Remote Device Lock Finally Arrives on Android
You can finally lock your Android device if it's missing.
Android Police has noticed that Google finally added the remote device lock feature to the Android Device Manager. Google's service actually began rolling out back in early August, offering Android device owners means to track their tablet or smartphone via GPS, and reset the device back to factory defaults if it cannot be recovered. Up until now, the ability to lock a device remotely was not available.
However Google's updated Android Device Manager web interface now includes a "Lock" button situated between the "Ring" and "Erase" buttons. After hitting this button, device owners are prompted to enter a new password that will be used to lock the device (don't reuse your Google Account password). After the password has been set, Android will ask for the password when the device is activated. This password will be the default method of unlocking the device until it's manually changed within Android's on-device Security settings.
As previously reported, Android devices with GPS turned on can be quickly located on a full-screen map within the web-based Android Device Manager. For locating the device in a nearby location such as within the house, users can simply hit the "Ring" button. Android will ring at full volume for 5 minutes – simply do it again if you hear the ring but still can't pinpoint the device.
For devices that cannot be recovered, the "Erase" feature performs a factory reset. Thus apps, photos, music and settings will be deleted. That also means Android Device Manager will not be able to track this specific device given that the Google Account will be wiped clean. Unfortunately, this method doesn't guarantee that all data will be wiped away from an installed SD card. If the device appears online, Google will perform the factory reset once it reappears.
"Android Device Manager doesn’t collect a location history or do background location reporting," the company states. "Your device’s approximate location is requested when you first sign in, and this location data is deleted when you sign out of the device manager. If the device is turned off or offline, Google is unable to report its location."
To make sure Android Device Manager is working on your Android devices, go into Google Settings and locate the Android Device Manager settings. Then make sure that both "Remotely locate this device" and "Allow remote lock and factory reset" options are checked. Android Device Manager is compatible with devices running Android 2.2 or above.
I have had a remote lock system on my phone since just after I brought it
Yeah, I understand what you're saying. But you don't have to buy the latest device to get the latest software on Android. Take the Samsung Galaxy Nexus--it was released in ~Sept 2011. It has the latest version 4.3, and it's going on 2 years old--still getting current updates (it's capable of running it just fine). Whether it gets the updates quickly is a question of whether Samsung/Google releases a version to providers, and whether providers push it to their customers on a timely basis.
Of course on low-mid end devices, some just can't run later versions of Android. But just like iPhone, for example, the 3gs can't run the latest version of iOS either. But it still doesn't change the fact that the major problem with Android is such a broad hardware platform spectrum, and handset manufacturers are not always the most interested in continuing to support devices that they already released, and providers aren't putting much resources into handling updates for devices that might compose a small percentage of their userbase.
Take my situation: I got a LG Optimus G back in January of this year--by far the best phone I've ever had. The phone itself came out in Nov. 2012, so it's not particularly old, and as a high-end phone, has spec's that can carry it through many upcoming releases of Android at release. I'm on Sprint (no problems with the coverage for where I live). LG--despite having a bad track record of not supporting their devices on a timely manner--did eventually push an OS update from 4.0 to 4.1.2 in the US to the different providers. Sprint eventually pushed this update to their subscribers back in March 2013. My phone--a new and high-end phone at release--is STILL behind the OS update schedule than the 2+ year old Samsung Galaxy Nexus that my wife has. Phone age/price/capabilities or not buying the most current handset available is not the problem with updates. It's that the Android team creates a new release, and they throw it at the various handset manufactures and say, "Here, manufacturers, take this and update your devices." Then the handset manufacturers sit on it, tweak it, and hopefully eventually throw it at the providers and go "here, providers, take this most recent update we made, now do whatever you want with it." And then the providers take it--maybe they don't even bother trying to deal with some of their customer devices depending on whether it's worth their time to update a small percentage of their userbase. It's not the best set-up for keeping devices updated, is what I'm saying. Of course the tradeoff to this model is that the customer gets a nice wide array of hardware devices to choose from. But they're starting to catch on that if they want the updates, they're mostly limited to buying from a small selection of big-name devices. Or they can take the chance and root their device and try various ROM's. Which I don't have a problem with people being able to do, but that should not supplant a good support ecosystem.