Meet Your Next Best Friend: Android Device Manager

Introduction

Many people ask me about one crucial bit of functionality which Android has never really handled too well in its native form. It's a sensitive subject and often only comes up at a sensitive time. "How do I locate my missing device?"

The sad truth is, locating a lost android has always been something that requires proactive thinking; installing third party software and entrusting that software with crucial remote functionality of your device such as the ability to lock or wipe your phone.

A few months ago, I was asked this question by a friend who was pro actively looking for such a solution for a new android device - my recommendation through this very blog was a third party service known as Lookout.

Over the years I've grown very fond of lookout; I share an intimate bond with it, for all the private information stored on my phone is at lookout's disposal. I value the service as a friend - we share a connection and one where I trust it dearly. Ever since a bad experience prior to my companionship with lookout and a recommendation to adopt its services, my trusted friend has been on hand whenever I've needed it, and I'll never forget just how much I value this.

But who says friends are restricted to just one?

You see, Lookout is one if those friends formed under tragic circumstances - a friendship initiated following on from a disastrous event which could almost have been prevented if only you'd known each other prior to such tragedy. For arguments sake, we'll call this a hindsight friendship.

But then there's de facto friendships - those who have been there for as long as you can remember. You don't really remember meeting them for the very first time - you can't even recall how you met each other and you probably don't see each other on such a regular basis. But they are a friend no less.

I'd like to introduce you to Android Device Manager - your brand new de facto friend!

Meet the Android Device Manager

You see, going forward there's no longer a pivotal need to install third party software prior to the loss or theft of your treasured android device.

Let's, for a minute, return to the friend who I told about Lookout. In this situation she was very fortunate due to her pro-activeness - a solution was readily available, enough so for a mammoth blog post detailing all the things that Lookout is capable of.

But this isn't a one shot question. This is something I get asked loads, and 99.9999% of the time, the person posing the question is much less fortunate - by time the question is asked, their device is long gone. This very much echo's my own disaster - the disaster which ultimately lead to my hindsight friendship with Lookout.

I however, never saw my stolen Xperia S again.

This is where our de facto friend, Android Device Manager comes in. Before now, third prior intervention with prior manual intervention was our only chance of locating a missing phone, and without such prior manual intervention our phones would be lost for good. That was the sad ending for myself and the 99.9999% of those who'd asked me.

The Android Device Manager however, requires little to no manual intervention. If you've already got an android device, this service should be readily available without any intervention, and the same goes for a brand new android device - it's there and ready to use.

Now, I may have been a little misleading in saying it doesn't require manual intervention - you do need to be signed in with a Google account - but anyone who isn't using a Google account with their android device is already missing out on everything that makes android what it is, so I won't go into heavy discussion about that.

What does it do?

The best way to answer this is to log in and take a look for yourself. All you need is your Google login details.

Android Device Manager Clicking on this link will take you to the Android Device Manager, where you will be asked to sign in with your Google account details if you're not already signed in.

At this point in time, it doesn't do a lot, but that doesn't mean that what it does do isn't a life saver. At present, there are 4 things of note:

Location: At first you'll instantly recognise the Google interface with the service and account bars at the top of the page, and in addition to this you'll see something that closely resembles the latest iteration of Google Maps, spanning from edge to edge with a 'card' overlay similar to the cards seen in Google Now on android. Depending on whether you have Lock and Erase enabled already (I'll discuss this shortly), you may have one or two cards at first. The top card, containing three commands at the bottom, also shows a text based location such as a city name where the device was last seen using GPS and the time the location was last updated. An up to date location can be found instantly using the refresh button on the top right corner. The map will also show you a circle representing the radius of the location of the lost device.

Ring: Convenient particularly when you know the location of the device, you then have the option to send a 'ring' to the phone. This allows you to hunt around the given radius whilst the phone audibly notifies you of its present location.

Lock/Erase: Failing the above steps, you can take the drastic measure of either locking the phone so that it can't be accessed in the wrong hands or remotely wiping it so that sensitive data residing on the device is destroyed. Both of these features DO require manual intervention prior to the phone going missing, and instructions are given on the 2nd card (providing the feature isn't enabled already). If this is enabled and you'd like to disable it, you can do so by going into the Google Settings app on your device, and entering the Android Device Manager settings.

At this point in time, the Android Device Manager isn't the most stable it could be - for example when I first launched it in Chrome it was unable to locate my phone, whilst going into incognito mode (a Chrome setting) found my phone immediately upon logging in.

It's important to consider however that this service is very much in its infancy and a work in progress; the ability to remotely lock the device and change your PIN (an incredible feature!) was only added in the last 24 hours, so you can this is still something which Google is working on improving over time.

Is it a Lookout contender?

Well that depends. As it stands, the two services complement each other. For example, Android Device Manager is capable of changing the device's PIN number and locking the device so that the newly set PIN needs to be entered to unlock it. Lookout does have remote lock and wipe features, but these are only available as part of its premium subscription service.

On the other hand, Lookout does have some incredible free features such as the ability to send you an email when your device is about to run out of battery containing the device's current location, and a handy little feature that emails you a photo of anyone who unsuccessfully tries to log in to the device three times consecutively.

As mentioned above however, this is still a work in progress on Google's part meaning it really is down to what Google decides to include next. Lookout may also be feeling the heat at this early stage and working on new features behind the scenes, ready to unleash in the event that Google does start to appeal as the stronger contender.

In Summary…

Google's track record for axing services that are much loved by their user base (special mention to Google Reader) means that, should someone pro-actively ask me what they should do to protect their phone against possible loss/theft, my conscience wouldn't allow me to tell them to sit back and do nothing, letting Android Device Manager take care of it all. 

Android Device Manager is a powerful weapon on Google's part however, and definitely serves its purpose well most notably for those who hadn't taken any proactive measures prior to losing their device. It's early days as of yet and glitches are likely to be ironed out in time. In addition, with a name like Android Device Manager, my gut instinct tells me Google are planning some big things that extend beyond loss/theft prevention.

I'm not one to drop one friend in favour of another, however. Lookout still has an important part to play and if anything, this experience is likely to make our friendship go from strength to strength as lookout looks to extend its Swiss army knife of loss/theft prevention features.