What to do if you have lost your Galaxy device
If you lost your Galaxy device, Find My Mobile feature allows you to lock or unlock, locate, or if worst comes to worst, completely wipe your data. Rest assured, even your Samsung Pay payment information can be locked or deleted, and all of this can be done remotely. There are also similar services available for your watch and earbuds within the Galaxy Wearable app.
If you have lost your phone or tablet, you can pinpoint its whereabouts using Find My Mobile.
To use this feature however, you need to make sure your mobile device has met the following preconditions.
- Mobile device must be turned on.
- Mobile device must be connected to Wi-Fi or mobile network.
- Your Samsung account must be registered on your mobile device and have the Remote unlock option enabled.
Find more about pre-condition of using Find My Mobile on ‘How can I unlock my Galaxy device if I forgot the security PIN, pattern or password?’ On this, you can check steps to enable the Remoted unlock option on your mobile device as well as how to unlock your mobile device using the Find My Mobile website.
When you want to track a phone or device, navigate to the Find My Mobile website. Select Sign in, and then enter your Samsung account credentials. It needs to be the same Samsung account associated with the phone or tablet. Or, it must be an account that is assigned as a guardian. Next, select SIGN IN.
If the device is turned on and is connected to either Wi-Fi or mobile data, its last known location will appear on a map. If you have more than one device connected to the Samsung account, all the devices will appear on the left side. Select the name of your desired device to see its location.
When you click on a device, the right panel will display all the remote options available:
- Ring: If you don’t know where you put your phone or tablet, make it ring even if it was set to mute.
- Lock: If you are worried about your personal data, you can remotely lock your phone or tablet. This will activate a Lock screen and suspend your cards in Samsung Pay.
Note: If locking or unlocking your phone or tablet was unsuccessful, a red exclamation mark will appear.
- Track location: Check where your missing phone or tablet is every 15 minutes. Refer to the next section to see instructions for tracking a missing device.
- Delete data remotely: Don’t let that thief access your private data. Remember, your phone or tablet will be completely reset, and you will lose all your data, including your financial data in Samsung Pay.
Note: If a Google account is registered, you will need to sign into the account before you can use the phone or tablet again.
- Back up: Before deleting your data for good, you can easily back up your data.
- Extend battery life: The last thing you want is for your lost phone or tablet to turn off. Use this feature to get the most out of your phone or tablet's battery life and increase the chances of finding it.
- Set Guardians: You can designate guardians that can remotely locate the phone or tablet, activate Emergency Mode, or ring the phone or tablet.
Before you try out below recommendations as to your solution, be sure to check if your device's software is updated with latest version. Please check how to update your mobile device's software in following order.
Step 1. Go to Settings > Software update.
Step 2. Tap on Download and install.
Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions.
One of the biggest concerns about losing your phone or tablet is someone stealing your personal information. For an extra layer of security, you can remotely lock your device.
From the Find My Mobile website, select Lock on the right side, and then select Next.
Create a PIN number for when you find the phone; make sure to enter it twice.
If desired, you can add an emergency contact and a message that will appear on the device's lock screen.
That way, someone will know who to contact when they find the phone or tablet. When you are ready, select Lock.
If you can't find your phone or tablet anywhere and you're afraid it might be gone forever, you should perform a remote factory data reset on it. By doing this, you'll erase the device's data, and no one will be able to access your personal information.
Before you reset the phone, make sure to back up your data, so you can retrieve it later.
From the Find My Mobile website, select Erase data on the right side of the screen.
Read the important information, and then select Erase.
You may be asked to verify your Samsung account before the reset starts.
In the event you do discover your device, Google device protection will be activated if you had a Google account registered. This is an extra layer of protection for when devices are reset.
It will require you to sign into your Google account before the device will unlock.
Note: If your phone or tablet has an SD card, its data will also be erased during the reset.
If you cannot delete your device data remotely due to various unknown reasons, please change each password for security of registered accounts including Samsung or Google. You can change easily on your device itself.
Once you change the account’s password, registered accounts on other devices are forcibly signed out except current device you’re using.
This prevents other persons from using the features or functions based on your account on lost device, so you can protect your private information related to your accounts.
Google's Find My Device(https://www.google.com/android/find)is built into Android devices through Google Play Services. This means you will need a Google account to use this service. You can set a new password, make your device ring, display a message, lock and wipe your device, and more. To verify this feature is turned on, from Settings, tap Google, tap Security, and then tap Find My Device. If off, tap the switch to turn on. If you added a Google account to your phone, this feature is automatically turned on.
Note: Google's Find My Device only works on phones and tablets.
If you cannot find your Galaxy device, you may need to purchase a new one. You can do so on the 117.p.syniva.es.
Note: Available settings and screens may vary by wireless service provider, software version, and device.
If you are experiencing unusual behaviour on Samsung mobiles, tablets or wearables, you can send us a question in the Samsung Members app.
This allows us to take a closer look at what is happening. The data is anonymised and only held for the duration of the investigation. Find out more about sending an error report through the 'How to use the Samsung Members app'.
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