Android Device Manager
Android Device Manager is a security feature that helps us to locate our lost or stolen device. It also remotely lock or wipe an Android device. It's works to protect our Android device. To perform all this functionality, we need to connect the Android device with our Google account.
What is Device Manager?
Device Manager is a Control Panel applet in our operating system. It allows us to view and control all the hardware which is attached to our system. The Device Manager highlights any hardware, which is a defect. It also helps in enabling and disabling devices, supplying device drivers, viewing other technical properties, etc.
What can we do with Android Device Manager?
We can remotely control our Android device and perform the following tasks:
- Locating the device
- Lock or Ring or Wipe (Choose our action)
- Wipe the device if no chance of recovery
- Help a friend to track and control a lost/stolen device
Locating the Device
Initially, the Android Device Manager needs to install on the device, and it should be connected with the respective Google account of the owner. Once the device is connected, it becomes easy to track the device by signing in from any system. The owner of the device can able to locate and view the map even if it is stolen or lost. Android Device Manager supports to add multiple devices.
Lock or Ring or Wipe (Choose our action)
When the Android device gets missing, the device owner can choose to lock the device or ring it to protect the data inside. The owner is also able to change the password or PIN. Choosing ringing functionality starts the smartphone to ring at its maximum volume; even the ringer is turned off or down. This leads to a ring at its full volume for the next five minutes.
When it is a clear indicator that the device cannot be recoverable, then the user wipes the device using the Android Device Manager. Once the wipe command is executed, it will restore the phone to factory setting. This option works even the power is off.
Wipe the device if no chance of recovering
Once we are sure that there is no chance to recover our lost Android device, we can use Android Device Manager to wipe your device clean remotely. To do this, connect our device and use the wipe option to bring your phone back to the same setting when it was brand new. In this way, no one can misuse your device or the data that we have stored on it. This option is used even the power is off.
Help a friend to track and control the lost/stolen device
Android Device Manager provides an option to log in as a "Guest". This option allows a friend to control (lock, ring, or wipe) his device, which is either being lost or stolen.
How to use Android Device Manager
Android Device Manager is a security feature that helps to locate a stolen or lost device. If the device is confirmed that it is unrecoverable, then the owner might choose to lock or wipe the content from the Android device remotely. To use this security feature, the device owner is required to connect its device with their Google account.
Install the Android Device Manager
It is quite easy to install the Android Device Manager. We can find it on the Google Play app and then download and install it. After installation, we need to go through our setting and allow the app to act as a Device Administrator, and it gives you the power to lock or wipe the device.
Signing in to Android Device Manager
To use the Android Device Manager, we required a Google account. Using this Google account, we will sign in into Device Manager. For this, you can use any of our Google accounts that we have on our phone. We will find all these accounts in a drop-down list when we open the app.
How do We Use Android Device Manager?
Using Android Device Manager is easy. There are a few basic things which need to be done after downloading and installing the app:
- First, we have to connect our Android Device Manager to our Google Account.
- Make sure the device location feature is turned on.
- Enable remote data wipe.
- We can locate and control our device if it is lost or stolen by login through Google account to the Android Device Manager website or the app.
- After login, we will see a dashboard pop-up, which shows where our device is, with other options.
- We can see the location of the device by checking the map, which appears automatically.
- We can also get the information about the battery level, when the phone is online and where it was last located.
- We can choose to ring our device continuously for 5 minutes at the highest volume by pressing the Play Sound option.
- We can use the Lock option to lock our Android device remotely so that no one can misuse our data.
- We can use the Erase option to erase all our photos, music, apps, and other settings from your device (even the device is offline).
- Once the device has been wiped clean, then we cannot be able to access it from the app.
