Android and Apple users have a way to track and lock their gadgets remotely. You can do the same with any Windows 10 PC. “Find My Device” on Windows 10 uses your device’s location data to help you find it, if it ever gets lost or stolen. You do need to have your Windows 10 PC location turned on (Settings>Privacy>Location) to take advantage of the Find My Device feature.
Here are the three things you need to take advantage of Find My Device on Windows 10:
- You must have an internet connection.
- You must have already enabled Find My Device on your Windows 10 PC.
- You must have administrator privileges on the device and the device needs to be attached to your Microsoft account.
It should be noted that you will not be able to enable Find My Device with a local account on the Windows 10 device. Assuming your device meets all of the requirements, let’s move on to how to use Find My Device on Windows 10.
Find My Device on Windows 10
Open any web browser, and go to the Microsoft account page, enter your password, and then click “Sign In.”
From there, you will be taken to your Microsoft account dashboard. Here you can see a list of your Windows 10 devices. From this main Microsoft account dashboard, you can choose which device you need to locate and lock.
Click on the “Show Details” link underneath the device you want to locate and lock. From here, you will be taken to Windows 10 device page, choose “Find my Device.”
If your device appears in a location you don’t recognize, choose “Lock” to lock your Windows 10 PC. You can choose a friendly message to display on the lock screen of your Windows 10 PC in an attempt to physically retrieve your device.
Once you create a lock screen message, you can choose to completely disable and lock your Windows 10 PC remotely.
Once your device is locked, Microsoft will email updates on your device, although it is unclear what information Microsoft will email concerning your locked device. If your Windows 10 PC is stolen, you can call the police to give them the location details and go from there. I wouldn’t recommend taking the law into your own hands to retrieve any physical item that can be replaced. Although you will be out of a couple hundred or a couple thousand dollars, your physical safety is not worth the risk.
