If it isn't, Android won't be able to access your phone's GPS and thus won't be able to perform any Find My Device-related location functions. Most Android phones should be actively enrolled in Find My Device by default, but there are a few critical settings that are worth double-checking to confirm everything's connected.įirst, head into the Location section of your Android device's system settings and make sure the toggle at the top of the screen is turned on. Find My Device on Android, part I: Make sure your phone is prepared Then, if you ever have that heart-dropping moment, your phone will be 100% ready - and so will you. So take a few minutes now to learn the ins and outs of how it works and what it takes for your devices to be discoverable. It'll show you the device's exact location on an interactive map and give you tools to remotely ring it, lock it or wipe it entirely and send all of its data to the digital beyond.įind My Device has actually been a part of Android since 2013 - originally under the name "Android Device Manager," which stuck around until Google's broad Android security rebranding earlier this year - but it's always been a bit buried and easy to overlook.
FIND MY PHONE GOOGLE ACCOUNT SOFTWARE
And you don't need any third-party software to do it.Īndroid's native Find My Device system can precisely pinpoint any Android device - phone, tablet, even Android TV box (if you somehow manage to misplace one of those?!). But with the advanced security tools now built into Android on the operating system level, finding and managing a missing device is often - well, quite manageable. There's certainly no scenario in which losing your phone is a good thing.
We've all been there: You pat your pocket, swiftly scan every surface in sight - then suddenly feel your heart drop at the realization that your Android device and all of its contents are no longer in your control. The company didn't say when the feature will become available, but you can always access the page by going to your phone is one of the most stressful predicaments of modern-day life. In the future, searching for your name while you're signed in will return a link to that hub at the top of the results list, as well. If you've already updated your Google app, saying "Ok Google, show me my Google account" takes you straight to the hub. That's the same page that shows your security settings, personal info and account preferences in one place. The tech titan is also rolling out new features that make it quicker to access your account hub. You can still remotely sign out of a Gmail account if you have an iPhone, but the page instructs you to visit to find it.
In the near future, searching for "I lost my phone" will take you straight to a portal called " Find your phone." If you have an Android device, you can ring and locate it straight from the page. Back in 2015, Google launched a feature that displays a map showing your Android phone's current location when you search for "find my phone." Now, the big G is introducing another way to look for missing devices that sounds especially useful for absent-minded users.