The insane way smartphones control our lives makes it difficult for us when we suddenly lose our phone or it is on silent mode. The panic attack that follows is considered more than normal these days as you may often have friends and family join in the sudden explosion of activity in your home, office or wherever you are as you try to locate your phone.
We have all accepted smartphones as our pocket partners. So to make sure that you will be able to track them even when they are on silent mode, you need to have Android Device Manager turned on and your device linked with your Google account. If you haven’t done this already, follow these steps to make sure that you phone can be traced in the future:
- Open Google Settings App
- Tap on Security
- Look for Android Device Manager and tap on Remotely Locate This Device.
- You can also choose to toggle between on and off for remote lock and erase.
Your smartphone should also have location access switched on so that you can remotely access your phone’s location. This is done by opening your device’s settings and going into app settings. Here you look for location which is located towards the bottom so you may have to scroll down. And then you must switch this ‘On’.
Now that you have set your phone in a manner that you can trace it even when it is in silent mode you, will not have to worry the next time your phone is not ringing and cannot be seen either. All you need to do is go to this Android.com/device manager and sign in to the website with your Google account.
Now check if your device shows up and you can then remotely do a few things that will help you locate your phone with ease. Remember that your phone must have an internet connection so that you can access its location. You will also notice the option to ring your phone by tapping on the “Ring” button on the web page. If you choose to ring your phone, your smartphone will begin ringing at full volume for 5 minutes. If you are able to locate your phone in time then you can press the power button on your phone to stop your smartphone from ringing any further.
If you are still unable to trace your phone then you may want to ‘Lock’ it. This can be done by choosing to ‘Lock’ your phone so that it is password protected. You will also have the option to show a Recovery message on the screen of your phone if you have the premonition that your phone is lost and the person who gets it may try to get back to you to return your phone. The recovery message shows the phone number where the person can call to give your phone back.
While we hope that by now that you should be able to locate your phone, but if there is no hope of finding it and you feel that you have lost it forever and you would not want someone else tampering with all your personal data held on your phone then you can erase data from the phone permanently by using Android Device Manager.
Now that you know that panic is not the only way to handle a situation where you have lost a phone that is on silent, you can rest easy, but make sure that you have all the pre-work done so that you do not resent losing your phone.