How to Fix the Most Annoying Things in Windows 10

Windows 10 is great, but it has its issues. Here's how to fix them.

Windows 10 is probably the best edition of Microsoft's venerable operating system. But Redmond has never made an entirely perfect OS. As much as we like Windows 10—and we really do like it a lot—it's got problems. Thankfully, a number of them are easily corrected. Here's our look at a few of them, and the steps you can take to rectify the problems so the OS doesn't drive you up the Windows wallpaper.

1. Stop Auto Reboots

Windows 10 updates are regular and seemingly never-ending, and pretty much out of the user's control (unless you turn off updates altogether, which is a bad idea). What's worse: if you don't reboot your PC after an update, Windows 10 eventually takes it upon itself to reboot for you. That's a good way to lose data in open apps.
You can take advantage of a feature called Active Hours, which lets you schedule a time for reboots. But our brethren at ExtremeTech also found a solution via blogger Winaero: It involves going to Administrative Tools in the Control Panel (just type "Administrative Tools" into the Windows 10 search box). Choose Task Scheduler. In the left pane, click Task Scheduler Library and then navigate to Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator. In the middle pane, right-click on Reboot and select "Disable" from the menu.

stop auto reboots

This doesn't stop the installation of Windows updates, but it will stop the reboot so you can do it on your timetable. (Windows 10 may also change this setting back; read on at ExtremeTech for how to prevent that.) Another option: freeware program shutdownguard will stop the restarts for you.

2. Prevent Sticky Keys

If you hit the Shift key five times in a row, you activate Sticky Keys, a Windows feature that allows for keyboard shortcuts where you hit one key at a time instead of simultaneously (so it works with any combo that includes the Shift, Cntrl, Alt, or Windows keys).
If you activate it without knowing—you'd have to hit "yes" in a dialog box without thinking—it can be seriously annoying. Prevent it from ever happening by hitting the Shift five times rapidly to bring up that very dialog box. Select Ease of Access Center > Set up Sticky Keys and uncheck the box next to "Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times."


3. Calm the UAC Down

Ever since Windows Vista, User Account Control (UAC) has been there to protect users so they can quickly grant administrative rights to software programs that need it—specifically when installing or uninstalling software.
In the old days, when you went to do an install, the screen would suddenly dim and everything seemed to come to a halt, causing several (anecdotal, probably fictional) heart attacks amid the populace. UAC is still there in Windows and will still dim the desktop, but you have the option to turn it off, or at least prevent the screen dimming.
Type UAC into the Windows 10 search box to get Change User Account Control Settings. The screen presents a slider with four levels of security, from never notify (bad) to always notify (annoying—it'll warn you when you make your own changes). Pick one of the middle options; the second from the bottom notifies you without the dimming scare tactic. With that option, you'll still get a dialog box confirmation with a yes/no option when you install things.


4. Delete Unused Apps

Did you know you have a program in Windows 10 called Groove Music? Probably not, because the world uses other services. But now, you can get rid of it and a few others.
You'll need the latest version of Windows 10 for this to work—but because updates are forced on you, that's probably not a problem! As of late in 2016, a few pre-installed apps can finally be deleted when you go into Settings > System > Apps & Features. Deletable apps include Mail and Calendar, Groove Music, Weather, and Maps.
If your uninstall option is grayed out, you can go the DOS route, but it gets a little complicated and you should be 100 percent sure of what you're doing.
  • Type PowerShell in the Windows searchbox—when you see it, right-click and launch it via Run as Administrator.
  • Type in "Get-AppxPackage –AllUsers" without the quotes. A giant list of all the stuff you've got installed that came from Microsoft's Store, plus some other stuff, will appear.
  • It's hard to find those apps in there, but the last one will probably clearly read Microsoft.ZuneMusic—that's actually Grove Music. Copy everything it says on the line next to PackageFullName.
  • You'll then type in a command and paste that line, so it reads something like "remove-AppxPackage Microsoft.ZuneMusic_10.16122.10271.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe" (yours will be different after the first underscore character).
  • Execute it with a stroke of the return key, and if you don't get any errors, the Groove Music app should be gone. Be careful using this on other apps—be sure you've picked the right one.
  •  

5. Use a Local Account

Microsoft really wants you to sign in to Windows 10 with your Microsoft account—the one that is attached to all things Microsoft, be it your Xbox, your Office 365 subscription, your OneDrive account, buying apps or music or video in the Windows Store, even talking on Skype, to name just a few. When you set up Windows, Microsoft specifically asks you to sign in using that account.
But you don't have to. During setup, just click Skip this step. If you already signed in with the Microsoft account, go to Settings > Accounts > Your email and Accounts. Click Sign in with a local account. Now you can enter a local account name and new password (with a hint for when you forget it). The one downside is that when you end up on a service or site that requires Microsoft credentials, you'll have to enter your Microsoft login each time; it won't automatically sign you in as it would if you sign in with a Microsoft account.

 

6. Use a PIN, Not a Password

If you're okay using the Microsoft account, but hate how long it takes to type in your super secure password, you can reset it to a short personal identification number (PIN)—but only on the PC. The PIN, which is only numerals, no mixed case letters or special characters, might not sound very secure. But since it's PC-only, it doesn't compromise the security of your Microsoft account anywhere else. Also, it can be as many digits as you desire.
To set it up, click the Start menu, then on your avatar pic, and choose Change account settings. Navigate to Sign-in options, and click the Add button under PIN. Enter the PIN you want and restart to try it. If you've already got a PIN, you get options to change it, remove it, or click I forgot my PIN to recover it.

7. Skip the Password Login

Are you the only person who ever—and I mean ever—uses your PC? Then you can probably skip the password login screen that appears after every reboot or sometimes even when you come back from the screensaver. To do that, go to the User Accounts control panel by typing "netplwiz" in the search bar. Select the account, uncheck the box next to "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer. You'll get a confirmation box that asks you to enter that very password—twice. Click okay when done. Reboot the PC and if it works, it should roll smoothly into the desktop without requesting a password. Don't do this if it's shared PC. And you'll still need to know the password if you're logging into the PC remotely.


Skip Password Login 

8. Refresh Instead of Reset

Windows 10 has a fantastic feature that lets you essentially reinstall Windows 10 on your computer from the ground up, like new—without deleting any of your data files (though you will have to reinstall software and drivers). When your PC is beyond repair, you access it at Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, and click Reset this PC, pick settings like "Keep My Files" or "Remove Everything" and let it rip. You don't need any separate media, like a copy of Windows 10 on a disc or USB flash drive.
But that can be overkill. Sometimes, Windows just needs a reset that does not eradicate your software and drivers. This is also easy to do, but it does require a copy of Windows 10 on separate media. Don't have the media, since you probably performed the free Windows 10 upgrade during its first year of life? Get it via here. Run it and install the included ISO file onto a 4GB or larger USB drive you can utilize for the reset now and in the future. Or you can just mount it as a virtual drive in Windows 10.
Double-click the setup on that media/drive's Setup option, ask to download updates and check "Keep personal files and apps" when it appears. After a few more prompts and waiting, your Windows 10 system will have the refresh it needs.

9. Kill Cortana Dead

Master Chief would never let this happen. Maybe that's why the most recent build of Windows 10 took out the switch to turn off Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Siri and Alexa. Using Cortana makes searching for any term more than just a look on your computer, but also the entire Internet—that's why her search box tells you "Ask me anything." You can still turn her off, however.
First, there is the option to hide Cortana: just right-click the Taskbar, select Cortana, then Hidden. The search box disappears, but she's still active and easily accessible: tap the Windows key and just start typing.


If you want to really take her out so all searches are local, you need to edit the registry—don't do this if you're not feeling like a Windows expert. You have to open the Registry Editor in Windows from a command line—there is no easy shortcut. In the search box, type Run or CMD to bring up the command line, then type regedit and hit Enter. In Windows 10 Home, navigate to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search. If it's not there, create it. Create a DWORD value and call it AllowCortana. Then set that value to 0 (zero). Once you sign out and come back, the search box will now read "Search Windows."
If that's a little too complicated, check out How to Share More (or Less) Personal Data With Cortana.

10. Access Special Symbols Quick

Just using 26 letters and 10 numerals and a few pieces of punctuation—that's so old school. We live in the emoji world now—but how do you put those fun little icons into your text when typing in Windows 10? You can't unless you memorize a bunch of ANSI codes... or you could try the pop-up keyboard. It's typically meant for use when Windows is in tablet mode, but it's easy to access even when you're using it with a regular keyboard.
Right-click the Taskbar in a blank area, and select the Show touch keyboard button. A new icon will appear next to the clock in the taskbar of a little keyboard. Tap it anytime with the mouse cursor to bring up the on-screen keyboard; use your IRL keyboard to dismiss it from the screen. Click the extra keyboard icon at the lower left of the virtual keyboard, and there is an option to split the keyboard so it appears at the lower left and right of the screen, so it's less likely to obscure your document.
onscreen keyboard
You now have access not only to emoji but also special characters like the em dash or degrees symbol (°). If you can't find them, that's because first, you have to hit the &123 key to switch to symbols, then, like on a smartphone, hold down your cursor on the main key to get some special symbols—hold down on the hyphen to get em dash and en dash; hold down on equals (=) to get non-equals (≠), etc. Same goes for the letters to get variations, such as accent symbols over the letters. VoilĂ !

11. OneDrive Into the Grave

Like Cortana, OneDrive—Microsoft's answer to Dropbox or Google Drive—is integrated into Windows 10. Tightly. Too tightly. You can try to ignore it, but it comes up a lot. Again, a registry edit will nix it completely. In the Registry Editor in Windows 10 Home, go to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive (or create it). This key needs a DWORD value called DisableFileSyncNGSC—set it's value to 1. Then restart. OneDrive is dead, but any files you stored in a local OneDrive folder stay put, as do the files you may have on OneDrive in the cloud. They just won't sync from that PC any longer.

12. No More Notifications

You either love notifications or hate the distraction. The noise, the popup, it's too much when your phone is likely displaying most of the same info. Go into Settings > Notifications & Actions. Turn off all the toggle switches. Turn them off for individual apps, especially the ones you find most annoying. Or click on the App name in the list for even more granular control—get notifications from one app on the lock screen, for example, but nowhere else, or turn off sounds for all but one notifier, that kind of thing. Play with the settings to get it just right. This is also where you can personalize the Quick Action buttons that appear at the bottom of the Windows Action Center (the pane where notifications appear on screen)—they give you quick access to settings like Airplane mode, turning off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or VPN, or creating a note in OneNote.

 


13. Cool Your Diagnostics

Like many other big-name companies, Microsoft likes to get OS feedback about things like crashes. But when you do a setup and Windows 10 asks to "Send full error and diagnostic information to Microsoft," Redmond's getting more than you think. In Settings, go to Feedback & Diagnostics—the "Send your data to Microsoft" option will likely be set to "Enhanced." Set it to Basic to send the least amount of data.

 

14. Fix Start Menu/Cortana Issues

Got tiles and entries that disappear in the Windows 10 Start menu? Does Cortana not pop up when you expect? The Start menu can, it turns out, get pretty gummed up over time. Microsoft has suggestions, but the best is to use the Start Menu Troubleshooter tool. Restart after running it and you're likely to find most of your Start menu problems have gone, at least for now. Or, you can always dump the Windows 10 Start menu and try a third-party option to make the current OS more Windows 7-esque. For more, check out How to Use and Tweak the Start Screen in Windows 10.

 

15. Get Off the Edge

Don't like Microsoft's latest browser? It's safer and faster than using Internet Explorer, but Edge is nothing special compared to our Editors' Choice, Mozilla Firefox. But no matter what browser you choose, you need to make it the default so anytime you open a link, it goes to the browser you want.
Go to Settings > System > Default Apps, scroll down to Web browser and click whichever is listed. A list will pop up of all your installed browsers—pick the one you want permanently. You can always go back to whatever Redmond thinks best later by clicking the "Reset to Microsoft Recommended defaults" button.
get off the edge 

If you get problems with certain links, you may want to go in and ensure the file type (like .htm versus .html) or even protocols (like http:// versus https://) are all set to your browser of choice as well. Links to adjust are on the same screen in Default App settings.
Most new browsers you install will try to take back the default position when you start them the first time, so if you speed through a setup, you may need to revisit these settings to go back to your original, preferred Web browser.

If you have any queries/feedback, please write it in comments section below OR mail me here : Snehal[at]Techproceed[dot]com.

Happy Fixing :-)


Jailbreaking Explained: What You Need to Know About Jailbreaking iPhones and iPads

iPhones and iPads are locked-down devices. You can only install apps Apple has approved, and you can’t tweak the underlying system like you could on a Windows, Mac, or Linux system. Jailbreaking is the act of escaping this figurative “jail.”

Apple doesn’t like jailbreaking, and they go out of their way to make it more difficult. The jailbreaking community and Apple are engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse. Jailbreakers work to make jailbreaking possible before Apple blocks their latest tricks.

What is Jailbreaking?

Jailbreaking is different from rooting and unlocking, but it’s similar. Like many other modern devices, iOS devices like iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches come locked-down. You don’t have access to the entire device’s file system in the same way you have low-level access on a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Apple has this “Administrator” or “Root user” access on your device, not you.

Jailbreaking is the act of gaining full access to an iOS device. Jailbreakers generally locate a security vulnerability and use it to escape the locked down environment, giving users full control over their devices.

Thanks to the US DMCA, jailbreaking an iPhone is completely legal, while jailbreaking an iPad appears to be a felony. Laws may vary in other countries.

Why People Jailbreak

An iPhone or iPad’s locked-down nature means you can only do what Apple allows you to do with it. For example, you can’t change your default email app or web browser. You also can’t install apps from outside Apple’s App Store, which means you’re out of luck if you want to use an app Apple doesn’t approve of. You also don’t have the low-level access to customize the iOS operating system in other ways, doing a wide variety of things that Apple wouldn’t approve of. Performing other system-level tweaks like changing themes, adding widgets, or enabling Wi-Fi tethering against your carrier’s wishes also requires jailbreaking.

People jailbreak because they want to do more with their devices than Apple allows them to. Whether you want to get your hands dirty with low-level system tweaks or just make Chrome and Gmail your default web browser and email apps, jailbreaing gives you complete access to the underlying system and gives you the power to do these things.

iphone-jailbreak-theme

Apple’s War on Jailbreaking

Because jailbreaking isn’t intended or supported by Apple, all jailbreaks are accomplished through finding a security vulnerability in Apple’s iOS operating system and exploiting it. This gives Apple two different motivations to block jailbreaking: They want to prevent jailbreaking itself, and they also want to fix security flaws that could be used to compromise iOS devices for malicious purposes.
Every time the jailbreaking community releases a new tool that exploits a flaw, Apple notices. They can then fix the flaw in the next version of iOS, which blocks the jailbreak from functioning. This means that jailbreakers who depend on their jailbreak tweaks may often hold back from upgrading to new versions of iOS until a jailbreak has been released and is confirmed working. Upgrading to a new version of iOS will generally “fix” the jailbreak as well as the security flaw, resetting the device to a locked-down state.

For example, an iOS 7 jailbreak was just released on December 22, 2013. iOS 7 itself was released on September 16, 2013. This means that it took the jailbreaking community over four months to find a jailbreak for iOS 7 — prior to this, jailbreakers could choose to use an old version of iOS 6 or upgrade to the latest version and lose their jailbreak. Apple will soon fix this jailbreak with a new version of iOS, and jailbreakers will have to choose between their jailbreaks and the latest version of iOS.

As Apple continues to patch up holes in iOS, jailbreaks are taking longer to appear. The jailbreaking community is locked in a perpetual struggle with Apple. Apple will probably never completely win — it’s difficult to make software without any holes — but they’re making things increasingly difficult for jailbreakers.

How to Jailbreak

Before performing a jailbreak or doing anything else risky, you’ll probably want to back up your device. If there’s a problem, you can restore the backup.

Assuming a jailbreak is currently available for your device’s version of iOS — and one just came out for iOS 9.3 very recently — you’ll simply need to locate the jailbreak tool, download it, and run it on your computer. The current jailbreaking tool of choice is Pangu. The jailbreaking process involves downloading the program to your Mac or Windows computer, connecting your iOS device to your computer with a USB cable, and running the tool. It should hopefully jailbreak your device with no problems. Be sure to follow all the instructions included with the jailbreak tool.

As part of the jailbreak process, the tool will install Cydia on your device. Cydia is an alternative app store containing iOS apps that Apple wouldn’t approve. They’re the kind of thing developed by the jailbreaking community that Apple doesn’t want you to use. For example, you’ll find tools for theming your device and adding widgets here. If you want to change your default browser, you’d install the BrowserChooser app from Cydia and select your default browser with it. Cydia is the way you actually accomplish the things that probably led you to jailbreak your device in the first place.


If you depend on jailbreaking, be sure to wait until a new jailbreak is available for every new version of Apple’s iOS before upgrading. Apple doesn’t want you to jailbreak your devices and they go out of their way to stop it.

If you have any queries/feedback, please write it in comments section below OR mail me here : Snehal[at]Techproceed[dot]com.


Happy Jailbreaking !  :-)

How to minimize Internet data usage in Windows 10

Ever wondered where’s your data vanishing post the upgrade to Windows 10? Well, if you are held up in an area with limited modem speed you are bound to face such issues. If you have noticed that Windows 10 loves to feast on data, in no time would you see them disappearing strangely. Even though we can set the connection to “Metered” the data still fast diminished without any clue.

Wondering what’s leading to this heavy internet usage? Want to find out what’s causing your data to disappear? Today we will not only guide you through how to set your connection as “Metered” under the settings, but will also show you how to limit Windows 10 data.

Tips to Save your Data Consumption on Windows 10 OS

  • Select “Metered” as your Data Connection

Changing your data connection to “Metered” under the Settings is one of the most basic steps in order to send a signal to the Windows 10 that will restrict massive updates and self-regulating app downloads. In order to change the setting to “Metered” you need to click on the “Start” button (the windows key on your keyboard), then go to “Settings” in the menu, select “Network and Internet” from the list, now go to “Wi-Fi” and then click on “Advanced Options”.



The box that opens now will display the second option as “Metered connection”. Click on the slider beneath it to put it “ON”.


  • Switch Off Background Apps
Windows 10 allows some of the background apps to function by default which in turn consumes a lot of data. The notable culprit here is the “Mail” application that depletes the majority of data. In such cases, it is rather safe to switch off of these offenders or apps in order to save yourself some data.

Go to “Settings”, click on “Privacy” and now locate “Background apps”. Switch off the “Background apps” options and then scroll through and switch off any other apps that you think you do not require and are finishing your data.

  • Set “One Drive” Off

One Drive is one of the other background apps in the Windows 10 that depletes your data in no time. It is indeed one of the most crucial apps in the Windows 10 OS disabling which can be a radical step, however, not many of us need it running in the background at all times. Yes, the One Drive does help you sync your files which makes life simpler, but that can be even done in the next cyber café. This may take a while for you; however, it will save you some substantial data over the period.

  • Read: How to uninstall OneDrive
In order to deactivate the One Drive, right clicking on the “Task Bar” will open up a list. Select “Task Manager” from the list and click on it or alternatively use your keyboard shortcuts, such as, CTRL + SHIFT + ESC all at once. Under this you will see a series of tabs and the one that you need to click on is the “Startup” tab. This will further open up a list and here you need to scroll down and select “Microsoft OneDrive”. Now deactivate this option to stop “One Drive” from automatically syncing the files in the background. You can also disable other drives, like the Google Drive or the Dropbox in order to save data.


  • Deactivate PC Synchronization Function
Even though you may admire the PC sync function being the Windows 10 trademark feature, the fact is that it eats up a considerable portion of your data. So you really do not want it to run at the background unless required, hence, it’s a better idea to keep it switched off till the time you need to sync files. In order to switch the PC sync off you need to find the “Settings” option, go to “Accounts”, and find the option that says “Sync your settings” and now just slide it to “OFF”.


  • Disable Notifications

“Notifications” is another section where you have the opportunity to save some data. Simply disable the notifications if you do not need to be constantly informed of the current activities by the background apps. Simply right click on the “Action Centre” icon and click on the “Turn on quiet hours” to turn it off.


  • Deactivate Live Tiles
Opting to keep the “Live Tiles” option “On” will keep the News application running in the background which will constantly keep you updated with the latest Feeds. Facebook, Twitter, Mail or Weather are certain apps that are interconnected with the Feed and will keep retrieving the News automatically. In case if you are not interested in the Feeds you can deactivate it the “Live Tiles” and opt out of it. Right click on the option “Tile” and select the option that says “Turn live tile off” and you are done!


  • Disable Bandwidth sharing !
Windows 10 have come up with an improvement in its Windows Update option that allows it to sync updates from a local network PC in a P2P (peer-to-peer) style named “Windows Update Delivery Optimization” or WUDO.

WUDO is ideal for situations if your OS is set up with “Metered” connection but have more than one computer using the Windows 10 operating system. However, if the computers in the local network are of the same built, you can make use of only computer to update the other.
In order to deactivate this configuration click open “Settings” option from clicking on the windows start key and then settings.



Then select “Update and Security”.


Go to “Windows Update”.


Finally select “Choose how updates are delivered”.


Once you reach this option slide it to “OFF” and there you go!


WUDO is a dicey feature offered by Windows 10 since in its Home and Pro versions the WUDO is set in such a way that it transports Windows Update info to other computers via the internet, but only to computers in the local network in Education and Enterprise versions. So in situations where you are bound in a limited modem speed it is a better idea to stay away from sharing updates online with other computers.
Turn off Auto update of offline Maps in windows 10

Just go to Settings -> System -> Offline Maps . Turn off the option Automatically Update Maps.


  • Disable Windows 10 auto Update ! Read here
Delay Windows Update ! Only for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users

Yes! You also have this convenient feature in Windows 10 which allows you to actually delay/defer the Windows Updates. So if your PC is running an OS which is either Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise, you will find an option in the settings section of the Windows Update that will let you delay/defer the procedure of new features download for quite a few months. This definitely makes a huge impact as any update to the new features can be significantly big.

And what’s more, delaying the Windows Update will not disturb either the download process or the installation procedure of the security updates! Also, it will not affect the downloading of the features forever, but only for a limited period.

Go to the “Setting” option, click open the “Update and Security”, now select “Windows Update” and then click “Advanced Options”. Toggle towards the bottom and click on the check box next to the option that says “Defer Upgrades”. However, remember that by turning this on will also defer “Microsoft Updates”.

Please note that you need not apply all the options that we mentioned here and you should rather apply the ideas based on the type of connection that runs on your OS. However, when applied tactfully these ideas will help you control the data consumption by Windows 10 in a much better fashion, thereby helping you save a good amount of data.
Happy data saving :-)

How to Find Your Lost or Stolen Android Phone

You’re having a night out. With dinner down the hatch, you’re walking down the street with your sweetheart to the next destination. You reach into your pocket to pull out your phone, when that feeling hits the pit of your stomach: your phone is missing. Did you leave it at the restaurant? Or maybe at home? Did someone steal it? Your mind races. You have no idea.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do in this situation to hopefully get your phone back.

How to Find Your Phone From Your Computer

There’s a good chance you’ve stumbled across this article after having lost your phone, so instead of telling you what you should’ve done before losing it, let’s get right to it: you want to know what to do right now.

The good news is that you can quickly find your missing handset with Google’s Android Device Manager, even if you don’t have the app installed. Grab your computer (if you don’t have your computer, see the next section), connect to the internet, open Chrome, and make sure you’re logged in to your Google account (seriously, this part is crucial). Type “Where is my phone” in Chrome’s omnibox. This will do a search, and Google will automatically load a mini Android Device Manager window inside of the search results. During my testing, I found this little box to be pretty hit and miss in terms of accuracy, so for the sake of finding your phone quickly, go ahead and hit the first link: “Android Device Manager.”


This will bring up the Device Manager site—you may or may not have to log into your Google account again here—and immediately start tracking your device. If you happen to have multiple phones and tablets, you can use the small drop down to find the one that’s missing.


Once you’ve told the Device Manager to find your missing phone, it’ll start tracking and shouldfind it within a few seconds. It’ll provide the time it was located, the location, and the accuracy range. This will give you a damn good idea of where your phone is.

To make sure your personal data is safe and secure, you can use the “lock” button to quickly enable a lock screen password, even if you didn’t have one enabled before. Once the password is set, you can also put a recovery message on the locks screen—something like “Thanks for finding my phone! Please call the number below.” (Then put a number in the box below.)


This should, in theory, lock the device up behind the password you entered. The message will display in big letters at the top of the screen, with a large “Call Owner” button just below. If an honest person found your phone, hopefully they’ll call you. If a thief snatched it, hopefully they’ll know you’re aware that the phone is missing and get freaked out. I wouldn’t count on that, though.

After locking the device, you can also send a command to ring it, which can help you pinpoint its exact location if you just left it somewhere. It doesn’t scream out—it just plays the set ringtone at full volume for five minutes. If you’re tracing back your steps to a location where you left it, you should probably wait until you’re close enough before executing this command.


Lastly, if all hope is lost, you can completely wipe the device with the “erase” command. This will completely factory reset the device, wiping all of your personal data, pictures, music, and all other stored files. It will also try to wipe the SD card if your device has one, but there’s a possibility (depending on Android version and manufacturer) that it may not be able to, so keep that in mind. Once the phone has been wiped, Android Device Manager will no longer work, so this is basically you saying goodbye to your phone—this is the point of no return.



How to Find Your Phone from Another Android Device

So maybe you don’t have your computer handy, or you don’t want to go back home just to find your missing phone. That’s understandable, and there’s another solution: the Android Device Manager app. If you have a second Android phone or tablet with you, grab that bad boy and give the app a quick install.

Once you’ve got it loaded up, you’ll need to input your Google password to start location devices. The app works exactly like the website, so all of the instructions and details above are applicable here. You can ring, lock, and erase your device directly from the app with all the same options that the web offers. Boom.

How to Find Your Phone from a Friend’s Phone

So what happens if you don’t have another Android device or your computer? That’s when it may seem like all hope is lost, but fret not, there’s still an option. Grab a friend’s phone or tablet—doesn’t matter if it’s Android, iOS, Windows Phone, or whatever else (just as long as it’s a smartphone).

Open the web browser and do a search for Android Device Manager. Open the first link, and sign in. Boom, you’re in.


The only snag you may run into is if you have Two-Factor Authentication enabled on your Google account, which will require you to input a six-digit code before getting access to your account. The problem is that this usually relies on either an app (like Google Authenticator) or a text message to get you this code, and if your phone is missing…well, you see where this is going.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to keep some backup codes handy. Google provides these when you set up two-factor authentication in the first place, so print them out and keep them somewhere safe—don’t wait until it’s too late! These codes could mean the difference between getting your phone back (or at least keeping prying eyes away from your personal data) and never seeing it again.

Once you’re logged in, the Device Manager will work the same way as discussed above. Do your thing. Good luck.

Other Things to Consider About Android Device Manager

Like everything else, Android Device Manager isn’t without its limitations. For example, if your phone is stolen and you don’t have a protected lock screen (shame on you!) and the thief has already performed a factory reset, you’re out of luck. The phone is no longer associated with your Google Account at that point, so Google has no way of tracking it. Bummer.

If the phone happens to die before you can track it, or the thief turns it off, all hope isn’t totally lost—Android Device Manager will try to provide the last verified location. This will at least give you an idea of where you could’ve lost it. You can also hope that whoever finds it will put it on charge for you—then you’ll be able to track it again. Or maybe they’ll just call you. That’d be neat too.

Finding out your phone is missing can be a gut-wrenching feeling, but Google has done an excellent job with Android Device Manager, as it’s a fully integrated option that takes the place of dozens of janky products that tried to achieve this goal before. So while it may not be any easier to realize that your handset is gone, at least you have solid hope of getting it back.

Happy Finding :-)