Lost or stolen Android phone? Here’s how to find it

Losing your phone can be extremely stressful, especially considering you’ve probably spent a large part of your life, and your hard-earned money, on it. Thankfully, Android smartphones come equipped with tools that make it easy to track your phone and protect your data.

To take advantage of these tools, there are a few simple steps you can take ahead of time so you’re prepared to find your lost or stolen phone. Here are some settings you can enable right away and what to do if you need to find your phone.

Get your phone ready now

Take a few minutes to make sure your settings are correct in case you ever misplace or lose your phone. Your future self will thank you.

Create a secure lock screen

Make sure you have a password and fingerprint authentication set. Security and Privacy The phone settings section.

This is generally a more secure method than facial recognition, which isn’t necessarily the most secure method on Android phones. (Samsung even admits on its website that “Facial recognition is less secure than pattern, PIN, iris, or fingerprint.”) It may be a bit more work to unlock your phone with a password or fingerprint, but it’s worth it to protect your personal information.

Set up Google’s Find My Device service

Whenever you sign in to your Android device with your Google account, Find My Device is automatically turned on, which you can use to track, remotely lock, or erase your phone if it’s lost.

To make sure Find My Device is enabled on your Android phone, settingafter that Security and Privacy and Find my deviceOr, if your device does not have the Security & Privacy option, Googleafter that Find my deviceFind My Device should be on. If it isn’t, press the toggle to switch it to the on position.

What to do if you have a Samsung phone

Samsung has a service called SmartThings Find that’s similar to Apple’s Find My app, which crowdsources the location of a lost device, even if it’s offline, by instructing nearby Samsung Galaxy smartphones and devices to look for Bluetooth signals and report its location when found (don’t worry, this is all done anonymously).

SmartThings Find is compatible with Galaxy devices running Android 8 and above. To set it up, go to your phone’s settingTap Samsung Account At the top of the menu Find Mobile next, Allow me to find this phoneYou can also press the toggle button next to Offline Search It allows us to accurately locate your device, even if it’s disconnected from mobile data, as long as it’s powered on.

You’ll now be able to see the location of your device from the SmartThings app or website, and you can also lock it down or wipe it.

How to Lock Down or Track a Lost or Stolen Android Phone

Find your phone using Google’s Find My Device service

To track your phone using Android’s built-in services, go to android.com/find or download Google’s Find My Device app on another Android device.

If you’re signed in to the same Google account linked to your Android phone, you can locate your phone on a map even when you’re offline. You can also make your device ring (even on silent or vibrate mode), protect your phone with a PIN or password, and factory reset a device that can’t be found. Pixel 8 and 8 Pro owners have the added benefit of being able to find their phone even when it’s turned off or the battery is dead.

The Secure Device feature will lock your phone and log you out of your Google account to keep your data safe. (Don’t worry, you can still find your phone’s location even when it’s locked.) However, wiping the device will mean your phone can’t be tracked, so save this as a last resort.

Once you’ve found your phone, enter your PIN or password to access it. You may need to sign in to your Google account to verify it’s you trying to access the device.

If you have a Samsung phone

In addition to Google’s Find My Device feature, Samsung users can use the SmartThings Find website or app to locate their Galaxy smartphones, tablets, watches and other devices. They can see their phone on a map, ring it to see if it’s somewhere in their home, lock it down so others can’t access it, or erase it.

On the SmartThings Find website, your devices will be listed on the left, and you can click on each one to see more details and actions, such as locking the phone or erasing its data.

In the SmartThings app, life Click on the tab Find your card At the top of the page, you’ll see a map showing all your devices, along with an option to track them.

Don’t confront thieves yourself

If your phone is stolen and you’re able to track it using one of these services, don’t try to get it back yourself – it could be dangerous and it’s not worth it, regardless of the value of your phone. Instead, contact your local police and ask them to help you get your phone back using the address you found.

If you can’t find your phone

If you can’t find your phone, contact your carrier to report it lost or stolen, which will blacklist your phone from your carrier’s database so that no one else can use it.

Keep in mind that your mobile carrier may also cut off your service, which is a good way to prevent someone from using your phone, but unless it’s registered to a Wi-Fi network in some way, it won’t be traceable, so keep that in mind as this will be the end of any attempts to get your device back.

Finally, if you have insurance on your phone, you’ll need to file a claim and pay your deductible before you can receive a replacement phone. Start the insurance claim process through your phone carrier, who may be able to refer you to a third-party insurance company that will replace your phone.