Find a Lost Android with Find My Device (Samsung, Xiaomi, Pixel)
Google's Find My Device works on any Android with a Google account. How to use it when your phone is missing, what to do if it's stolen, and which option lets you see your family, not just your devices.
If your Android doesn't show up, Google has its own way to find it: Find My Device. It works on any phone with a Google account, whatever the brand. Samsung adds its own (SmartThings Find). Here are the steps, what to have turned on beforehand and, at the end, the other question this search brings up: how to see your family, not just your devices.
Before it happens: what needs to be turned on
Settings › Google › Find My Device (or Settings › Security › Find My Device, depending on the brand): turned on. And your phone's location on. On recent Android phones, Find My Device can locate the phone even offline and, on some, when it's powered off, thanks to the network of nearby devices.
When it doesn't show up
- Go to android.com/find from any browser signed in to your Google account, or open the Find My Device app on another phone.
- Choose your phone and see where it is (or its last known location).
- Play sound: it rings for five minutes at full volume, even if it's on silent.
- Secure device: locks it with your PIN and shows a message with a contact phone number. It's the first step if it's been stolen.
- Erase device: deletes everything; after that it can no longer be located. Only if you've given it up for lost.
On Samsung you can do the same from SmartThings Find with your Samsung account. Either way, if it's a theft, report it with the IMEI (Settings › About phone) and don't try to recover it yourself.
And if what you want is to see your family
Find My Device locates your devices, not your people. For the family, on Android you have two Google options: sharing your location in Google Maps (free, with arrival and departure alerts) and, for young kids, Family Link. We explain it in Family Link and Google Maps, explained.
If your family mixes Android and iPhone and you want automatic arrival alerts, SOS, battery, chat and video calls in one place, that's a circle app. Mi Estela does that with consent, with no ads and no selling your data. The comparison with the others, with sources and dates, is in the comparisons, and the quiz tells you in two minutes which one suits you. And to keep the app from going to sleep on your Samsung or your Xiaomi, you have the guides by brand.
