Of all the essential Android apps, having one to find your phone should be vital — after all, if you lose your phone, you can't use any other apps on it! All kinds of Android apps offer to find your lost phone, but did you know this functionality is already built into your Android?

There are two methods you can use to locate your lost phone: one using Google Now functionality, and the other using the Android Device Manager.

The former requires setting up several settings in Google Now on your phone that you might not want to turn on for privacy reasons; the Device Manager carries more features and doesn't require much setup, so that's the one we'll discuss.

For best results, you'll want to set your phone's Location setting to High Accuracy so that Device Manager will give you the most accurate results. This will have a bigger impact on battery than other settings, so for more of a balance you can choose the Battery Saving option in Settings > Location on your phone.

To make sure your device is ready to go with Device Manager, simply visit Android Device Manager on the web and sign into the Google account you use on your phone.

After a minute to locate your device, the site will show you where you phone is at (it even supports multiple Android devices if you have them). You can see when the phone was last seen and where it's located.

When you lose your phone, you can choose to ring it at full volume for five minutes (great for those times when it's under the couch), change the lock screen password, or completely erase the device. Hopefully you'll never have to wipe your phone, but the option is there to keep you safe.

Has the Android Device Manager ever gotten you out of a jam? Share your lost phone stories down in the comments!

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