To celebrate my blog’s sixth birthday I thought I’d go back to my (ed)tech blogging roots and do a quick write-up on my new toy, Google’s updated Nexus 7 tablet.
One of the changes Google brought to Android 4.3 is the “Owner Info” option, which allows you to insert text that appears on the lock screen. For as often as I travel with my electronics, I thought I’d use that to put my contact information and a reward offer front and center on the lock screen in case I ever lose my tablet.
I’m doing this with my new Nexus 7, but I’m guessing this would work for any device running Android 4.3. It’s a simple process:
First, go to Settings > Security and look for the “Owner Info” option:
Select “Owner Info”, check “Show owner info on lock screen”, and type in your message. Mine’s simple; it just reads, “If found, contact (my phone number) for reward.” You could also put a Twitter handle or your email address; if you run your own domain and are feeling really fancy, you could set up a custom email address for this sort of thing (e.g., rewardinfo@yourdomain.com):
Exit out of Settings and lock your tablet. When you wake it back up, you should see your custom message in the middle of the screen:
My tablet is also locked with a PIN. Anyone who finds my misplaced tablet is not going to be able to use it, so they have two realistic options: get in touch with me to collect a reward, or leave the tablet where it is. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Of course, the preferred scenario is that I don’t lose my tablet in the first place, but if I do, I’m hopeful this will provide enough incentive for whoever recovers it to get it back to me.