How to Set up Android Device Manager to lock and wipe your phone

Google makes remotely managing and wiping your device easy and effective

Back at the beginning of August Google unveiled a new service called "Android Device Manager" that let you locate and remotely wipe your phones and tablets, and now the service is getting a some much-needed refinement. Today Google updated ADM to include options to apply and change lock screen PINs and passwords, adding to the nuclear option of remote wiping the device completely.

Just as we covered when the service launched, enabling ADM is extremely easy. To get started, go to google.com/android/devicemanager on your computer and go through your list of devices that are connected to your Google account. Once there, you can send a notification to the device you want to enable remote password application and wiping on, and you'll be just a few steps away from a much more secure phone.

Simply tap on the notification you receive or manually go to the Google Settings app on your phone, tap on "Android Device Manager" and select the box for "Allow remote lock and factory reset." You'll be given a permission screen (shown above) that lets you know Android Device Manager will now be a "Device Administrator" on your phone / this gives you the proper permissions to be able to manage your device from afar, which is a good thing.
One you've checked the boxes, head back to the ADM web interface and refresh the page, where you'll now see two more options light up under the status of that device. Next to "Ring" you'll now have the new option to "Lock" as well as the old option of "Erase." Clicking on Lock will bring up a dialogue box that lets you enable a PIN or password on your phone, even if you have no security on the phone before that point.

Enter either a (preferably long) numerical PIN or a alphanumeric password / which would have the highest security / in the box, confirm it, and then click the "Lock" button. You'll notice within seconds that the screen on the selected phone will turn off, and turning it on will reveal either a PIN or password box for you to authenticate to unlock. The lock screen security will remain on your phone until you personally go into the phone's settings and turn off security (again confirming the PIN or password), rather than just the first time you unlock.

If you have lost or suspect your phone was stolen, the quickest and best thing to do is immediately lock it with a strong password from the web interface. Once you've assessed the situation and have found that the phone has indeed been stolen, then you may want to consider a remote wipe. Remotely wiping the device happens just as quickly as the screen lock, and erases not only the phone but also any external SDcard storage it may have. Whenever a wipe occurs you will also receive an email notification indicating where and when the device was wiped.


In either case, the lock or wipe will occur almost instantly, and if the device is unreachable at the time of the request because it is powered off or without an internet connection the service will lock or wipe the moment it is reconnected. This is a fantastic service provided by Google that will hopefully encourage more people to be mindful of their phone security. Best of all it's painless to set up and easy to manage if the worst happens.

How to shrink the Galaxy Note 3 display into a tiny window

Can't reach across the Galaxy Note 3's enormous screen? Samsung's got a software trick to help you out.

We may live in a world of 6.3 to 6.4-inch smartphones, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 3's 5.7-incher is still pretty big. And getting around it using only your thumb can be a challenge. Samsung has always offered "one-handed mode" software tricks on the Note series / for example, letting you shrink and rearrange the keyboard, dialer, and other areas for easier thumbing.

On the Galaxy Note 3, though, it's taken this to an all-new level. The new "Use for all screens" option, found under "Settings >>  Controls >> One-handed operation," lets you shrink the entire display in to a moveable, resizable window a fraction of the screen's true size. Crazy!

Once enabled, you can activate this "windowed" mode by swiping in an arrow shape from the edge of the screen. Most apps work just fine in this shrunken-down view, though some, including the camera, bump you back to fullscreen mode. The window snaps in whichever side you perform the gesture, and you can move it around and resize if you want.


While it sounds ridiculous, there's an insane logic to Samsung's approach here. The gesture is easy to perform, letting you snap in and out of this shrunken view pretty quickly. Take a closer look in the video above; we've also got the gesture in animated GIF form for you down below.

Microsoft wants HTC Android phones to dual boot into Windows Phone

Software giant reportedly willing to cut licensing fees to get Windows Phone on HTC Android devices as a second OS

Microsoft is in talks with HTC to get its Windows Phone operating system loaded onto the manufacturer's Android phones as a second OS, according to reports from Bloomberg. Terry Myerson, head of the software giant's operating systems unit, is reported to have reached out to HTC over allowing its Android devices to dual-boot into Windows Phone, with the reduction or elimination of licensing fees purportedly being offered as an incentive. Myerson is planning a visit to Taiwan to meet with HTC execs over the proposal, the outlet's sources say.

Additionally, one Bloomberg source claims HTC has no current plans to release any more standalone Windows Phone handsets, which might explain Microsoft's apparent desire to shoehorn its OS onto future HTC phones through a dual-booting option.

We've heard from our own sources that HTC has indeed been looking at the engineering cost of making an Android/Windows Phone dual-booting handset a reality. It's unclear how far the project might have progressed, however, nor whether Google might attempt to throw a wrench in the works by blocking certification of such a device. Indeed, it's hard to see how Microsoft's piggy-backing on sales of HTC Android phones would directly benefit anyone besides Microsoft. Users, for instance, would be presented with two wildly divergent software experiences / and marketing this kind of handset could present its own problems.

Windows Phone commands just a 3.7 percent share of the smartphone market, which Microsoft will be looking to increase through its recent agreement to purchase partner Nokia's smartphone division. Similarly, HTC has been struggling to compete against Korean rival Samsung, which dominates the Android handset space, and today posted a $101 million quarterly operating loss. If the two were to co-operate on a phone that dual-boots between Android and Windows, it'd certainly be one of the most unusual smartphone software pairings we've seen in some time.


So would you buy a dual-booting Android and Windows Phone handset? Shout out in the comments and let us know!