Windows Phone 8 - Erase Your Phone Remotely Online

How to Erase and Reset Your Windows Phone 8 Remotely Online

information   Information
Find My Phone is a free service for your Windows Phone 8 at the My Phone section on WindowsPhone.com that can ring, lock, erase, or show your phone on a map from any Internet-connected computer. Find My Phone makes it easier to recover your phone, or to prevent someone from using it without your permission.

This tutorial will help show you how to erase and reset your Windows Phone 8 remotely from any Internet-connected computer to return it to a factory state if you believe you may not recover your phone.

Note   Note
Find My Phone uses SMS (text messaging) to send commands that map, ring, lock, or erase your phone.

If Microsoft can't erase your phone right away, they'll offer to keep trying if you'd like, and will send you an email if they succeed. For errors that state "We'll keep trying", the Find My Phone service will try for a 72-hour period. This is the typical length of time many mobile operators queue SMS messages in their system.

For any error messages, see: Error messages when using Find My Phone on My Windows Phone

warning   Warning
Erasing your phone will return it to the factory state and you will not be able to find it using WindowsPhone.com afterwards. You also will not be able to buy things from the Store until you sign in on a phone again.

You should only erase your phone remotely if you are certain you cannot get your phone back, or if you have sensitive information on it that you want to protect until you recover it.

If you believe that lost your phone for good, then it would be a good idea to let your mobile operator know that you've lost it.



Here's How:

1. On any computer, go to Your devices at Microsoft.

2. If you have not already, you will need to Sign in (upper right corner) using your same Microsoft account that you used to sign in on your Windows Phone 8, and click/tap on Find My Phone in the same upper right corner drop down menu. (see screenshot below)
Sign_in_Find.jpg

3. Click/tap on Erase. (see screenshot below)
WindowsPhone.com_Find-My-Phone-Erase.jpg

4. If prompted to set up Find My Phone, then verify that the displayed phone number is correct for your Windows Phone 8, check the I authorize... box, and click/tap on Done. (see screenshot below)
WindowsPhone.com_Find-My-Phone-1.jpg

5. If you are absolutely certain that you want to erase (reset) your phone, then check the Yes! Erase my phone immediately check box, and click/tap Erase. (see screenshot below)
WARNING: There is not an undo for this.
WindowsPhone.com_Erase-your-phone.jpg

6. If successful, your phone will be erased and reset back to a factory state. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
Windows_Phone_8_Erased.jpg


That's it,
Shawn


 

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