How to track down your lost Samsung phone

Because smartphones are hella expensive

Smartphones are expensive and accidents happen. Now that we've stated the obvious, it is perhaps useful to also mention that most of us carry a lot of private information in our mobile devices. Whether it is a company-issued phone or a flagship purchased after months of savings, odds are that the data within the device is actually more valuable than the device itself.

There have been many independent developers who've created apps designed to help users find lost phones, or at the very least to wipe them remotely. Many of those apps required root access to work properly (and to avoid being removed through a malicious wipe), so they never became mainstream. While some of these apps still exist in one form or another, big smartphone manufacturers have developed their own tracking apps.

Samsung leads the Android pack, with its Find My Mobile service providing a few handy options in case of a lost or stolen device. But how does Find My Mobile work, and how can it be activated? We answer these questions and a few more below.

What is Samsung's Find My Mobile service?

Find My Mobile is a service that can be accessed via a Samsung account on desktop or (other) mobile device. After activation, it allows users to locate, remotely backup and wipe data on their registered Galaxy mobile device. With “Track location” on, the service will issue an automated update on the lost device's location every 15 minutes.

The service also offers additional features, including a “Ring” function to locate the device if it's in the vicinity of the owner, a lock screen feature, and the ability to prevent power off and show a contact message.

How do I activate Find My Mobile?

Complete the following steps on your phone to activate Find My Mobile:

1. Open Settings
2. Scroll down and tap on Biometrics and security
3. Tap the Find My Mobile option (not the toggle yet)
4. From this menu set the toggle to "on"
5. Optional: activate Remote unlock and Send last location

How do I locate my phone using Find My Mobile?

Once Find My Mobile is set up on an Android phone, owners should go to this address and log in using their Samsung account. From here, they will see a list of any Samsung devices for which they have activated Find My Mobile.

If the device location is found, users will see an active indicator on the map, together with the device's status, battery level and network connectivity type (mobile or Wi-Fi). They will also be able to access the remote features mentioned above.

It is worth mentioning that Find My Mobile will only work if the lost device is turned on and connected to a network.

Because of this, Samsung also offers a feature to remotely adjust power settings to extend the life of lost devices, and give users more time to locate them.

Additionally, Find My Mobile can also be used to retrieve access to a device in case of lost password of PIN, but to do so, users will have to turn on the Remote Unlock during the setting up process.

---

While Samsung's Find My Mobile is far from perfect, it is a valid tool to help finding lost devices, or at least prevent unauthorized access to the data within.

And since we're talking about protecting Samsung phones, we have recently rounded up the 3. You may want to have a look at them to make sure your device is safe from loose keyrings and rogue coins.