The reason that not many people are using the "find my phone" or "find my friends" functions that both Android and iOS offer, is that they are pretty deeply buried, and a chore to set up. Yesterday, Google tried to solve at least the first part of the problem, and with this how-to we will try to solve the rest.
Yesterday, Google announced that it is moving the "Find My Phone" option from its dark and deeply secret for anyone but its coders place in the gut menus of the web Play Store version. Yep, that's precisely where the Android Device Manager and its phone finder were located, but no more.
Google took out the little device manager to see the green grass and the blue sky, and placed it in the much more suitable, but still obscure for the average user myaccount.google.com place. Given that it has the propensity to make an app out of everything, and sometimes two or three of them for similar tasks, perhaps that's as good as it gets, though. Here's how to set your Android phone finder from its new whereabouts:
1.
Go to myaccount.google.com, and log in with the account you are using on your Android phone, if you haven't done so already. Alternatively, on your phone you can simply say “Ok Google, show me my Google account” to Voice Search, and Google will take you there, or type that in the search box. In the future, you will be able to simply key in your name to get to My Account;
2. You will see a Find My Phone section, click on the "Get Started" link;
3. Choose the Android gear you want found, and carry on with the desired settings for locating, sending a finder message, ringing it up, or wiping it clean, if all else fails. Needless to say, you have to have allowed location tracking on the phone itself. That's all there is to it.
Create a free account and join our vibrant community
Register to enjoy the full PhoneArena experience. Here’s what you get with your PhoneArena account:
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: