Lost your Android device,here is how to find,track & download your data remotely

OK, now you realize that your phone is lost & if you’ve already attempted or tried below steps to recover the device with the Google Find My Device, then it’s time to contact the police and your operator to report the situation.

Your operator may require a police report to prove that the device is actually missing. In addition to the make, model, and visual appearance, the police, and your carrier may request the IMEI# (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) to help identify the device. This number is unique to your hardware and may allow the carrier to discontinue service to it, or blacklist it from their network if it was stolen & get new SIM.

To get the IMEI#, press *#06# on your dial pad. If you’re using Android, it is also found in Settings > About Device > Status. Just scroll down until you get to the IMEI number.

If you have however lost your phone but did not record the IMEI number beforehand, you can still find the number on the original packaging. If you have still retain the box in which your device came in, the IMEI number should be printed on the side of the box in barcode and text form.

Now we can check on how to find, track & download your data remotely from your lost device.

By default, Google Android Backup service backs up most types of data you care about and associates it with the appropriate Google service. You can see your Sync settings by heading into Settings > Accounts > Google, then selecting your Gmail address.

Following are the key items that are being back up

• Contacts, Email, Docs, and Calendars: Your Android contacts are synced with your Google contacts online (you can access these contacts from Gmail or on the dedicated Google Contacts page), your email is safely stored in your Gmail account, and calendar events are synced with Google Calendar.
• System Settings: Android also synchronizes some system settings—for example, Android stores saved passphrases for Wi-Fi networks and retrieves them on each Android device you use. It also backs up display settings, like brightness and timeout length.
• Chrome Browser Data: If you use the Chrome browser, your bookmarks synchronize with your Chrome sync account.
• Hangouts Chat Logs: Hangouts chat logs are stored in your Gmail account, assuming you haven’t disabled chat logging in Gmail.
• Apps and Other Purchased Content: Any apps you have purchased (or installed) are linked with your Google account. When you set up a new Android device (or enter your account after resetting your Android device to factory default settings), Android will offer to automatically download and install the apps you previously had installed. You can also view apps you have previously installed in the Play Store, so you won’t forget which apps you have used (or purchased). Other content you purchase from Google Play is also tied to your Google account.
• Third-Party App Data: Third-party apps often, but not always, sync their data with web services. If you have an app containing data important to you, be sure to check whether it syncs data online before wiping or getting rid of your phone.
• Smart Lock Password Data: If you use Chrome on your computers and have Smart Lock for Passwords enabled, then your saved passwords will not only sync across Chrome on mobile but also to some apps. For example, if you have your Netflix password saved in Smart Lock for Passwords, it will automatically be available in the app on your Android devices.
• Photos: If you use Google Photos, then you could also back your photos up to Google’s servers. Unlike most of the others on this list, this feature has to be enabled before it just happens—fortunately, we’ve got you covered on setting that up, too. There’s also a “Photos Backup” entry in the Backup & reset menu on Android Nougat.

This is not a complete list, but this would have given you some idea of what’s backed up automatically. Google includes the most important things, so you don’t need to worry about losing your email, contacts, apps, saved Wi-Fi passphrases, or even most passwords.

Now that we’re covered what Google does automatically back up, let’s take a look at what they don’t:

• SMS Messages: Android doesn’t back up your text messages by default. If having a copy of your text messages is important to you, follow our guide on backing up text messages to your Gmail account.
• Google Authenticator Data: Google doesn’t synchronize your Google Authenticator codes online. If you wipe your Android device, you’ll lose your ability to perform two-factor authentication. You can still authenticate via SMS or a printed authentication code and then set up a new device with new Google Authenticator codes.
• Custom Settings, Bluetooth Pairings, and Security Data: When you set up a new phone or factory reset yours, you’ll have to repair all of your Bluetooth accessories, set up specific settings (like which notifications to block, for example), and re-enter all of your security data, like lock screen passwords and fingerprints.

If you have lost an Android phone, tablet, or any device like a watch, etc., provided If you’ve added a Google Account to your Android device. You find, lock, or erase it & by default Find My Device is automatically turned on.

To use Find My Device, your lost device must:

• Be turned on & connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi
• Signed in to a Google Account
• Location turned on

In most of the cases, your phone might not be turned on, in that case, please check the next section.

If your phone is turned on, then follow the below steps

Step #1. Head to android.com/find and sign in to your Google Account.

Step #2. If you have more than one device, click the lost device at the top of the screen.

Step #3. On the selection of the device, You would be able to device on the map.

From this interface, you can

• Play sound – Rings your device at full volume for 5 minutes, even if it’s set to silent or vibrate.
• Lock – Locks your device with your PIN, pattern, or password. If you don’t have a lock, you can set one. To help someone return your device to you, you can add a message or phone number to the lock screen.
• Erase – Permanently deletes all data on your device (but might not delete SD cards). After you erase, Find My Device won’t work on the device.

Here’s video from Google Support

If your phone is not turned on, then follow the below steps to download your data & probably erase it

Step #1.Head over to the Google takeout page.

Step #2. Choose which Google products to include in your download. To see more details and options for a product, select the down arrow next to each product & Select Next.

Step #3. Choose archive format & either you want to download it or save it in the cloud.

Click ‘Create Archive’ to create an archive. When archive is created by using one of these options, you would get an email on its location on completion. Also, note depending on the amount of information in your account, this process could take a few minutes or several hours.

Step #4. Post download data, if you want to erase data from the device you can do it by logging to android.com/find and sign in to your Google Account.

Step #5.Choose ‘Erase’ option.Please note, After you erase, Find My Device won’t work on the device.

In this post, we have learned how to find, track & download your data remotely.

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