How to find a lost samsung tablet

Smartphones are expensive and accidents happen. Now that we've stated the obvious, it is perhaps helpful to mention that most of us carry a lot of private information on our mobile devices. Whether it is a company-issued device or one of top Android phones purchased after months of savings, the odds are that the data within the device is actually more valuable than the device itself.

There have been many independent developers who've created apps designed to help users find lost phones or, at the very least, to wipe them remotely. Many of those apps required root access to work properly (and to avoid being removed through a malicious wipe), so they never became mainstream. While some of these apps still exist in one form or another, big smartphone manufacturers have developed their own tracking apps.

Samsung leads the Android pack with its Find My Mobile service providing a few handy options in case of a lost or stolen device. But how does Find My Mobile work, and how can it be activated? We answer these questions and a few more below.

What is Samsung's Find My Mobile service?

Find My Mobile is a service that can beaccessed via a Samsung account on desktop or (other) mobile device. After activation, users can locate, remotely backup and wipe data on their registered Galaxy mobile device. With “Track location” on, the service will issue an automated update on the lost device's location every 15 minutes.

The service also offers additional features, including a “Ring” function to locate the device if it's in the vicinity of the owner, a lock screen feature, and the ability to prevent power off and show a contact message.

How do I activate Find My Mobile?

Complete the following steps on your phone to activate Find My Mobile:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap on Biometrics and security.
3. Tap the Find My Mobile option (not the toggle yet).
4. From this menu, set the toggle to "on."
5. Optional: activate Remote unlock and Send last location.

What is a Backup code, and how do I set it up?

Two-factor authentication—or 2FA—is a great way to secure your device, but the way Samsung implements it for Find My Mobile is not particularly well-thought-out. The best example of the weirdness of Samsung's 2FA on Find My Mobile is that the service sends a 2FA code to the missing phone when you want to erase the device. To Samsung's credit, you can get around this, but the solution isn't perfect because you need to make sure it's set up beforehand—something that isn't clear until you need to erase a stolen phone. The solution in question is either disabling 2FA for Find My Mobile altogether or setting up what Samsung calls Backup codes—single-use 2FA codes that you can save in a text document or write down in a notebook. To set up Backup codes, open the settings app on your phone and follow these steps:

1. Open the Samsung account options by tapping the button with your name and profile picture on it.
2. On the Samsung account settings page, tap Security and privacy to open the security and privacy options page.
3. On the Security and privacy options page, tap Two-step verification to adjust the 2FA settings.
4. On the Two-step verification page, tap Backup codes to generate and view the Backup codes for your device.
5. Take note of the codes on this page—write them down or tap Save codes to export them to a .txt file that you can save to Google Drive or export to your computer, laptop, or tablet.

Backup codes are single-use, so make sure you open this settings page and generate new codes if you ever do have to use them.

How do I locate my phone using Find My Mobile?

Once Find My Mobile is set up on an Android phone, owners should go to the Find My Mobile webpage and log in using their Samsung account. From here, they will see a list of any Samsung devices for which they have activated Find My Mobile.

If the device location is found, users will see an active indicator on the map, together with the device's status, battery level, and network connectivity type (mobile or Wi-Fi). They will also be able to access the remote features mentioned above.

It is worth mentioning that Find My Mobile will only work if the lost device is turned on and connected to a network.

Because of this, Samsung also offers a feature to remotely adjust power settings to extend the life of lost devices and give users more time to locate them.

Additionally, Find My Mobile can also be used to retrieve access to a device in case of a lost password or PIN, but to do so, users will have to turn on the Remote Unlock during the setting up process.

What can I do after I locate my device using Find My Mobile?

If you've lost your phone and subsequently relocated it using Find My Mobile, it's worth picking it up. First, you might want to ensure it's not with someone else. Unfortunately, Samsung only lets you check your phone's location once every 15 minutes, so determining whether it's sitting on a park bench or in someone's pocket will take at least 16 minutes. If the location changes, you'll know it's not where you left it, and you might have a chance to at least have a conversation to get it back.

How to make your phone ring on Find My Mobile

So, you've used a tablet to track your device to a shopping center, park, parking lot, or what have you, but you obviously can't run around and tell everyone to empty their pockets, so what's a phoneless vigilante like yourself to do? Fortunately, Samsung has you covered. Find My Mobile can help you pinpoint your device with the Ring feature—regardless of the sound mode it is set to or the volume it is set to. To make your device ring, simply select Ring on the Find My Mobile page and then Start in the pop-up that follows. The device will start ringing for one minute, alerting you to its presence.

Unfortunately, this ringing can be stopped from the device, so it might take a few tries with you awkwardly scanning the crowd for people with confused or concerned expressions.

Do not confront thieves

Whether you should do this if your phone has been stolen is another story entirely...in fact, you probably shouldn't hop in your car and confront the criminal who stole your phone. Instead, your best bet is to ensure your data is secure and inform local law enforcement about the location of your device. Your mileage may vary regarding the success of this step, but it's certainly not worth risking your personal safety to retrieve a stolen device. So, let's look at what steps you can—and should—take to secure your phone and information when it's been stolen.

Back up your data to the Samsung Cloud

If you often have valuable information on your phone that you can't stand to lose, you should absolutely have a robust backup strategy in place. If it's been a while since you ran a backup, Find My Mobile allows you to run a quick backup of your device remotely. All you need to do to run a backup is sign in to Find My Mobile on a desktop or mobile browser—as above—then follow these steps:

1. On the Find My Mobile page, click or tap Back up in the menu panel on the right side of the screen to open the backup options.

2. In the backup options pop-up, click or tap to select the options you want to back up. If your phone is low on battery, or you are unsure of how long it will be in mobile range or powered-on, it is a good idea to start with the essentials and circle back to the ancillary stuff later.

3. Once you have selected what you want to back up, click or tap Back up to start the backup. You may see a pop-up confirming the use of mobile data. Click or tap I agree, then Back up to proceed with the backup.

That's it. Once you click Back up, your phone will start to back up the requested information if it's connected to a mobile network. Unfortunately, this isn't a silent procedure and does trigger a notification on your phone, meaning anyone that has your phone will be alerted to the fact that you're backing it up. As each individual backup completes, the Find My Mobile page will reflect the time the backup completed in the pop-up window.

Erase the data on a lost or stolen phone with Find My Phone

Storing confidential or sensitive information on a phone is always risky. If your phone is stolen, you want a way to make sure that any information you've stored on it isn't used maliciously. A good way to lock that information down is by erasing it from the device completely. To erase a missing phone with Find My Mobile, log into the service, then follow these steps:

1. On the Find My Mobile page, click or tap Erase data to start wiping your device.

2. If you have 2FA enabled, you'll see a pop-up asking you for the code sent to your device. If you have another device signed into your Samsung account, you might get the 2FA code on that device, but otherwise, you will need to use a Backup code to authenticate your actions. To use a backup code, select Verify with backup code and enter the code into the field that follows.

3. After you verify in the Find My Mobile web interface, nothing happens, and you will need to select Erase data again. This time, you will be greeted with a pop-up confirming you wish to do a complete factory reset, including the information and files on your SD card if one is installed.
4. To proceed with the factory reset, select Erase.

Erasing your phone should be a last resort since you won't be able to track or control it once you've performed the reset. On the positive side, if your phone is stolen, the thief will still be locked-out because the phone will make them enter your Google account password before they can re-initialize the device.

Getting your phone back

While Samsung's Find My Mobile is far from perfect, it is a valid tool to help find your lost devices or at least prevent unauthorized access to the data within.

And since we're talking about protecting Samsung phones, we have recently rounded up the best Galaxy S22 screen protectors. You may want to look at them to ensure your device is safe from loose keyrings and rogue coins.