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Find My Device is a feature that can help you locate your Windows 10 device if it's lost or stolen. To use this feature, sign in to your device with a Microsoft account and make sure you're an administrator on it. This feature works when location is turned on for your device, even if other users on the device have turned off location settings for their apps. Any time you attempt to locate the device, users using the device will see a notification in the notification area.
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This setting works for any Windows device, such as a PC, laptop, Surface, or Surface Pen. It needs to be turned on before you can use it.
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You can't use it with a work or school account, and it doesn't work for iOS devices, Android devices, or Xbox One consoles. Here's what to do if your Xbox gets stolen.
When you set up a new device, you can decide whether to turn on or turn off the Find my device setting. If you turned it off during setup and now want to turn it on, make sure your Windows device is connected to the internet, has enough battery power so it can send its location, and that you're signed in to the device using your Microsoft account.
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On the device that you want to change, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Find my device.
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Select Change for the device you want to change.
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Go to //account.microsoft.com/devices and sign in.
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Select the Find My Device tab.
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Choose the device you want to find, and then select Find to see a map showing your device's location.
Note: You can locate a shared device only if you have an administrator account on it. On the shared device, select Start > Settings > Account > Your info to see if you're an administrator.
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When you find your device on the map, select Lock > Next.
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Once your device is locked, you can reset your password for added security. For more info about passwords, see Change or reset your Windows password.
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Until now, PC owners had no built-in Windows tools to track down a misplaced or stolen computer. But Microsoft has updated Windows 10 with a Find My Device feature, which pinpoints a device's location on a map.
This new feature was a part of a major update to Windows 10 in November, and it works for laptops, desktops and tablets. To enable the feature, users need to be signed into a PC with a Microsoft account, logged in with a local administrator account and have location settings enabled.
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How to Set Up Find My Device in Windows 10
1. Tap on the Windows icon to open the Start menu.
2. Select Settings.
3. Tap Update & security.
4. Select Find My Device. If you don’t see this option, tap on Windows Update, select Check For Updates and install all available updates.
5. Tap Change. If this box is greyed out, tap on "Turn on location settings to use this feature," and enable location settings in the following menu.
6. Switch "Save my device’s location periodically" on.
How to Use Find My Device to Track a Missing Windows 10 Device
1. Visit //account.microsoft.com/devices on any computer, and select Sign In.
8. Sign in with your Microsoft Account name and password.
9. Select Find My Device.
And now you’ve found that missing computer! Unfortunately, Find My Device doesn’t let you ping, lock or erase your device, but we hope to see those features added in a future update.