How do I track my phone using Google Maps? Google's Find My Device explained

Track your Android phone, play sounds, secure your device, erase all content – Google's Find My Device has helpful options

Google Maps to Find My Device
(Image credit: Google)

Phone gone missing? Here's how to use Google Maps to find your device. Well, it's actually a different Google service, called Find My Device, which will use Google Maps within its interface to help reveal where your device is (or devices, should you have multiples). 

Find My Device is easy to use, offers a bunch of useful security features – whether you want to show your device location, make the phone ring on remote command, secure the device and display a message, or even remote erase – and here we'll show you how to find your device using Google's service. 

Find My Device: Google's phone locator service

First thing's first, you'll need to be signed into your Google account. You can access this from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or another phone – whatever you have to hand. In this example, with the screengrab up top, we're showing the experience in Google Chrome on a laptop system.

Next up: open Google's Find My Device, located at www.android.com/find. That's why you'll need to be signed into your Google account first, as you will also need to have been on the device you're looking to find. 

Google Find My Device: What can it do?

Once successfully signed in you'll see the Google Find My Device page, as shown top of page. To the upper left corner it'll show various signed-in devices, if you possess multiple products. Click the relevant one to seek and find it, but if it's offline it won't be traceable (and will read "can't reach device"). Successfully locating a device will instead show "last seen" with details, including a Google Maps view of the device's location.

There's a lot more too. Play Sound will remotely cause your selected device to ring, for up to five minutes, which could be useful for finding it somewhere around the house. Secure Device gives you the control to lock the device and sign-out of Google. You can also display a message on the lock screen. Erase Device, meanwhile, does what it says on the tin: it'll ice all content on your phone, but you won't then be able to remotely locate it thereafter. 

It's as simple as that: using Google's Find My Device isn't quite the same as using Google Maps, but we can see the distinction and why so many people ask the question. Happy hunting!

Mike Lowe
Tech Editor

Mike is the Tech Editor and AV Editor at T3.com. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 and, as a phones expert, has seen hundreds of handsets over the years – swathes of Android devices, a smattering of iPhones, and a batch of Windows Phone products (remember those?). But that's not all, as a tech aficionado his beat for T3 also covers tablets, laptops, gaming, home cinema, TVs, speakers and more – there's barely a stone unturned that he's not had a hand on. Previously the Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for a 10 years, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more. In addition to his tech knowledge, Mike is also a flights and travel expert, having travelled the globe extensively. You'll likely find him setting up a new mobile phone, critiquing the next MacBook, all while planning his next getaway... or cycling somewhere.