Be ready to find a lost Pixel phone

Important:

• Any changes you make to your backed-up files in Google Drive don’t affect the original data on your device.
• You can’t back up photos and videos.

Important: When you turn on Location with certain settings, you may also make your device’s location available to other apps and services. Understand your phone’s location settings.

1. On your device, open Settings.
2. Tap Security Find Hub Find your offline devices.
3. To help you find offline items with Find Hub, if you don’t have one, set a PIN, pattern, or password on your Android device. Learn how to set screen lock on your device.

Find offline devices settings

By default, your Android device stores encrypted recent locations with Google and participates in the Find Hub network, a crowdsourced network of Android devices that uses end-to-end encrypted location information to help Android users find their lost devices.

• Off: Your device’s encrypted recent locations won't be stored and your Android device won’t participate in the network. What happens when you turn off offline finding.
• Without network: Your device won’t participate in the network. You can still locate your offline devices with their encrypted recent locations that were stored when they were online. Offline finding without the network.
• With network in busy places only: Locate your offline devices with their encrypted recent locations. If you have a PIN, pattern, or password set on your Android Device, the network will help you locate your device in areas like airports or busy footpaths. Offline finding in busy places.
• With network everywhere: Locate your offline devices with their stored and encrypted recent locations. If you have a PIN, pattern, or password set on your Android device, the network will help you locate your device in busy and remote areas. Offline finding everywhere.

If the battery runs out or device is off

For supported devices, which include Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 series, the Find Hub network can locate your phone for several hours even if the battery runs out or the device is powered off.

Tips:

• Devices in the network use Bluetooth to scan for nearby items. If you have a PIN, pattern, or password set on your Android device, when others detect your items, they securely send the locations where they detected them to Find Hub.
• Your Android devices do the same to help others find their offline items when they’re detected nearby. How Find Hub processes your data.
• If you have a Wear OS smartwatch, you can download the Find Hub app on it to find and secure your lost devices and items. Learn how to find your phone with your watch.

Important: If you hide a device on Google Play, you won't find it in Find Hub.

1. Open https://play.google.com/library/devices.
2. At the top left, make sure that the box “Show In Menus” is checked.

Tip: If you recently removed your account from a device or lost it, you may still be able to find it in Find Hub for some time. How to hide devices on Google Play.

1. Open Find Hub.
2. Sign in to your Google Account.
   • If this device has more than one user profile, sign in with a Google Account that's on the main profile. Learn more about user profiles.
3. If you have more than one device, at the top of the screen, select your device.

Tips:

• If your device is offline and you have Find your offline devices turned on, then Find Hub can display the location of the device when it was last online based on its encrypted stored location.
• For best results, find items through the network with the Find Hub mobile app.

1. To manage your devices and find them, install the Find Hub app .
2. Tap Sign In.

Important: You can locate your device on Find Hub. You can also use the Google Find Hub app in Guest Mode with your email and password.

If you lose your primary Android device and want to lock or erase it remotely, you must turn on 2-Step Verification. Since your primary Android device could be your method of 2-Step Verification such as a verification code, it’s important to have a backup code. If you don’t have backup codes or a physical security key, you may need to contact your mobile service provider to order a new SIM.

1. Go to your Google Account.
2. Tap Security & sign-in.
3. Under "How you sign in to Google," tap 2-Step Verification.
4. Tap Backup codes.

Learn more about backup codes.

If you forget your password, lose your device, or can’t sign in for another reason, backups help you get back into your account. Learn more about 2-Step Verification and backups.

A physical security key is one of the strongest methods to protect your account. Keep your physical security key in a safe location. If your primary Android device is lost or stolen, you can use the physical key to sign in to https://android.com/find. Learn more about security key options.