Oh no!
You just realized you have no idea where your phone is (lemme guess… it’s on silent, so calling it doesn’t help), or even worse, it was just taken by some nefarious fiend.
Don’t worry, as uncomfortable as this might be, you might* still be able to get it back, or at least protect yourself by destroying whatever personal data was on it.
* – might because some of these tips require Location/GPS to be on (or to have been on recently), or for the phone to still be connected to the network, but they all require that the phone is on/charged.
So, that said, it’s actually pretty easy to hunt down the device, even if it’s on silent:
Step 1: Realize that it’s just a phone and take a moment to thank God that you’re still alive and in good enough shape that you’re only worried about your phone. As the old people say, “phone doh lie down in the hospital”. I’m certain some old person has said that, somewhere. Really.
Step 2: Get yourself to an internet connected device, fire up the browser and head over to http://google.com/android/find
Step 3: That’ll take you to a sign-in page (below) where you need to sign-in using the same account that’s set up on your phone:
Step 4: You should be taken to the main “Find my Device” page where you should see a screen like this
Step 5: Decide which of the options you need in this particular case:
1. The Map: Great for those “Oh, I left it at work!” moments. This will show you the last-known location of the device.
2. Play Sound: Great for those “is it under the couch?” moments. GPS might let you know it’s in the building, but this will make it sing, even if it’s on silent.
3. Lock: Great for those “if I can’t have it no-one else will!” moments (or those “if you find my phone please give it back!” moments). Pro tip: Don’t put a message saying “If you find this phone, please call [cell-phone number]” 😉
4. Erase: When all hope is lost, and you just need to make sure your stuff doesn’t fall into the grimy hands that already have your phone.
Of course, your mileage may vary, and while this is specific to Android, fruit devices also offer similar tools to help you find, lock or wipe your device.
Here’s hoping you never need to use this particular tip!