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Sometimes when I can't find my phone, I call it from my wife's phone or my landline. (There's also online service which provides a free call to your phone, it's a handy way to find a missing phone).

Unfortunately, it doesn't work very well if the phone is set to vibrate, and not at all if it's set to silent. Can I configure my phone to ignore the vibrate or silent setting and always ring for a specific number?

My old phone was a Blackberry, and it had a couple of features that made it obvious how to do this: 1) it had very flexible distinctive ring features, 2) it had a feature called "ringer profiles" that allowed users to create additional conditions where special distinctive ring conditions applied. (I mostly used its distinctive ring features to set an annoying person to always silent). Do we have anything similar on Android?

Alternatively, is there another good way to configure the phone to reveal itself even if it's set to silence? (Play music when it receives the word "sing" by text, for example.) If not as a native feature, are there apps that do this?

Finally, I know that nothing will work if the phone is out of charge, turned off, or set to airplane mode. The only solution there is "Don't misplace the phone when it's set to airplane mode."

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  • @Andrew T, good edits. The bold is useful, and the title is clearer. No spam was intended with the specific web site mention; it's the only such service I knew about.
    – Steve
    Commented Jan 23, 2015 at 10:41

1 Answer 1

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If you have a Google account associated with the device, you can use Google Device Manager to send an alert to your phone.

  1. Sign in to your Google Account on android.com/devicemanager.

  2. If you have more than one device, click the arrow next to the device name to select a different device.

  3. Select any of the following options in the top left corner of the screen:

    • Ring: Rings your device at full volume for 5 minutes - even if it's set to silent or vibrate.
    • Lock: Locks your device with a new password.
    • Erase: Permanently deletes all of your data.

You can also use the Device Manager Android app for this.

  1. Download and install the Android Device Manager app from the Google Play store on your device.
  2. Open the Device Manager app on your device.
  3. Sign in to your Google Account.

  4. If you have more than one device, click the arrow next to the device name to select a different device.

  5. Select any of the following options in the top left corner of the screen:

    • Ring: Rings your device at full volume for 5 minutes - even if it's set to silent or vibrate.
    • Lock: Locks your device with a new password.
    • Erase: Permanently deletes all of your data.

(source: Android Device Manager - Google Help)

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    What if no internet connection on the device?
    – Kiran Reddy
    Commented Aug 2, 2017 at 14:07
  • @KiranReddy That's not an issue, because if you're searching for your phone, you're going to Device Manager from a different device, presumably one that does have Internet. The phone receives the ring, lock, or erase command through the cellular network, not through the general Internet.
    – Steve
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 10:53
  • @Steve do you have a source on this? I thought the Device manager commands are sent over the internet, and require the target device to have an internet connection. Also, how would this work on devices with WiFi only?
    – aleksikallio
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 14:12
  • @onik I don't have a source. Maybe I'm confusing it with a similar tool from my cellular carrier.
    – Steve
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 17:15

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