Before you start retracing your steps, you should know that Google and Apple offer an easy way to find a lost, stolen, or stolen Android phone. Nowadays, the mobile phone has become our inseparable companion, which is why losing it - or worse, having it stolen - can be a real drama.
If we have to locate a mobile phone and we have a backup of data and files, surely the restoration of our terminal becomes a matter of extreme necessity. Fortunately, there are several tools that can help us locate a mobile phone for free if it is lost and even allow us to disable it if it has been stolen.
Some manufacturers, such as Samsung or Xiaomi, have their own solution for this, but Google offers us an alternative called “Find my device” which can be used on any Android device. Let's start with this and then see the other methods.
Find Android phone with "Find my device"
In 2013, Google launched its Android Device Manager (Android Device Manager) so you can track cellphone on the map, make it ring or delete all your data in case of theft. Later, it also added the ability to lock and reset the password of our lost or stolen device remotely from its website.
In 2017, Google revamped its interface, renamed the Find My Android Phone tool and introduced it in Google Play Protect. To verify that you have activated it:
- Access your phone settings.
- Search for Google options and click "Security".
- Go to "Find my device" and make sure it is activated; It is also essential that the location is activated in the terminal we want to search for.
From there, you have two options: log into this site to track down a cellphone or tablet associated with your account, or download a free and very simple app that can be used on terminals with Android 4.1 or later.
Once you have downloaded the Android mobile tracker app, you need to login with your Google account and grant it access permissions to your location so that your device's current location is shown on the map.
At the top of the screen, all the Android devices that you are logged into with that account will appear. By clicking on each of them, we can see the current location (or the last recorded location), the model of the terminal, the status of the network and the battery level.
Also, at the bottom of the screen, we will have the options to play the sound, lock the device and wipe the device. How to track cellular location with Google Find My Device.
How to track a cellphone with other alternatives
As we said at the beginning, in addition to the option provided by Google, Samsung and Xiaomi have their own tool for locating Android phones integrated into the respective custom layers. The basic operation is practically identical to that of "Find my device".
They also share the basic actions that can be performed remotely: make the phone ring, lock it ('Lost mode' on Xiaomi) or delete all its contents. In addition, Samsung adds other remote actions, such as Follow Location, Backup, Battery, etc.
How to locate a Xiaomi mobile
To activate the tool proposed by Xiaomi, you must do the following:
- Open the settings of your Xiaomi mobile phone and go to the "My Account" options.
- Inserisci "Xiaomi Cloud" .
- Go to "Find device", in the "Protect data" options.
- Click on "Activate Find device" to activate the location (you need to enter your Mi account password). In case you already have the active position, the message would be “Deactivate” or turn off.
Once you have activated 'Device Find' on your Xiaomi, you can search for its location from Mi account web options. You just have to access this page, log in and enter the phone search.
How to track a Samsung phone
In the case of Samsung, the option to find lost or stolen Android phone is activated as follows:
- Access the settings of your Samsung mobile and go to "Biometrics and security".
- Find the option "Find my mobile" and activate it (you may need to log in with your Samsung account).
- Enter your options and select "Remote unlock" and "Send my last position" to have all the remote tools available.
After activating the Samsung location service on your phone, you can find your phone at any time by going to the manufacturer's find my android page.
How to locate an Android phone with third party apps
Cerberus
A very complete application to protect your phone. You can track the phone and locate it, activate the alarm even in silent mode, delete the internal memory and SD card. We can also hide the application so that the thief does not know that we have installed it.
Lost Android
An application very similar to the previous one. You install it on your smartphone, the icon that will appear on the screen will not be that of Lost Android but we will see "Personal Notes". Once downloaded, we go to the Android Lost website and we will register with our email address.
Antivirus and Security | Lookout
If you have never thought about installing any monitoring application before the loss of your Android device, this application is a lifesaver. This is an Android application from Lookout Labs that locates your smartphone using cell towers and GPS, then sends you the location of your smartphone via your Gmail inbox.
In some smartphones, it can activate GPS on the phone and update its location every 10 minutes. In the absence of a data connection, the software will send its position via SMS.
Where's My Droid
Where's My Droid is a pure Find My Phone to help you track phone. When you can't find your smartphone, sending a code via SMS will make your phone ring (even if set to silent), while another SMS causes your smartphone to send you the GPS coordinates of your phone.
Alternatively, you can remotely control the phone by connecting it to the Commander option, a web-based interface. Where's My Droid also offers a Pro version, which allows you to take pictures with the camera (you may be able to take a snapshot of the culprit), remotely lock the phone making it impenetrable, or remotely wipe completely to save your data from improper use.
