How to locate your Android phone with Google’s Find My Device

image credit:google find my device

Phones have become such an integral part of our everyday lives that losing track of your phone — whether you’ve forgotten it in a taxi, inadvertently slipped it out of your pocket, or misplaced it beneath your bed — can be quite distressing. Using the Find My Device function on your Android phone, you can (hopefully) find your phone if you have misplaced it.

It is necessary to have two things activated in order for Find My Device to work: the functionality itself (of course), and Google’s Location Services. In addition, the phone must be switched on and logged into a Google account before it can be used.

The Find My Device function is included as part of the standard operating system on Pixels and many other Android phones, and it is often enabled by default on these devices. Please keep in mind that certain Android models may come with a distinct app; for example, Samsung phones come with a separate Find My Mobile app.

Whether you wish to utilize Google’s Find My Device feature, you may check to see if it is included in the Android version that your phone is running.

Find My Device by going to Settings > Security and searching for it.
Tap on the app if it appears on the list but is currently switched off, then use the toggle to turn it back on.

For those who don’t already have the Google app, but would prefer to use it instead of the one that your manufacturer has installed — or who prefer to use an Android tablet rather than a computer to locate their phone or watch — they can visit the Google Play Store and download the Find My Device app from the company’s website.

After that, you can see whether Location is enabled by using the following command:

Navigate to the Location section of your phone’s Settings. It will state whether it is turned on or off just under the heading.
If it’s not turned on, go to Settings > Location and turn it on.
You can also see which applications have access to your location and which have used it lately by visiting the Location History page. Select “App permission” from the drop-down menu if you want to fine-tune this option while you’re here.

Make sure the Find My Device function is activated by going to Settings > Security > Find My Device.

Once you’ve enabled Location Services, you’ll be able to customize the settings of your different applications.

Locate your phone.

You’re all set now. Simply go to Google’s search page and put in “Find my device” to locate your phone if you can’t find it. If you haven’t done so before, you may need to grant Google permission to use location data to find your device if you haven’t done so already. Alternatively, you may be able to instantly dial your phone number from the Google search results page in an attempt to locate it.

After granting permission, you may be able to call your phone straight from the Google search results page after providing your consent.

Alternately, you may click on the link and be brought to the Find My Device page, which will include the name of your phone, the last time it was ping-ed (as well as the name of the Wi-Fi network it was connected to), and the battery power remaining on it. Your phone’s location will be shown on a Google map the last time it was used.

Following the successful recovery of a lost or stolen phone, you have three options: ping the phone, lock the phone, or wipe the phone. (The Google map on the right has been obscured to protect the privacy of the users.)

Once you’ve found your device, you’ll see three choices displayed on the left side of the screen. Select one of these options to proceed. Which option you select is determined on whether you believe the device is in a secure location or not. You can do the following:

Allow the gadget to emit a sound (often the ringtone) for five minutes in order to help you find it.
In order to keep your data secure when you go to collect the device (which is advised if, for example, you’ve left it in a taxi or restaurant), lock the device and sign out of your Google account.
Delete all data from the device. In the event that your device has been stolen and is not retrievable, you may use this feature to remove all of your material from it. You will not be able to find your device after this, but your content will not be on it.