Stolen laptop. I couldn’t find my device or even lock it. It keeps on displaying “Error”

Question

Stolen laptop. I couldn’t find my device or even lock it. It keeps on displaying “Error”

Mikaela Mago 0

Good day my laptop was stolen last August 17. My Microsoft account was logged in on that device. No I am trying to locate my laptop by signing in on my Microsoft account on a different device, but it keeps on saying that it cannot do it right now. Also, I am trying to lock the device as well, but it kept on saying the same thing that it cannot do it right now. I need help with these things so that I can hopefully locate my device or lock it.

<Moved from Office/Access/home/Windows>

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hi @Mikaela Mago

First, please feel free to check out the given AI answer

I’m sorry this happened. Since the Find My Device page is returning “Error” for both Find and Lock, I would first check whether the stolen laptop is still communicating with your Microsoft account.

Please go to account.microsoft.com/devices and verify that the laptop is still listed there. If it is listed, check its last activity/device information and note the serial number for your police report.

Because the laptop was stolen, I also recommend changing your Microsoft account password and using Sign out everywhere to invalidate existing sessions. Please note that signing out everywhere can take up to 24 hours.

If the laptop never comes back online, Microsoft’s Find My Device service will not be able to obtain a new location or apply a remote lock.

You can also contact Microsoft Support if the device remains listed but the Find/Lock actions consistently fail.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot access accounts or Microsoft’s back-end systems. We can only provide technical guidance on reported incidents, requests and ideas

Thank you for your understanding and hope you have a good day

Answer 2

For a Windows laptop, remote find and remote lock only work if Find my device was turned on before the laptop was stolen, the account on that device was a Microsoft personal account with Administrator access, and the device can get online. If those conditions were not met, the device cannot be located or locked from the Microsoft account page.

If those conditions were met, use this path:

Go to https://account.microsoft.com/devices and sign in.
Open the Find My Device tab.
Select the stolen laptop.
Select Find to try to show its location on the map.
If it appears, select Lock > Next to lock it remotely.

If the page keeps showing Error or says it cannot do it right now, the supported facts are:

Find and lock require that the feature was enabled in advance.
The laptop must be turned on and connected to the internet for location to update.
In many theft cases, the device is wiped or reinstalled, and then it can no longer be located this way.
If location was not turned on before the theft, there is nothing further that can be done through the Microsoft account to find it.

For account protection after a theft:

Reset the Microsoft account password.
If sign-in problems occur, use the Sign-in helper.
If more help is needed, use Contact Microsoft Support. Support agents cannot send password reset links or change account details.

If the laptop is listed under the Microsoft account devices page, the serial number can be found there under Info and support. Reporting the theft to local law enforcement and the insurance company is also recommended.