A (165)

Works with » Android 4.0 and up

Track down your

stolen device

I

f you’ve spent hundreds of pounds on a new or second-hand Android

device, it’s a horrible feeling to discover that it’s been either stolen or

lost. A lthough you should still report the loss at your local police

station, there are steps you can take to at least remotely control and wipe

your dev ice. Android 5.0 has these features baked in, but if your dev ice

can’t update to Lollipop, the Android Dev ice Manager app is just as good.

It can instantly track down the location of your lost dev ice, whereupon

you can perform a series of actions to retrieve it, or wipe your personal

data and render it useless if it has been stolen. Follow the steps outlined

belowtocorrectlysetuptheAndroidDeviceManager.

The Android Device Manager app can be used to

pinpoint and control your lost device

Get more from ADM

Discover some additional features within

theAndroidDeviceManagerapp

Switch devices

The Android Device

Manager app is linked in

with your Gmail account,

so it’s possible to link

any additional devices

youmayowntoit.Use

the arrow next to the

devicenametoswitch

between devices.

Look to recover

Whenyousetanew

passwordforyourdevice,

makesuretoadda

separaterecovery

message.Thiscould

providedetailsforsomeone

tocontactyouiftheyfind

thephone.Obviously,don’t

addanysensitivedata.

Set a new name

If you’re in the situation

whereyou’vegotmultiple

devices of the same

model,makesuretoadd

unique names to them to

differentiate between

them.Thismakesitalot

easier to track down a

certain device.

“Instantly track down

the location of your

lost device, so you can

perform a series of

actions to retrieve it,

or render it useless”

Pinpoint accuracy

The Maps section of ADM will show you the

exact location of your device. Although it

refreshes every few minutes, you can simply

back out and go back into the app to see an

updated version of the location

Switch accounts

If you’re wondering why your device

isn’t being listed on the map, make

sure that you’re using the correct

Gmail account. Use the drop-down

menu at the top of the app to switch

between different Gmail accounts

Ring away

If the map indicates that your device

is close by, the fi rst option you’ll

want to go to is the Ring one. This

will cause the device to ring for fi ve

minutes non-stop so that you can

simply listen out for it in your local

area and hopefully fi nd it

Go to lock

Locking your device can be vital if

you believe an unscrupulous person

has managed to get their hands on

it. Locking it will require you to set up

a new password or PIN, which the

thief will need to know to have

access to your fi les

Remotely wipe

As a last resort, wiping your device

will be an invaluable option if you

think that someone has got hold of

your sensitive data. Press the Erase

button to perform a full wipe of the

smartphone or tablet