How to Find a Lost Windows 10 Device

Hmm, where did I get out my Windows 10 tablet? Is information technology at home? Is it in the auto? Is it at work? Hither comes Microsoft to the rescue. A handy feature known as "Find my Device" can pinpoint the position of your Windows ten laptop or tablet via an on-screen map. The missing device also emits a sound and displays a message to alert yous or someone else every bit to the verbal location. Here'south how it works.

Burn up your Windows 10 laptop or tablet. Click on the Start button > Settings > Update & security > Find My Device. On the correct pane, you lot'll see a line that says: "Discover My Device is off." Click on the Modify button.

A minor window pops up with a setting that says: "Save my device's location periodically." Alter that setting from off to on.

To acquire more near the "Notice my Device" feature, click the "Learn more" link. A webpage pops up, the meridian office of which explains what to practise if you have a Windows telephone. The lesser part covers what to do if you have a Windows 10 laptop or tablet.

Find Your Missing Device

Now let's say you're stuck in a position where your device is missing and you demand to notice out where information technology's hiding. On any computer running Windows 7, 8.1, or Windows 10, open your favorite web browser and surf to business relationship.microsoft.com/devices.

You'll need a Microsoft account to log in. If you don't already accept i, click on the link to "Create an business relationship" and follow the steps to set 1 up.

If you already accept a Microsoft business relationship, click on the Sign in button and enter your username and countersign. A webpage called "Your devices" appears, displaying a list of all your Windows x devices with a notification every bit to whether "Find My Device" is turned on or off. Yous may also see the terminal location of some of the devices. If the device is turned on, you tin can simply click on the link for "Find my device."

A webpage pops upwardly showing you lot the appointment, time, and urban center pinpointing the device. You'll also encounter a map with the general location of the device. You tin zoom in or out of the map to either see the location up close or get a wider bird'due south-middle view.

Y'all can pan left, right, upwards, or down past dragging the map with your mouse. You lot can also click on the carte du jour particular to the right of the zoom buttons and change the setting to Road, Automatic, or Bird's eye. Road displays a road view of the map as you zoom in or out. Automatic decides which view of the map works best. And Bird's-eye brandish an outdoor aeriform photo of the location.

On the missing device's end, a beep sounds off to alarm anyone located nearby. Plus, a message briefly appears proverb that "An administrator tried to locate this device."

If your device is virtually y'all at home, piece of work, or some other locale, y'all should be able to hear the beep. If the device is located in a different location, such equally work, then hopefully a co-worker will hear the beep and/or run across the message and tin alert you as to the device'due south whereabouts.

Finally, you lot can click on the link for "Refresh" to go on the device beeping and flashing the on-screen message until your missing device is located.

For more, bank check out these other Windows x tutorials:

How to Run Windows 10 From a USB Drive
How to Support and Restore an Image File of Windows 10
How to Turn on Cortana by Vocalism in Windows ten
How to Share More (or Less) Personal Information With Cortana
How to Tweak Your Tiles in Windows 10
How to Check Out Early Versions of Windows 10
How to Customize, Command the Control Prompt in Windows x
How to Customize Your Default Apps in Windows ten
How to Use and Tweak the Kickoff Screen in Windows 10

About Lance Whitney

Lance Whitney

Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertizing, and Information technology, Lance Whitney now wears a few different engineering hats. By day, he's a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. By dark, he's asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other applied science sites and publications. He's written two books for Wiley & Sons: Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time in 2022, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2022. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.