RESOLVED - Adding my phone

I have a new iPhone S6. I have the Prey app on it. When I open the app and click devices, it shows my two other devices: laptop and ipad. I click “+” to add my phone, and it asks me what operating system the device has, so it can then “download Prey” (which is confusing because I’m already in Prey on the device). I choose IOS, and nothing further happens. It also has the option to scan a QR code, but it’s unclear how I can scan the screen of the device I’m using. I would have thought downloading Prey to a device would have very obviously implied that I want this device protected. Any help appreciated! Thank you!

Hi! Sorry for the inconvenience! Could you please reinstall the app on the device you want to add yo your account, and then enter with your credentials? This will add the device to your panel :slight_smile: Please let me know if you need further assistance!
Have a nice day.

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Hi Deb. I am having the same issue. My iphone was stolen and i purchased a new one. Prey is somehow reporting that it has been found although it hasn’t because all the notifications are for the new phone!! It’s thinking that this new phone is the old phone, even though i changed the “name” on my iphone and it’s a different capacity and diff serial number etc. I need to add this new iphone to my prey account and i am NOT about to remove the old one, as i have seen some posts suggesting that this be done.

Daniela, thank you! Deleting it and getting it direct from the app store (instead of as part of a total backup of another device) worked great. All working now.

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Hi @Blouda,
Sorry about that. This is a known issue when hardware information is shared between devices. What happens is that Prey (based in serial numbers, MAC addresses, UUIDs) “thinks” that the newly added device is actually one of the older ones, and overwrites the data. So basically, a few computers are sharing their entry on your account, and if you save it as missing all of them will start reporting.

To fix that please go to the Device Management tab on your Prey account, and disable “Identify devices when linking.” Once you save changes re-add the devices, Please let me know if you need further assistance!
Have a great day :slight_smile:

Thank you but it was not enabled so what do i do now? I want both my stolen phone and my new phone to be deviceson prey.

Hi @Blouda ! Please check your DM :slight_smile:

I have switched to a new android (Samsung S9+). I cannot add the device even after removing the old one. There does not appear to be any way to scan the QR code from my phone.

Hi Jonathan, Please check your DM :slight_smile:

Thank you. Your instructions worked!

I suspect I have the same problem of non-showing device even after the “Identify devices when linking” and re-installing on the phone…

Hi @alexlian, Please check your Direct Messages! I have already answered you! :smiley:

I have the same issue - got a new phone, tried installing/uninstalling the app and no difference. “Identify devices when linking” option did nothing for me - still my phone is missing from the app. Also there does not appear to be any way to scan the QR code - why is this even an option, if it can’t be used?!

Help @Daniela?

Hi @margus_p, which device are you trying to add? :slight_smile: Sorry for the delay!

an Android device (OP6)

Hi @margus_p,
Could you please:

  1. Go to Android Settings > Security & Location > Device admin apps and disable Prey as one of them.
  2. Go to Android Settings > Apps & notifications > App info > Prey > Storage and clear data.
  3. Go to step #1 and reenable Prey as an admin app.
  4. Open the Prey app again. It’ll ask for your email and password, and that will get the device added to your Prey account once you wish the process.

(Instructions could be a bit different depending on your Android version.)

The problem is caused by Google’s cloud backup, which restored the config file from your old Android device into the new one. These steps will force the new unit to be added.

Please let me know if this solve the problem :slight_smile:
Have a nice day!

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Thank you Daniela - that solution worked as a charm :slight_smile:

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I did all of the above on my Google Pixel 2 with Android 9, but I can still not add this device to my account. And I have no idea how to integrate the QR Code.

After trying once again, I succeeded adding a second device. And a third device. Emptying data and storage cache did the trick. Only after doing this the QR Scanner appeared. Problem solved.

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I had the same issue. Daneila :slight_smile:tip worked out. Uninstall & Reinstall app and it works.