Monday, April 20, 2015

Lost your Android device? Google 'Find my phone'

Nexus-phone-thumb-2

    If you have an Android phone, finding it is now as easy as telling Chrome to "Find my phone."

    Finding your lost phone just got easier — as long as it's an Android device.

    Searching Google for the words "Find my phone" will call up the Android Device Manager tool that shows where your phone is on a map. From there, you can tell the phone to ring, lock, or have it wiped completely.

    On Chrome, calling up the tool is as easy as speaking. Since Chrome accepts voice searches, all you need to do is say the words, "Find my phone," and the browser does the rest.

    Google Find my phone

    IMAGE: GOOGLE

    The tool works perfectly on desktop, although to call it up on mobile you'll need to download the latest version of the Google app, according to a post on Google+; however, it didn't work for us.

    To be clear, Android Device Manager isn't new, but the special search term is. While it's not compatible with the iPhone, users of Apple's platform can use either the Find my iPhone app or iCloud.com to search for their lost devices — just without the easy-peasy search term. But if you ask Siri, "Find My iPhone," she'll launch directly into the eponymous app.

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