Article ID : SX073004 / Last Modified : 15/09/2026

How can I block an Xperia device if it is lost or stolen? Can I remotely wipe its content?

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To be able to remotely locate, block, lock or wipe your Xperia device, you have to register with a device management service, and activate the phone or tablet in this service before you lose the device.

You can take one of the following measures of precaution to safeguard your Xperia device and its contents if it’s lost or stolen:

Sign up with Google's Find my device service.
If your Xperia device is part of the IT environment of a business or organization, check with the IT administrator or IT department whether your device already is protected via a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution.
Install a third-party MDM app from Google Play (Play Store). For example, several virus protection or security apps have anti-theft, remote locate and device lock features.
Use your device’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number to block the device.

Note:

Depending on the app version, Find My Device may have been renamed to Find Hub.
To use Find My Device, your device must be turned on, have an internet connection and have the location service activated.
Find My Device service may not be available in all countries or regions.

If you have a Google account, the Find My Device web service can help you locate and secure your device if you ever lose it. You can:

Remotely locate the device on a map.
Sound an alert (even if the device is in silent mode) to find the device nearby, or to get someone's attention.
Remotely lock the device.
Make the device display your contact information to anyone who finds it.
Remotely clear the internal and external memory (SD card) of the device, as a last resort.

Enabling the my Find My Device

Note: Xperia devices running Android 5.0 or higher have a security feature which locks the device if you try to remotely lock or erase a device using the Find My Device service. It is of utmost importance that you remember your credentials for the Google account that you used when you activated the Find My Device service. If you don't remember your Google account credentials, you cannot reactivate the device yourself.

Tip: If you do not remember your Google account name or password, you can recover them using the Google Account Recovery page at https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery/. If you still can't reactivate your device, contact us.

Android 17 or higher

To activate Find Hub

Find and tap Settings → Security and privacy → Lost device protection → Find Hub → Allow device to be located.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using it, then tap Accept.

Android 10 to Android 16

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Security → Find My Device/ Find Hub.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using it, then tap Accept.

Note:

To verify that Find My Device can locate your device after you activate the service, go to google.com/android/find and sign in using the Google account that you have set up on your device.
If you are using a device with multiple users, note that Find My Device is only available to the user who is logged in as the owner.

Android 8.0 or 9

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Lock screen & security → Find My Device.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using it, then tap Accept.

Note:

To verify that Find My Device can locate your device after you activate the service, go to google.com/android/find and sign in using the Google account that you have set up on your device.
If you are using a device with multiple users, note that Find My Device is only available to the user who is logged in as the owner.

Android 7.0 or lower  

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Lock screen & security → Find My Device.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using it, then tap Accept.

Note:

To verify that Find My Device can locate your device after you activate the service, go to google.com/android/find and sign in using the Google account that you have set up on your device.
If you are using a device with multiple users, note that Find My Device is only available to the user who is logged in as the owner.

Android 6.0

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Lock screen & security →Find My Device.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using the Protection by my Xperia service, then tap Accept.
If prompted, sign in to your Google account, or create a new one if you don’t have one.
Enable location services on your device if this function is not already enabled.

Note: To verify that Find My Device can locate your device after you activate the service, go to google.com/android/find and sign in using the Google account that you have set up on your device.

Note: If you are using a device with multiple users, note that Find My Device is only available to the user who is logged in as the owner.

Android 5.0 or 5.1

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Security → Protection by my Xperia → Activate.
If you are activating the service for the first time, mark the checkbox to agree with the terms and conditions of using the Protection by my Xperia service, then tap Accept.
If prompted, sign in to your Google account, or create a new one if you don’t have one.
Enable location services on your device if this function is not already enabled.

Note:

To verify that Find My Device can locate your device after you activate the service, go to google.com/android/find and sign in using the Google account that you have set up on your device.
If you are using a device with multiple users, note that Find My Device is only available to the user who is logged in as the owner.

Android 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4

To activate Find My Device

Find and tap Settings → Security → my Xperia → Activate.
Mark the checkbox, then tap Accept.

Locating, locking or erasing your device

To locate, lock or erase your device using Find My Device

Go to google.com/android/find from any Internet-connected device.
Sign in using the same Google account that you have set up on your device.
Select Locate to locate your device on a map.
Select Sound alert to sound an alert to find the device nearby, or to get someone's attention.
Select Lock to lock the device.
Select Erase to erase the content on the device including the content on the external memory card (SD card).

Lockdown mode

Lockdown mode is a feature of the Protection by my Xperia service. It gets enabled when unusual activity is detected on your device. Once your device goes into lockdown mode, you must sign in to the Google account that was used to activate the Protection by my Xperia service in order to reactivate your device and recover it from lockdown mode.

To prevent your device from being used or sold by thieves, lockdown mode does the following:

Stops or disables all running applications.
Limits access to notifications.
Disables USB and Bluetooth^® connections.
Blocks all outgoing calls and allows only emergency calls.
Connects incoming calls to voicemail, if available.

Note: If you delete your Google account permanently via your Google Account Settings page at https://myaccount.google.com , it becomes impossible to recover your device from lockdown mode or deactivate the Protection by my Xperia service. If, for some reason, you delete your Google account in this way, you only have a limited amount of time in which to restore it.

Actions that trigger lockdown mode

Lockdown mode is triggered in the following situations:

During a factory reset procedure.
When Xperia Companion is used to wipe out user data.
When the Google account that was used to activate Protection by my Xperia on your device gets removed from your device (but not permanently deleted).
When someone removes or tampers with security features on your device, for example, when someone tries to input the credentials for the Google account that you’ve used to activate Protection by my Xperia on your device but fails more than three times in a row.

Note: > If you don't want lockdown mode to get triggered by any of the above actions or situations, you can deactivate the Protection by my Xperia service.

To recover the device from lockdown mode

On the lockdown screen, tap Authenticate.
To complete the recovery procedure, sign in using the Google account that was used to activate the Protection by my Xperia service.

Note: Make sure that you have a working internet connection, preferably over ‎Wi-Fi‎, to limit data traffic charges when recovering your device from lockdown mode.

Note: Please refer to the link for the trademark information.

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