It is inevitable for us people to lose some things we own, including mobile devices. Considering the fact that we use our mobile phones to store personal information, it is but necessary to keep it safe always. In this content, we will further explicate how to keep your personal information locked and secured on your Samsung Galaxy S5, especially when you’ve lost your phone.
Majority, if not all Samsung devices integrates a feature that will help users locate, lock and erase data when the phone is lost. This tool is called Android Device Manager.
In order to keep your device information secured at all times, it is highly recommended to use Android Device Manager on your Samsung devices, including the new Galaxy S5.
How does Android Device Manager work?
Android Device Manager works in a way that helps you trace or locate your lost Samsung Galaxy S5 or other Android devices, and perform a factory reset on it remotely. It’s one great way to avoid compromising all personal information from your lost device.
However, Android Device Manager won’t be able to ring, lock or erase the device it is offline. Your phone needs to be connected to a mobile data or Wi-Fi network for the android device manager to gain access on it.
In order to reset your device when it’s back online, be sure to select Erase in advance. Here are the steps to enable Android Device Manager on your Samsung Galaxy S5:
For you to access Android Device Manager, use the Google Settings application.
1. To get started, touch Apps from the Home screen.
2. Touch to select Google settings.
3. Touch Android Device Manager.
Following are the available options you can turn on or enable on Android Device Manager app:
a. Remotely locate this device. Using Google Maps, the app will remotely access your device and find its approximate location. Be sure to put a check on the box next to this option to enable this function.
Devices that are running on Android version 4.1 and higher must turn on location access with the following steps:
* Go to Google Settings under Apps.
* Touch Location.
* Touch Google Location Reporting.
* Select Location Reporting.
* Touch the ON/OFF slider and slide to turn it ON, if necessary. Otherwise, leave it as is.
b. Allow remote lock and erase. This option lets you erase all data on your lost device remotely. Here’s how to get this done:
* Touch Allow remote lock and erase.
* Touch Activate. Doing so will turn on the device administrator.
More on Android Device Manager Functions
Google offers an Android device-tracking app at Android Device Manager. All you need to do to use this app is to sign in to your Google account that is associated with your Galaxy S5 or any lost device you wish to locate.
When traced, a dialog box shows over the interactive Google map with details about the time when the device was last located, place and location, as well as the date when the device was last used. The dialog box also contains option keys to ring, lock and erase.
Once your device is traced or located, you will be prompted with its estimated location, indicated by a landmark icon on the map.
Android Device Manager Limitations
Android device manager does not collect or save a location history or perform background location reporting. This means that your device’s estimated location is requested when you first sign in, and all these location data will be erased when you sign out of the application. Also note that Google cannot report a device location when the phone is turned off or offline.
