Remotely wipe data from your android device

Android is in rage & many people are using android phones and tablets. Phones have become necessity of life and we tend to carry it everywhere, and it is possible that we may forget it somewhere. If you happen to lose your Android device you can use Android Device Manager to remotely locate and factory reset your phone or tablet.

Turn on Android Device Manager

Note: If you’re using a tablet with multiple users, only the tablet owner can manage the settings for Android Device Manager.

1. Open  Google Settings from your device’s apps menu.
2. Touch Android Device Manager.

You can turn on the following options:

• Remotely locate this device. Remotely locate a device and find its approximate location on Google Maps. For devices running 4.1 and higher, location access must also be enabled. To turn it on, go to Google Settings > Location > Access location.
• Allow remote factory reset. Remotely erase all data on your device. Touch this option, then select Activate to turn on the device administrator.

Use Android Device Manager

1. Sign in to your Google Account on android.com/devicemanager. If you're using a Google Apps account, you will sign in to your My Devices page.
   All devices associated with your Google Account receive a notification to enable it if it’s turned off.
2. If you have more than one device, select the arrow next to the device name to change it. To rename the device, use the  Edit icon.

When your device is located, its approximate location is indicated by a blue circle on the map. The device manager also displays the name of the place where the device is located, the time it was located, and when it was last used.

You can select the following options:

• Ring. Ring your device at full volume for 5 minutes - even if it’s set to silent or vibrate.
• Erase. Perform a factory reset, which permanently deletes all of your data.

If your Android device doesn't appear in Android Device Manager, or if you see Unknown location despite your device being online and running Google Play services version 3.2.25 or higher, follow these steps:

1. Open  Google Settings from your device's apps menu.
2. Touch Android Device Manager.
3. Uncheck Allow remote factory reset.
4. Go to your device's main Settings menu, then touch Apps > All > Google Play services.
5. Touch Clear Data. Note that this action doesn't remove personal data.
6. Go back to Google Settings and select Allow remote factory reset.
7. Restart your device.

Once your device restarts, wait around five minutes and refresh android.com/devicemanager.

Devices that are offline or powered off

If your device is offline, Android Device Manager won’t be able to ring or erase the device until there’s a mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. Select Erase in advance, and your device’s data is deleted when it’s back online.

Android Device Manager won’t work for devices that are powered off.

Devices hidden on Google Play

If you hide a device on Google Play, the device won’t appear in Android Device Manager. You can hide or show devices on Google Play by going to play.google.com/settings and selecting a device in the Visibility column.

The steps mentioned above for remotely wiping the data of your android device have been been taken from android support website, courtesy Google.