How to Track a Samsung Phone in 3 Easy Steps (With Photos)

Have you ever misplaced your phone or had it stolen? It’s not just the loss of the device, but also the thought of someone else having access to your personal information that can be distressing. Fortunately, there are multiple ways you can track a Samsung phone and control it remotely, ensuring that your information stays safe.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through 3 easy steps to track your Samsung phone and protect your data. Let’s dive in!

Using Find My Mobile to Track Your Samsung Phone

You’ve tried calling your device to see if someone picks up to no avail. The next intuitive thing to do would be to try and locate your device using Samsung’s Find My service. But before we begin the tracking process, you need to enable two important features to make the whole process work:

• Find My Mobile
• Remote Controls

Having these working will allow us to use Samsung’s Find My Mobile feature to locate and control your device remotely.

Step 1: Enable Find My Mobile

To remotely track your Samsung device and protect your data, Find My Mobile, now part of SmartThings Find, needs to be already enabled. SmartThings Find not only helps you locate your Galaxy devices, such as your phone, tablet, or wearable but also allows you to share locations with contacts and receive notifications using geofencing software. 

To enable Find My Mobile, go to Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile and toggle the switch on. You’ll also need to sign in to your Samsung account if you haven’t already.

You can also go to Settings > Samsung account > Find My Mobile.

Find My Mobile enables you to track your device’s location, even if it’s turned off or offline. Now, let’s learn how to enable remote control of your lost phone.

The following video from Samsung Business USA demonstrates how easy it is to set up and use Find My Mobile.

Step 2: Set up Remote Control

Remote control lets you lock your phone, wipe your data, and even make it ring so you can locate it — all from the comfort of your laptop or another phone. That way, if you ever misplace your phone or if your device falls into the wrong hands, you can ensure that your data is safe and sound. 

After clicking on Find My Mobile in Step 1 above, you should see the following interface, or something similar.

To enable remote control, toggle on the button next to Remote unlock. By turning on Send Last Location, your phone can send its last known location to the Find My Mobile server before the battery dies. And if your device is turned off or offline, enabling Offline Finding will allow you to still locate it.

With that done, losing your phone will be much less of a headache. Moving on to actually finding your Samsung phone, let’s see how to go about tracking it in the next step.

Step 3: Locate Your Phone 

Now that remote control is enabled on your device, you can use SmartThings Find to locate it. On your computer or another phone’s browser, sign into your Samsung SmartThings account.

You should see your device(s) listed in your left-hand menu. Click on the one you’re trying to track to view its last known location on the map.

Once found, you will see a map showing its current location, as well as other options. These include Ring, Lock, and Erase Data, and they’re at the top left part of the screen. Clicking Ring will make the phone ring at maximum volume for one minute, even if it’s on mute or vibrate.

From wherever it will be, the device will display a screen indicating that it has been located.

Lock Your Device

If you believe someone has stolen your device or if you just want to prevent them from accessing it, you can lock it remotely using Find My Mobile. Select “Lock” from the floating modal menu to get the following: 

Click Next. After doing so, you’ll be prompted to set a PIN to lock your device.

Choose a PIN that’s between 4-8 digits long and enter it twice to confirm. This will prevent anyone from accessing your phone without entering this code first. SmartThings Find also gives you the option to enter an emergency contact in case someone finds your phone and wants to return it. This way, they can contact your emergency contact and help you get your device back.

And if you want to send a message to the person who finds your device, you can do that too — just enter a message in the designated field. With your PIN set, an emergency contact added, and a message sent, you have successfully locked and secured your device.

Now, all you have to do is wait for SmartThings Find to locate your phone and guide you to its location. Should all that not work, you can always use the Wipe Data feature to erase everything on your device remotely.

Erase Data

This is an absolute last resort and should only be used if you’re absolutely sure that you can’t retrieve your device and/or that locking doesn’t offer enough protection. You could also use it if you just want to start fresh with a clean slate.

The floating modal menu offers the option to select “Erase Data.” After selecting this option, you will need to re-authenticate and confirm your decision. Once confirmed, the device’s data, including contacts, photos, and apps, will be erased.

But don’t fret — if you have a backup of your Samsung device, you can easily restore your data once you’ve got a new device. And if you’re not sure if you have a backup, you can check by going to your Samsung Cloud settings or other cloud backup accounts you may have set up prior.

Besides Samsung’s Find My Mobile, you can also use the Android Device Manager to remotely locate, lock, and erase data from your device. The free Android Device Manager service is built into every Android device and can be accessed through a web browser on any device with an internet connection.

Track Your Samsung Phone Using Android Device Manager

Step 1: Access Android Device Manager

To track your Samsung phone using Android Device Manager, visit the Google Device Manager website on a computer or another device.

Step 2: Sign in

Sign in to your Google account that is linked to your Samsung phone.

Step 3: Locate Your Device

After signing in, the map will display the location of your Samsung device.

If the location is not accurate or if your device is not visible on the map, it is likely that you did not enable location services on your phone beforehand.

Step 4: Control Your Device Remotely

And just like we did with Find My Mobile, you can remotely control your Samsung phone by ringing it, locking it, or erasing its data.

Using Third-Party Apps to Track Your Samsung Phone

There are several third-party tracking apps available for Samsung and Android phones. Some of the popular ones include Cerberus, Prey, and Where’s My Droid.

To use a third-party app, you will first need to download and install it on your device from Play Store or Galaxy Store. Once installed, you can sign in to the app and enable location services. From there, you can track your device’s location and control it remotely, similar to the other methods mentioned.

It’s important to note that third-party apps may have different features and limitations compared to Find My Mobile and Android Device Manager. Additionally, some of these apps may require a subscription or payment to access all of their features.

Contacting Your Carrier/Local Authorities

If all else fails and you couldn’t track your Samsung phone using any of the methods above, it may be necessary to check with your carrier or local authorities. They may be able to locate your device using GPS or disable it remotely to prevent unauthorized access.

To increase the chances of recovering your lost or stolen device, inform your service provider immediately and provide relevant information, like your phone number, IMEI number, or device model. This will allow them to disable the device and prevent any unauthorized charges before helping to recover it.

However, keep in mind that this may not always be possible, and it’s always best to take preventative measures beforehand to ensure the safety and security of your device and data.

Final Thoughts

Losing your phone can be a nightmare. With all the personal information and data stored on our devices nowadays, it’s important to have a plan in place in case this ever happens to you. Always make sure to routinely back up your data with some of the best cloud hosting providers or Samsung’s Cloud backup solution.

It’s also a good idea to enable any available security features on your phone, such as a password, fingerprint, and even face recognition, and even remote wiping in case the phone falls into the wrong hands.

Another helpful tip is to always keep a record of your phone’s serial number, IMEI number, and any other identifying information. This will be invaluable if you need to report the phone as lost or stolen to your carrier or the authorities.

In the unfortunate event you’ve lost your phone, there’s no need to panic. Start by retracing your steps and reaching out to any places you may have visited recently. You can also try calling or texting your phone to see if someone found it and is willing to return it. 

If these initial efforts prove unsuccessful, then the methods we’ve discussed earlier are still at your disposal to help you quickly track your Samsung phone down. 

The image featured at the top of this post is ©iStock.com/basar17.