On Windows 10, you can use the “Find My Device” feature to determine the location of your laptop or desktop computer if lost or stolen.
Find My Device works by using the Location feature on Windows 10 to determine the computer’s (approximate) location and then save that information in the cloud inside your Microsoft account.
The idea is that if your device gets lost or stolen, you can access the last known location through your Microsoft account to help you find it. Sometimes, this feature is enabled by default, but you can always check to enable it manually. If, for privacy concerns, you don’t want to use it, the operating system offers an option to turn it off.
In this how-to guide, I’ll explain the steps to configure the Find My Device feature on Windows 10. (You can use these instructions to set up the same feature on Windows 11.)
How to enable Find My Device on Windows 10
To turn on the Find My Device feature, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Update & Security.
- Click the Find My Device page.
- Quick note: You must have the location turned on for the feature to work. You can always check on Settings > Location and turn on the location services.
- Click the Change button.
- Turn on the “Save my device’s location periodically” toggle switch.
Once you complete the steps, the feature will turn on, and the system will periodically save the device location in your Microsoft account.
How to check device last known location using Find My Device
To find your device location, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Update & security.
- Click the Find My Device page.
- Click the “Take more action for a lost device on your account page” option.
- Sign in with your Microsoft account (if applicable).
- Click the “Find my device” option under the computer you want to locate.
- Confirm the last known location of the device.
- (Optional) Click the Find button to determine the current location.
- Quick note: This feature will only work if the computer is connected to the internet.
- (Optional) Click the Lock button to lock the computer remotely to prevent others from accessing the device while it’s not in your possession.
After you complete the steps, you should be able to determine the approximate location of the device.
How to disable Find My Device on Windows 10
To turn off the Find My Device feature, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Update & security.
- Click the Find My Device page.
- Click the Change button.
- Turn off the “Save my device’s location periodically” toggle switch.
Once you complete the steps, Windows 10 will turn off the feature, and the system will no longer save the location of the device in the cloud.
More resources
Find in-depth guides, troubleshooting tips, and the latest updates on Windows 11 and 10 here:
