How to remote wipe a lost or stolen Android phone
A wipe cannot be undone, so lock the phone and look for it first. Then the steps for a personal phone and for a company phone managed with MDM.
A remote wipe erases everything on an Android phone without you holding it, returning it to factory settings so whoever has it cannot get at your data. There are two ways to remote wipe Android phones: Google's Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) for a personal phone, or your company's MDM for a work phone.
Which one you use depends on who owns the phone. This guide covers both, and what to do before you press the button, because a wipe cannot be undone.
Before you wipe: lock it and look for it
A wipe is the last step, not the first. Once a phone is wiped you can no longer see where it is, so do these first:
- Lock it. Locking the screen remotely stops anyone using the phone while you decide what to do.
- Check its location. If it shows up at home, in the office car park or in a colleague's bag, you have saved yourself a reset.
- Wipe it if it is clearly gone, or if what is on it is too sensitive to wait.
How to remote wipe a personal Android phone
If the phone is your own, use Google's Find Hub:
- On another phone or a computer, go to google.com/android/find and sign in with the Google account that is on the lost phone.
- Choose the phone from the list. You will see its last known location if it is switched on and connected.
- Use Secure device to lock it and show a message with a number to call.
- If it is not coming back, choose Factory reset device and confirm.
The phone has to be on and connected for the reset to happen. If it is off, the reset runs the next time it connects. Afterwards the phone still asks for your Google account before anyone can set it up again, which makes a stolen phone far less useful to a thief.
Samsung phones can also be wiped through Samsung's own SmartThings Find, using the Samsung account on the phone.
How to remote wipe a company Android phone
For a work phone, use your company's mobile device management (MDM) instead. It does not depend on which Google account is on the phone, or on whether the staff member is reachable, and the administrator can act on any device in the fleet from one console.
In Beathan MDM, an administrator opens the device in the console and can:
- see its live location on a map, and its route over any period you choose;
- lock it straight away, or reset its password;
- wipe it completely, which factory resets the phone and removes all its data.
Because the MDM is the device owner, set up when the phone was enrolled, a staff member cannot block these commands by removing an app or changing a setting.
What if the phone is switched off?
A remote wipe only works if the command can reach the phone. If the phone is switched off, out of signal or has had its SIM removed, the wipe waits until it connects again. That is another reason to lock it and check its location the moment it goes missing, rather than waiting until you are sure it is gone.
Location first: why it is worth the wait
Location is the part of the process people skip, and sometimes it matters more than the data. One of our security clients had a guard kidnapped while he was on patrol. He hid his company phone in his vest, and because the device was enrolled in Beathan MDM it could be tracked to the place he was being held. He was recovered safely. Had the phone been wiped the moment it went missing, there would have been nothing left to track.
Where to go next
A remote wipe is one of several things mobile device management handles for a company fleet. If you manage Android phones for your business and want lock, locate and wipe on all of them, read about Android device management with Beathan MDM or tell us how many devices you have.