When will phone disappear from Find My Device?

[Android Central Question]

I lost my android phone in a taxi the other day in upstate New York. I used the Find My Device tool and see that it stayed with the taxi all the way back to the taxi's garage with 63% battery life at 1:32 AM. However, suddenly 8 hours later the device can't be contacted. 63% could have lasted me through the rest of the day, so it didn't die. I spoke with the owner and they let me check the car (approx. 1-2 hrs after it was last seen), but we could not find the device.

If someone simply turns off the phone, would that disconnect it from Find My Device? Would it disappear from Find My Device entirely if formatted/factory reset? I don't know concretely if it was stolen, so should I still give my IMEI number to police and/or service provider, or wait to see if device resurfaces?

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to Android Forums

I'd like to recommend creating a account so me or other members can assist you, as guest have limitations in replying here and if we need further Information to communicate with you.

I'll provide a link to register, please come back to your post so we can further assist you .https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[mustang7757]

If someone turn it off or you factory reset it remotely you will not be able to locate it and yes let your service provider and local police know it was lost and possibly stolen

 

[Was_My_Phone_Stolen]

Not sure how to take ownership of this post, but I submitted it.

 

[mustang7757]

Not sure how to take ownership of this post, but I submitted it.

Hi, welcome !
Your good now

 

[Was_My_Phone_Stolen]

Thanks for the quick reply. That's what I figured. The story doesn't completely add up, but I don't have concrete evidence that anyone actually stole the phone. The taxi's garage was 30 minutes away in an area I've never been to, so it's not like my travels might have mixed in with the Google Maps Timeline. Also, since you can see "Device located" notification even if the phone is locked, I'm assuming the person freaked out and turned it off then. Also, I have a Galaxy S8+ in a case, so it's not exactly small. However, I feel if I involve police and they approach the taxi place, they are likely to just throw out the phone.

 

[mustang7757]

Thanks for the quick reply. That's what I figured. The story doesn't completely add up, but I don't have concrete evidence that anyone actually stole the phone. The taxi's garage was 30 minutes away in an area I've never been to, so it's not like my travels might have mixed in with the Google Maps Timeline. Also, since you can see "Device located" notification even if the phone is locked, I'm assuming the person freaked out and turned it off then. Also, I have a Galaxy S8+ in a case, so it's not exactly small. However, I feel if I involve police and they approach the taxi place, they are likely to just throw out the phone.

Your welcome !
Either way they going throw phone out because they cant do anything with it , as its locked with your pin/password ,fingerprint and Google's factory reset protection. I would make a report