How to track a stolen or lost Samsung Galaxy phone

Samsung allows you to track a Galaxy phone even if it is offline; learn how to locate your lost or stolen smartphone.

If a phone is lost or stolen, there are several procedures you can take to try to recover your smartphone or protect the information on it, from remotely locking or erasing all data. Google and Samsung have their own ways to help locate a device. This article will focus on the handsets of the South Korean manufacturer: learn how to track a Samsung Galaxy phone.

• Stolen cell phone? How to block the IMEI of the device in the operator
• How Samsung can locate a mobile phone offline

Track Samsung Galaxy phone (Image: Jean Prado / Tecnoblog)

How to track a Galaxy phone by Samsung account

It is important to note that in order to be able to track the device over the internet, the option must be activated on the phone. This requires that a Samsung account be linked to the Galaxy and that the “Search my phone” option, within the Security settings, be enabled. The device can then be located.

1. Go to findmymobile.samsung.com and log in with your Samsung account;
2. On the left side, select the cell phone you want to track, if there is more than one in the same account;
3. Wait for the map to load.

Find My Mobile allows you to track a lost or stolen Samsung phone (Image: Playback / Samsung)

If the phone is not connected to the internet, the last location will be informed until the moment it was disconnected. If the cell phone is on the move and still has an available connection, either by Wi-Fi or mobile network, the location will be recorded every 15 minutes. From this, it is possible to activate some functions in Find My Mobile:

• Track location:
  Makes the Samsung cell phone tracked in real time, this function will remain active until it is turned off or the battery runs out;
• Ringing:
  The device will ring for one minute at maximum volume, even if it is in silent mode;
• Lock:
  Allows you to remotely lock the device and prevent another person from turning it off. It also allows you to set up a message on the lock screen with contact information;
• Track location:
  Create a phone location history every 15 minutes;
• Erase data:
  Deletes all information and data from the phone and Samsung Pay. The Google account used in the initial setup will be required to use the phone;
• Backup:
  Triggers data backup in the cloud;
• Retrieve messages and calls:
  Retrieves the last 50 messages and calls, to find out if the device is being used by strangers;
• Extend battery life:
  Disables some features to extend battery life to keep it on for longer.

How to track if your Samsung phone is offline

This feature can be used on Galaxy smartphones with Android 8 or higher and people who have another Galaxy device besides the cell phone. In this case, the tracking is done by sending Bluetooth signals to other nearby Samsung devices, until you find the lost phone, even if you have no internet connection, that is, offline.

To use this tracking method, you need to access the SmartThings application and open the SmartThings Find add-on. That’s how Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag works, too .

How to track Samsung Galaxy phone with Google account

If you have not set up a Samsung account on the Galaxy, it remains to use the Google tool to try to track the phone. As simple as the previous method, just log in with the Google account used to configure the device at android.com/find and locate the phone.

However, just like the previous method, this option needs to be enabled in the settings. As it is a process also done in the first configuration, it is very likely that it is already active. Google’s “Find My Device” feature is located within the device’s settings, in the “Google> Security” menu.

Google Find My Device also allows you to track a lost phone (Image: Playback / Google)

In this Google tool, the options are more limited and require the “Find My Google Device” application to be installed and configured. It is only possible, in addition to seeing the location:

• Play sound:
  Makes the device play a loud sound for five minutes, even if it is in silent mode;
• Lock:
  Set a password for the device until it is found;
• Clean:
  when there is no more hope of finding the device and you want to delete the content. After using this option, it will no longer be possible to locate it through the Device Manager.