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How to Find a Lost Android Phone
In most cases, it's easy to track your lost Android phone. You can even lock it so that your stored data cannot be accessed by anyone else and, in a worst-case scenario, remotely factory reset it. Read on to learn how to find your missing Android phone.
How to Track Your Lost or Stolen Phone Using Your PC
To track your lost phone, use Google's Find My Device service from the web on your PC or laptop.
- Open the Find My Device website in a browser on your PC. Log in with the Google account linked to your stolen or lost phone.
- Select the device you want to track from the top of the left sidebar. By default, the service displays the location of your most recently used device.
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- Find My Device will show the current status of your stolen or lost device: its battery life and when it was last seen online. The map will also automatically refresh to show the last known location of the device.
- You can click Play Sound to make your device ring so that you can find its whereabouts. This is perfect if you just misplaced your phone.
- If you can't physically reach your lost Android phone, click the Secure Device option. This will lock your phone and log out of your Google account, preventing the thief from accessing the data stored on it. You can continue to track your phone's location after locking it and even display a message on the lock screen.
- If the chances of getting your lost Android phone are slim or there's sensitive data that should not get into unknown hands, click Erase device instead. You will have to enter your Google account password to confirm this step. But your device will only be wiped when it connects to the internet.
Apart from phones, you can use Find My Device to track Wear OS watches and Android tablets. Google's Pixel Buds and some select third-party earphones also support the Find My Device network.
How to Find Your Lost Android Phone Using Another Android Device
All Android phones and tablets come with Google's Find My Device integration. This feature allows you to track your phone's location or play a sound, making it easy to locate when it's misplaced or stolen.
You don't need to do anything to set up Find My Device on Android. It's automatically set up when you first log in with your Google account on your phone.
For Find My Device tracking to work, your lost Android phone must be connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. You can only view the phone's last known location without internet access.
- Open the Google Find My Device app on another Android phone. If it's your device, sign in with your Google account. Otherwise, tap Sign in as guest and select the phone you want to track.
- Find My Device will try to track your lost Android phone. If the device is unreachable, it will display its last known location. You can view your phone's IMEI number or access the factory reset option by tapping the cog icon next to its name.
- If you misplaced your phone, tap Play sound to make it ring and help you locate it. Your device will ring for five minutes even when in silent mode.
- Tap Secure device if you want to lock the device, sign out of your Google account, and display a message on the lock screen.
If you haven't enabled location access on your lost phone, Find My Device won't be able to provide an accurate location.
While you can find a lost iPhone even when it's offline, Google's Find My Device service can only show your device's location as long as it's connected to the internet. However, there are other ways to locate a lost Android phone that's turned off.
How to Track Your Lost Samsung Phone
Samsung phones feature their own anti-theft and tracking mechanism called SmartThings Find. While similar to Google's Find My Device, Samsung's tracking service has certain advantages. However, you must be logged into your Galaxy device with your Samsung account for SmartThings Find to work.
- Navigate to the SmartThings Find website on your PC or phone.
- Sign in with the same Samsung account linked to your lost phone.
- A sidebar on the left shows all devices linked to your account. From here, select your lost phone. The map will then automatically update to show the phone's last known location.
- If the phone is moving, you can use the Track location option to check its location every 15 minutes. You'll also see other options like Ring, Lock, and Erase data alongside it.
There's also an Extend battery life option that will extend your phone's battery life, allowing you to track it for longer.
SmartThings Find is more advanced than Google's Find My Device service. It can show your phone's location even when it does not have an active internet connection. This feature works by pinging other Galaxy phones nearby over Bluetooth and transmitting the lost phone's location using them.
Can You Find Your Lost Android Phone Using Your Phone Number?
Sadly, the answer is no. No tools available online allow you to track your lost phone using a phone number. Only law enforcement agencies have this capability, as it would otherwise pose a privacy risk. So, even if you lose your phone with your SIM card inside it, you cannot track it.
Similarly, you cannot use your phone's IMEI number to track it down yourself. However, you can try contacting your network operator or law enforcement agencies, as they have the required tools to do it for you.
While Find My Device makes tracking your lost or misplaced Android phone easy, it requires an active Wi-Fi or cellular connection to work. Plus, it's not foolproof; a thief can remove the SIM card and make it harder to track. However, a phone with an eSIM should prevent this and allow you to track your device for longer.
