Lost your phone? This iPhone-like 'Find My Device' feature will discover Android phone without internet

Have you lost your phone? Then this new feature will let you find your Android phone, even if you don’t have an active internet connection. Google will soon release a Find My Device app just like the iPhone's 'Find my' feature to keep track of your devices — even if they're offline. In the latest update of the December 2022 Play System, Google informed that a new “privacy-centric framework” has been used with the Find My Device to deliver encrypted last-known-location alerts. As per the XDA developer report, this can be a big hint towards the Find My Device feature for Android devices.

However, it must be noted that Google already has its 'Find My Device' app which helps you locate your lost Android phone or tablet, or Wear OS watch. With the help of this, you can find, lock, or erase the data. Google collects certain information to help you find a lost Android device. However, the loophole in this feature is that it requires an active internet connection to detect your lost device. This will change soon with the update.

“Find My Device now supports encrypted last known location reporting for Android devices, using a new privacy-focused framework,” a Google Update patch note from December 2022 mentioned the Find My Device feature. It hints towards the usage of the feature without the need of an active internet connection.

How to use find my device feature on Androids

• First, go to android.com/find and sign in to your Google Account.
• Then, if you have more than one phone, click the lost phone at the top of the screen. Similarly, select your profile in case of multiple profiles.
• After this, the lost phone gets a notification.
• On the map, you'll also get information about where the lost phone is. You should note that the location is approximate and might not be accurate.
• If it is unable to find the device, it will show the last known location, if available.
• You can do what you want to do with the data by clicking on Enable lock and erase.
• You can also play sound, which will ring your phone at full volume for 5 minutes, even if it's set to silent or vibrate.