How to use Android Device Manager to track your lost or stolen phone
If there’s one thing that has been missing from Android, it is most definitely a native way to track your phone when it goes missing. Google finally delivered this feature to users — set the stage for a lot more to be added — through the introduction of the Android Device Manager.
By popping open your browser and heading to Android.com/devicemanager, you’ve done everything you need to do when it comes to locating your lost phone. Google will ask you to log in with the Gmail account attached to the phone or tablet you are looking for, and from there you’ll be taken to an interface that looks almost like the new Google Maps. As long as your device is on and connected to a network, you’ll see the a blip on the map that signifies your hardware.
There’s a dropdown menu for those of you with multiple Android phones and tablets, allowing you to track them individually.
If you’re looking for something you think is within earshot, the ring function on this page will wake the screen and start ringing your phone at max volume for five minutes. When you find the phone, tap the screen once and the ringing stops. This can be done multiple times, so if you’re hunting through a house the only thing stopping you is your battery life.
The wipe feature works a little differently. In order to wipe your phone remotely, you have to activate the feature on your phone first, which is as simple as tapping a check box. After you do that, you can perform a total factory reset on your phone at any time as long as it is connected to a network.
This tool has been a long time coming, but the most important part of the new feature is how it was deployed. Every Android device with Google’s apps running Android 2.2 or higher has access to the Device Manager without having to do anything at all. This implementation means Google can seamlessly add features without needing to rely on users to update apps.
Android’s Device Manager is a value-add that works on nearly every product running Android right now, and will continue to get better with time.
