How to: Locate a Lost Or Stolen Phone

Losing your phone can be a turn any everyday situation into a frantic panic.
You've just got home running errands, and now you realize you can't find your phone. Thoughts are going thru your mind. Is it on the counter at the gas station? Did I leave it at the store?

GPS technology has made it easier to locate devices and that includes cell phones. There are many apps on the Play Store which are available to locate cell phones but this article will list two of the leading brands.

As a reminder - the apps covered here will need to be installed on your phone first. Simply install the app and ensure it is active on your phone under Settings-Security-Device Administrators. Any app which uses the security features within Android should be listed here. Ensure the app is checked.

Where's My Droid
Where's My Droid (WMD) has been around for a few years now and the app has become much more streamlined and easier to setup since I started using it in 2013. It's jam packed features include ring, camera, lock and wipe. There are two components to WMD -the app itself which is installed on your phone and the desktop utility.

Using a friends phone, you can also send a special text to your phone so it can ring at full volume, even if your phone is set to vibrate. Taking pictures, activating GPS, locking and wiping can be done the same way; using a special text from another phone.
You can locate your phone by logging into the desktop utility at
https://commander.wheresmydroid.com/
Download the app itself at the PlayStore (WMD is not available for iPhone/iPad)

Android Device Manager
Google has it's own utility to locate lost/stolen android devices, however it's not as feature rich as WMD. One drawback with Android Device Manager is that GPS/Location Services must already be on before you lose the phone as opposed to WMD where you can turn on GPS with a text.
Still...if the only thing you need to do is locate, lock or wipe your phone or tablet, Android Device Manager will do the job just fine.

As a reminder - the apps covered here will need to be installed on your phone first. That being said head over to the Play Store and search for Android Device Manager.
Simply install the app and ensure it is active on your phone under Settings-Security-Device Administrators.
Any app which uses the security features within Android should be listed here. Ensure Android Device Manager is checked.
Ensure GPS/Location Services is turned on.

Locating your phone is simple. Just log into your Google account, and head over to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager.
A map will be displayed and Google will attempt to locate your phone. From here you can also Lock and Wipe your phone/tablet as well.

In the long run it's a good thing to be prepared before you lose your Samsung, LG or HTC. 

Installing apps such as Where's My Droid or Android Device Manager may save you alot of heartache if you ever lose your phone.