We often live in fear of losing our beloved phones. For the few then who lose them its a usually  nightmare. You are redirected to offices you never even knew existed. It then takes years for your phone to be tracked.
However things could be a lot easier if you got Google on your side.

First to secure your phone with Google you need to have an active Google account linked with your phone.

Google provides for three options for those who want to search their phones; call phone, lock phone and track phone on maps.
However to do this successfully you need to do a couple of things. Some of which I have highlighted below:
1. Always switch on data and switch off background data restrictions( let all apps be online via your mobile data). There is no way you can use Google app services without network access. If you see this as expensive you may as well do this in mugging prone areas.
2. Once you lose your phone don't try calling it, you are just telling whoever has it that you are searching for your phone!
Instead run to the nearest cyber cafe or borrow a phone with a good Internet connection.
• Login to Google and open `my account'
• Open my devices ( you will see devices you have logged into using google) click on the lost phone on `my current devices'
  • If the phone is just lost you may try tracking it
  • If you are extremely sure, with no doubt at all that your phone is within a short range you may call it.
  • If on the other hand your phone has been stolen lock it first then try tracking it.
3. Once you have successfully tracked your phone you may decide to get it yourself or file a case with the police but this time you will report that someone has stolen your phone but you know where they are so you will just go straight ahead for an arrest.

Though this might be the best way to secure your phone it is still not completely fool proof, someone might switch off data with out your password, one may also pluck off the battery if you still got a phone where the battery and the phone are separate or Google might give inaccurate tracking results.
However this is far much better than shouting in the streets.

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