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How to locate a stolen/missing device - and what to do if you can't

Most devices, be they desktop, laptop computers or smartphones/tablets, have some kind of 'Find My Device' functionality built into them. For Windows devices you need a Microsoft account, and the device needs to be turned on and connected to the internet for this to work. For Apple devices, it's the same but with an Apple ID account, and for Android devices, a Google account. Some antivirus packages also provide such functionality, generally redundant on top of the built-in stuff, but which can sometimes provide additional features such as taking photos using the device's built-in camera, and transmitting them to you over the internet.

To access this functionality when a device is lost or stolen, google "find my device" and the type of account (Apple/Microsoft/Google) associated with it, and you should find the appropriate website. What you can do from this point depends on the type of account, but things you can do typically include: tracking the device's location (based upon the last time it connected to the internet, or cellular network), disabling it so others cannot access it, making it display a message from you with your contact details, or emitting a loud beeping noise thereby making it easier to find. The latter would've been useful to know with the phone I lost in central Wellington, as I had it set to 'Do Not Disturb', which meant calling it was pointless. But 'Find My Device' options bypass these types of controls, including having turned the sound off or volume down.

Now we'll go over what you can do if you can't recover the device. As noted you can generally lock it down using the above functionality, but if you can't connect to your device there's little chance of getting it back unless whoever finds it (if it's found) is honest. If they're not, and it's a phone or cellular-network-connected tablet, you can ask your network provider to lock the phone down using it's IMEI number. If you don't have that number they can usually look it up for you. What this means is the specific device will be banned across multiple cell networks, so someone can still use it as a smartphone, but not as a regular phone.

Whatever device you have, I wouldn't worry too much about somebody stealing your data and passwords, though that is a possibility. It's more likely they'll simply wipe the device to remove any incriminating evidence and then resell or use it themselves. In that case, it's time to get a new device, though of course you should take precautions such as changing passwords for all major online services, as most of these are viewable within your computer's web browser, and may be viewable on your phone.

Lastly, reporting the lost device to the police is important as an honest citizen will likely drop it into them, and you can ask around on local Facebook groups to see if anyone's found it. If you record the serial number of the device, as well as the make and model, this can be used to prove ownership. These things happen and it's difficult to avoid sometimes, but it's nice to know there are advanced ways of getting your stuff back, nowadays.

- Matt Bentley, computer expert at Bentley Home PC Support.
Email info@homepcsupport.co.nz or phone 0211348576.

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