Technology News: Mobile

Google 'Find Lost your Android device (Any Android Phone)

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Google 'Find Lost your Android device (Any Android Phone)</div>
Finding your lost phone just got easier — as long as it's an Android device. 
 
 
Searching Google for the words "Find my phone" will call up the Android Device Manager tool that shows where your phone is on a map. From there, you can tell the phone to ring, lock, or have it wiped completely. 
 
On Chrome, calling up the tool is as easy as speaking. Since Chrome accepts voice searches, all you need to do is say the words, "Find my phone," and the browser does the rest. 
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The tool works perfectly on desktop, although to call it up on mobile you'll need to download the latest version of the Google app, according to a post on Google+; however, it didn't work for us. 
 
To be clear, Android Device Manager isn't new, but the special search term is. While it's not compatible with the iPhone, users of Apple's platform can use either the Find my iPhone app or iCloud.com to search for their lost devices — just without the easy-peasy search term. But if you ask Siri, "Find My iPhone," she'll launch directly into the eponymous app. 
 
 
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Google 'Find Lost your Android device (Any Android Phone) Finding your lost phone just got easier — as long as it's an Android de...

Find the IMEI number for a lost or stolen Android device

07:29 Dinesh Soni 0

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How To Get IMEI number for a lost or stolen Android device</div>
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Losing your phone is awful, but if you're working with your carrier and law enforcement to recover it, they may need your IMEI number.</div>
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Once you realize your device is gone, you'll probably think about what sort of personal information is accessible via the device, what photos you had saved on it, and the cost of replacing it. If you've already attempted to recover the device with the Android Device Manager (or your friend's Android), then it's time to contact the police and your wireless provider to report the situation. 
 
Your carrier may require a police report to prove that the device is actually missing. In addition to the make, model and visual appearance, the police and your carrier may request the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) to help identify the device. This is number is unique to your hardware, and may allow the carrier to discontinue service to it, or blacklist it from their network if it was stolen. 
 
As a recent post on the Digital Inspiration blog points out, you can still find your IMEI without the phone in your hand. Here's how: 
 
Start by logging into your Google Dashboard by heading to http://www.google.com/settings. 
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Google Dashboard displaying Android devices.</div>
Nicole Cozma/CNET 
After you're signed in, click the arrow next to Android. You will see all devices that have been attached to your Google account. Find your current phone and copy the IMEI number. 
 
 
Hopefully the combined effort of the police and your wireless carrier will help you retrieve your device.</div>

Find the IMEI number for a lost or stolen Android device

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How To Get IMEI number for a lost or stolen Android device Losing your phone is awful, but if you're working with your carrier and ...

How to enable Smart Lock for Google Apps accounts

07:23 Dinesh Soni 0

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How to enable Smart Lock for Google Apps accounts</div>
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Google recently launched its Smart Lock feature on Chromebooks, where a user can unlock his or her laptop simply by having an Android device nearby. 
 
The feature was easy to setup on Gmail account, but as noted in this guide walking users through the setup process, my Google Apps account was lacking the feature altogether. 
 
After some troubleshooting, reaching out to Google's PR team, and subsequently talking with Google Apps Support, I was able to figure out the process for enabling Smart Lock on an App account. 
 
Since Smart Lock is disabled by default for Google Apps users, you'll need to have admin privileges or ask the admin for your account to enable it. 
 
You can do this one of two ways. The first and easiest, is to visit admin.google.com and sign in to your account. From there, click on Device Management followed by Chrome. Enable Smart Lock and Save Changes. 
 
However, I ran into issues after receiving the above directions. When I went to the Device Management panel, Chrome was nowhere to be found. Eventually I discovered you can access Chrome settings by signing into your admin page (same link as above) and clicking on Apps followed by Additional Google services, then Chrome Management. As with the previous method, once you're on this screen you simply need to enable Smart Lock and save the change. 
 
 
After enabling the new feature, restart your Chromebook and then follow the directions outlined here to get it up and running.</div>

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