Up until last year, there was no official way to track or lock any stolen Android device unless the user had some third party app installed on his device. While things did change with the release of Android Device Manager from Google, the service is disabled by default on some devices and needs to be enabled manually. 

This complicates matters as an anti-theft system should work right out of the box without any user intervention. Either way, you can follow the steps below to enable Android Device Manager (ADM) on your device, which can come in handy if your device ever gets stolen or lost.

Step 1: Head over to the Google Settings app on your device and tap the Android Device Manager option. Make sure to tick “Remotely location this device” and “Allow remote lock and erase” options present there. On ticking the second option,  you will get a prompt asking you to make ADM a device administrator. Make sure to Activate.

Step 2: To ensure that ADM is properly able to locate your device, head over to the Location option in Google Settings.

Step 3: If you are running KitKat, the Location Mode should be set to high accuracy and Google Location reporting has to be switched on. If you are on any of the versions of Jelly Bean, make sure that Google Location service and GPS Satellites options are enabled. Enabling these will allow Android Device Manager to locate your device with greater accuracy.

If you ever need to locate your device, head over to Android Device Manager’s website to track it. But keep in mind that this service only works if the Android device in question is connected to mobile data or a Wi-Fi network.