Preliminary information
If you agree, I would open this tutorial by telling you briefly about the assumptions that make it possible to locate a lost device with the services Google, be it a device Android or iPhone. As you've probably guessed by now, the phone you want to track must be powered on, working and connected to the Internet, via data network or Wi-Fi.
I must also inform you that, on the same smartphone, i must be active location services: to do this on Android simply call up the notification curtain (with a swipe down from the upper edge of the display) and tap on the icon Location (it could also be called GPS, Location o Geolocation); to succeed on it iPhone, you have to go to the menu Settings> Privacy> Location and turn on the switch next to the item Location services. If the geolocation is not active on the phone you have lost, Google will simply notify you of the last known position of your device.
Also, on the smartphone it must have been previously linked to a Google account. If you have a phone Android, you will remember that you were invited to perform this procedure the first time you turn on the device itself. You also need to know that you have the ability to track down a iPhone provided that the latter has been associated with a Google or Gmail account. Of course, you will also need to know the login credentials of the account in question. If not, check out my tutorial on how to recover a Google account.
The other condition for tracing the phone, in case it is an Android device, is that the latter is "visible" through i Google Play Services. This is obvious for most devices based on the operating system of the green robot with integrated Google services: on the latter, in fact, the functionality in question is automatically enabled. Not sure if your phone is traceable with the services in question? Check it immediately by connecting (with any browser) to play.google.com/settings/, logging in with the Google account connected to the smartphone and check that your smartphone is shown in the list under the item I my device.
Finally, for the tracing procedure to be successful, the option must also be activated on your Android smartphone Find my device. To verify this, open the settings (the'icona dell'ingranaggio present on the Home Screen or in the drawer), tap on the item Google and then click on the item Safety. From here, tap on the item Find my device and make sure that theswitch at the top is set to ON; if not, press on the switch itself to activate it.
How to find lost phone with Google: computer
Once you have verified that the conditions I explained to you in the previous chapter are respected, you can track your smartphone in a moment with a
computer (or another device connected to the Internet).
Find my device
If you intend to track down a device Android, you can contact the Find My Device service, accessible from any browser by logging in with the Google account associated with the phone to be located.
Once you are logged in, you should be able to see aicon representing yours smartphone, top left. If more than one phone is associated with your Google account, you will notice various icons in the aforementioned area; scroll through them by clicking on each one until you find the device you are looking for. Under the name of your phone, you will be shown the last time its position was detected, the battery charge level and, possibly, the name of the router or the data network operator to which it is connected.
Clicking sull'icona della arrow in the shape of a circle you can update the information shown. On the right, however, you will be shown the approximate location of the device you are looking for on a map. By repeatedly clicking on the icon + located at the bottom right you can enlarge the map to narrow the location circle as much as possible.
How do you say? From the map it appears that the smartphone could be in the building you are in at the time of the search you are carrying out? All right, in this case you have the option to have the phone beep. This way you can easily locate the device (if it is actually in your proximity). To do what has just been said, click on the item Play audio, located on the left, and from there, click the button Stop sound once you have found the device.
If you have not been able to locate the phone you can also evaluate the possibility of blocking the latter so that only a black screen is displayed on it, which makes it impossible to use it. To do this, click on the item Lock the device (You can also leave a message for whoever found your phone by typing it in the field below the entry Message for recovery and you can indicate a telephone number on which to contact you by typing it in the field under the heading Phone Number).
Finally, if you feel that there are no other alternatives to protect your privacy, you can reset the device (this operation will cause the total cancellation to the give stored on the phone then, please, evaluate this possible countermeasure with extreme attention before putting it into action). To do this, click on the item Reset device twice in a row (once the procedure is complete you will no longer be able to locate the smartphone).
Google search
Once you have verified the conditions I mentioned in the preliminary information chapter, you can proceed to search for the lost smartphone also using some key phrases to type directly on the Google search engine. The phrases you will need to use are Find My Phone o find my device and are also valid for iPhones.
By typing the keywords above in the Google search bar, you will be shown a list of results where the first is one map (visible directly in the preview of the search results) in which the location of the phone associated with the Google account you are using is displayed (if you are using, you are logged in with the account in question in the browser you are using).
If more than one phone is associated with your account, click on the icon freccia rivolta verse il basso next to name of the first device that is shown to you under the map and select the smartphone you are looking for from the menu that opens. Pressing on the item It rings, placed under the map in question, you can make the phone you are looking for emit a beep for 5 minutes. By clicking on the item instead Recover a list of all the devices linked to the Google account you are using will open.
By clicking on the name of the phone in this last list, you will be automatically redirected to the same page with the map and the search options I mentioned in the previous chapter (you can then lock and reset the device by pressing on the appropriate items on the left). How do you say? Not logged in with your Google account on the browser you are using?
No problem, type the key phrase anyway find my device on Google and press on the first search result (the item Find your phone - your Google Account). At this point, press the button Sign in to get started and enter the credentials of the Google account to which the lost smartphone is associated. Once this is done, you will be shown the list of all the devices connected to your profile (iPhone included). Then click on the name of what you want to track and you will be automatically redirected to the location map I told you about here.
If, on the other hand, you Google the keyword phrase Find My Phone and click on the first search result (the entry Find My Device — Google), you will have to enter the credentials of the Google account connected to the lost device again and, having done this, you will be redirected to the same page I told you about in the previous chapter. For more details on this procedure take a look at my tutorial on how to locate a mobile with Google.
How to find lost phone with Google: smartphones and tablets
The procedure I mentioned earlier is also valid on smartphone o tablet but you can also use an app if you have a device Android. You can, in fact, download a handy application from the Play Store released directly from "Big G": Find my device. The latter allows you to locate, lock or reset the phone you have lost (also to use this tool you must first make sure that the conditions I mentioned at the beginning are met).
To download the app in question, simply open this page of the Play Store and press the button Install placed at the top. Once you have downloaded and launched the app (to do this, press the icon of the green smartphone on a white background), proceed by entering your Google account credentials or tap the button Log in as a guest (also in this case you will have to enter the access data of the Google account associated with the device you are trying to trace).
On the main page of the application, at the top, you will be shown theicon representing yours smartphone. By tapping on it, you can view the position of the latter on the map (to narrow the location area hold two fingers on the map itself and then spread them). To update the information on your phone just press the icon of arrow in the shape of a circle to the right.
This app provides you with the exact same functions as the web page I told you about in the previous chapter (in this case, however, the voice Lock the device is replaced by the voice Protect your device).
Google Assistant
If you are using a device Android, an iPhone or iPad, you can also search for a lost device using a function integrated in the Google assistant (provided that the device you intend to search for is turned on, connected to the Internet, discoverable via GPS and Google Play Services, is connected to a Google account and has the option "Find my device" is active; in short, the same conditions as here I told you in detail above).
I also inform you that if the Digital Wellbeing option is active on your Android device, the Google assistant may be limited by functions Rest time and filters Do not disturb. To perform this procedure, you will also need to have the app available Google Home (available on Android and iOS / iPadOS), with notifications enabled, the Voice Match configured and a speaker or display connected to the app in question (for more details on this, take a look at my dedicated tutorial).
To activate notifications on the Google Home app, start the app itself (tap on the icon of colorful house on a white background that you find on the home screen, in the app menu or in the app Library) then tap on thegear on the home page and then click on the item Notifications. If you use a device Android, tap on the item General notifications and make sure that the switches next to all the items you see on the page are active (if not, press on them to activate them).
I invented, I used a iPhone, play the voice Enable notifications (if present) and then click on the item Go to settings. From here, you will be sent back to the iOS settings and you will have to proceed by pressing on the item Notifications and then activate theswitch of the voice Consenti notified by tapping on it (if the option in question is not present it means that notifications are already active).
Once you have activated notifications and configured Voice Match (for this last step, see the tutorial I indicated above), touch the icon of the colorful microphone at the bottom, on the main screen of the Google Home app, and say the phrases "Hey Google, find my phone", "Make my phone ring" or again, "Find my iPhone".
In case you are trying to track down an iPhone, the device in question will not ring if the silent mode or function Do not disturb, unless you have turned on notifications for important alerts; in the case of a telephone Androidinstead, the acoustic signal will be emitted in any case.
How to find lost phone with Google