no longer be on it.
