What to do if your smartphone is lost or stolen

Fortunately, you can use Android Device Manager tools to ring, lock, or remotely wipe your phone if you're signed in to a Google account on the device.

To use these Device Manager features (available for Android 2.3 or higher), your smartphone must first be activated . To do this, go to the Google Settings app. Once there, in the "Device Manager" section, you must have both options enabled: Locate device and Allow remote lock and wipe . Once these two options are enabled, go to Settings > Security > Device Administrators and check that the option to lock and erase the device has been successfully activated.

• Locate your device : If you lose your phone or tablet and don't have access to a computer at the time, you can try to locate it from someone else's phone by accessing the Device Manager app in incognito mode and signing in with your Google account.

Device Manager will show you the device's last location on the map , along with the option to give it a custom name. Once the device is located, you can choose from three options :

• Ring: This option makes the device ring at full volume for 5 minutes (even if it is on silent or vibrate).


• Lock: This option locks the device with a password if one hasn't been set yet, so no one can access the device if it's found.


• Erase: This option allows you to permanently delete all data on the device (apps, files, user data, etc.). Keep in mind that Android Device Manager may not be able to erase the contents of the device's SD card. Additionally, after erasing the data on your smartphone or tablet, Android Device Manager will no longer work, meaning you won't be able to locate or, of course, find it . The device is considered lost.

As we said, we hope you never have to use these features, but it never hurts to know what to do if the need arises.