How to use Google to find your lost Android phone

Losing your smartphone is not only terribly inconvenient, it can also be emotionally and financially devastating. The more you can do to protect yourself in the event that you lose your smartphone or have your phone stolen, the better. With Android Device Manager, you can massively increase your chances of not only getting your phone back, but also protecting yourself if it is gone for good.
 
We've all lost our mobile phone at one point or another -- sometimes in our homes, sometimes in the car and sometimes out in the wild unknown. Now instead of searching everywhere to track it down, you can rely on Google for help.
A new feature unveiled on Wednesday lets you search for your Android phone or tablet using Google's search engine on your PC, as long as you meet the right criteria.

Here's how it works:

• First, you have to make sure you're logged in to the same Google account on your PC's browser that you use on your phone. You must also be sure to have the latest version of the google app you can download it from here installed on your phone.
• Now type the phrase "find my phone" into Google's search engine on your PC. In response, Google displays a map that attempts to zero in on the location of your device. Give it at least several seconds, and you should eventually see a location on the map that's accurate to a certain distance. For example, the map told me that the location of my device was accurate to 46 feet.

OK, that's fine. But what if your phone is lost somewhere in your home? Sorry, but Google won't tell you what room it's in. But it can ring your device so you can try to track it down yourself.

• To pinpoint your device, click the icon or link for Ring on the map. Your device will ring at full volume for up to five minutes. Once you find it, simply click the power button to turn off the ringing.

But what if you own an Android tablet instead of a phone? You can still use the find feature. I used it to locate my Nexus 7 tablet, and it worked just fine. Google zeroed in on the slate's location. Clicking on the Ring icon fired up the ring sound on my tablet so I was able to locate it.

The Google search feature isn't the only way to track down a lost Android device. A similar feature, called Android Device Manager, can locate and ring your device. If you think your device has been stolen, you can also remotely lock it and reset the password or erase its data.


Refrence : http://www.cnet.com/