Lost mode

Overview

Note: This article is for IT admins who manage company-owned devices. For information on device retrieval for personally-owned devices, check out Find my Device.

Lost Mode is a new management feature that helps protect organization data and recover lost assets. This feature disables access to the device and reports the device’s location to the IT admins. You can activate Lost Mode remotely to lock and locate company-owned devices.

Note: This feature is available for Work Profile on company-owned devices on Android 13 or later and fully managed devices on Android 11 or later. It’s also exclusive to EMMs that use the Android Management API. To check if this feature has been made available in their console, please contact your EMM.

Enable Lost Mode on company-owned devices

When Lost Mode is activated, the device is locked to prevent unauthorized access to any of the device's data. You can track the device’s location and play an audio alert to help the employee locate the device.

To put a device into Lost Mode

1. In your EMM’s IT admin console, enable “Lost Mode.”
   • The chosen device is now locked which means:
     1. Access beyond the lock screen is prohibited and notifications are redacted or blocked from appearing on the lock screen.
     2. A custom message can be displayed including contact information such as your organization's name, phone number, email, and street address.
     3. The device is locked until recovered by the employee.
     4. An audio alert rings at full volume (overriding do-not-disturb) for five minutes or until dismissed.
     5. Emergency information, including emergency calling is allowed.
     6. The device can still receive incoming calls and make a call to an emergency number. Additionally a call can be made to a contact number if one was set by the IT admin.
   • After five minutes, if the device is not unlocked by the employee or lost mode is canceled by the IT admin, the device’s location data is transmitted to your EMM.

If a lost device is found

• The custom message set by the IT admin is displayed on the lock screen.
• Access to the device is prohibited without the passcode.
• The audio alert is muted.
• The phone can be used to directly call the contact number that the IT admin has set for the device when it is in lost mode.
• Emergency information, including emergency calling is allowed.
• The device can still receive incoming calls.

Exiting Lost Mode

• IT admins can exit Lost Mode from their EMM console.
• Employees can exit Lost Mode with their lock screen passcode by clicking “unlock the device”.