How to Find a Lost Android Smartphone and Erase Data Remotely
Losing a phone or getting it snatched is really a hurting moment and sometimes we get into depression too. Yes, there are people who save their personal and professional data over their smartphones and when they get into a situation that they don't know where they lost it, they go crazy and eventually in deep stress. This is why all the top smartphone manufacturers and smartphone operating system designers tend to introduce a lost phone tracking option that enables a person to trace his smartphone without having physical access to the device.
This is by far the best option that is available not just in iPhone but Android smartphones too. Yes, if you are using an Android smartphone of any brand such as Samsung, Oppo, Nokia, or any other company, you can activate the Find My Device (previously Find My Phone) feature from your phone settings and use it when needed. The best part of this feature is, you can locate an Android smartphone, lock it with a passcode or erase data remotely. So, check how you can activate this feature and how you can use it when needed.
How to Activate Find My Device on Android
Here's how to enable or activate the find my device option for an android smartphone:
- Open your Android Smartphone's Settings
- Tap on the Security option and then tap Find My Device
- Toggle it On and it will ask you to turn on your device's location feature
That's it, now the Find My Device feature on your Android smartphone is enabled and you can now locate your smartphone on a map using your computer or any other device.
How to Locate an Android Smartphone on A Map
If you have lost your smartphone, here's how to find it using Google's Find My Device feature for Android smartphones:
- Open a web browser and go to Android.com/find
- Sign in using the same Google account you used to sign-in on your android smartphone
- It will instantly show the device's location on a map
- It will also show the battery percentage, the Wi-Fi name the devices is connected with
- You can Play Sound, Secure Device, or Erase Device
If you have more than one device connected with the same Google account, you will see a list of devices on the left side of the Google Find My Device website.
The best option for a lost phone is to secure it by clicking on the SECURE DEVICE option when you successfully locate it from the Find My Device website as it will help you to lock your smartphone and still you will be able to locate it while nobody else will be able to access the data inside.
How to Erase Data Remotely from Android Smartphone
If you don't want any hacker or third-party to access your personal data on your android smartphone, you can do it by following the simple steps written below:
2. Sign in using the same Google account you used to sign-in on your android smartphone
3. It will instantly show your android devices, select the one in question
4. Click on the Erase Device option (available at left sidebar at 3rd option)
5. It may ask you to sign-in using the same Gmail and Password you used to sign-in to your device and confirm the complete date wiping
Doing this, you will get all the data completely deleted from your android smartphone and you will not be able to locate it after this action.
Alternatively, if you think that your android smartphone is just misplaced somewhere in your house or office, you can click on the PLAY SOUND option in Find My Device to make your smartphone ring for 5 minutes even if it is on silent mode.
It will also show you the last seen of your device with the proper model and image of the smartphone so you will be able to easily identify your device.
NOTE: If your device is stolen or snatched by someone, you should report it to law enforcement and for this, you will need to provide them with the IMEI number of the device.
You can get IMEI number from the original package of your android smartphone (box of your mobile) or you can simply go to Find My Device, select your lost/stolen device and click on the little "i" button, it will show you the exact IMEI code with first registration date and last seen date too.
As you can also completely delete your android smartphone data remotely using the Find My Device website, after this, you will not be able to locate your device. So do it with caution.
