Tracking missing devices

The Missing Devices page in Devices shows all devices in your account that you, or another user, have reported misplaced or lost. You can use this page to see when a device begins checking in again, and from which network. If necessary, you can then initiate a remedial action, such as freezing the device, or submitting a theft report if you think the device has been stolen.

For more information about working with missing devices, visit the Learning Hub. To access the Learning Hub, click (Help and Support) on the quick access toolbar and then click Resources > The Learning Hub. For more information about Absolute's unique service that helps school districts collect missing laptops and tablets at the end of the school year, see the Absolute Device Reclamation-as-a-Service datasheet.

Supported platforms

By default, the Missing Devices page supports all devices in your account with an Active status. Specifically, it shows all Windows and Mac devices with an activated Secure Endpoint Agent, and Chromebook devices that have been synced to the Secure Endpoint Console and have an Agent status of Active and a Chromebook > Extension A small account-specific software program that enables a Chromebook to secure a connection with the Absolute Monitoring Center through which device authentication and inventory data is sent. with the status of Pending or Installed.

Accessing the Missing Devices page

To open the Missing Devices page:

On the navigation bar, click Devices.
On the Devices sidebar, click Missing Devices.

Default filters

By default, the following filters are used to generate this page:

Agent status is Active

Device status is Missing

Information included on the Missing Devices page

The Missing Devices page includes a default collection of device information organized in the following columns:

Device name, which includes the device's device name The name assigned to the device in the operating system. For Chromebooks, device name is not applicable and therefore shows as "Chrome" in the Secure Endpoint Console. and serial number The identification number assigned to the device by the device manufacturer. For Windows devices, this value may correspond to the serial number of the BIOS, the motherboard, or the chassis, depending on the manufacturer.
Last connected The date and time when a device's component manager last connected to the Absolute Monitoring Center. For online devices, the component manager connects every 15 minutes. Also see component manager (CTES).
Username Username of the user who was logged in to the device when an agent connection occurred. If no user was logged in during the most recent agent connection, the last detected username shows. If you are viewing a report and want to see if a user was logged in during the most recent connection, add the Current Username column to the report. If no user was logged in at the time of the connection, "No Data" or two em dashes (— —) show in the column.
Public IP addresses The public IPv4 Internet Protocol address that identifies a device that is connected to the Internet.
Local IP addresses The local IPv4 Internet Protocol address that identifies a device that is connected to a private network.
Device status:
- Reported date: the date and time when the device was reported missing
- Contact recipient: the list of email addresses that receive a notification when the device checks in

You can use most of the device information as search criteria to search for a device, or a group of devices. You can also include other device information in the report, such as custom fields, by adding more columns. To refresh the report's data, click in the page footer.

Use the information in the Last connected and IP address columns to determine if the device has recently checked in to the Absolute Monitoring Center and if so, from where. Depending on what you find, you may want to perform one or more of the following actions:

Send a Message to the device
Freeze the device
Delete the device's files
Submit a theft report
Note that submitting a theft report for a missing device removes that device from the Missing Devices page, changes its status from Missing to Reported Stolen, and logs two events to Event History:
- Theft report created
- Missing device found
Remove the device from the Missing Devices page

Sorting report information

By default, the report data is sorted by the Last connected column, in ascending order. You can change the sort order by clicking a column heading. Note that some columns can't be used to sort the report data.

Working with the page

You can perform the following tasks on the Missing Devices page:

Adjust the columns in the results grid
Add or remove filters
Export the device list
Export up to 30 days of device usage data
Email the device list on a set schedule
Save changes to filters and columns to create a custom view or a report

Working with your missing devices

Depending on the Absolute licenses associated with your account, and your user role, you may be able to perform some or all of the following tasks on the devices on the Missing Devices page:

Open and view your devices
Search for and view individual devices
View the location of your missing devices
Update the emails contacts for the missing device
Request any of the following actions on one or more devices:

Refurbishment of a missing device

When a device has a status of Missing, ensure that you report it found before sending it to a refurbishment center for disposal or refurbishment. This action removes the Missing status from the device, allowing it to be refurbished. If you don't remove the Missing status, and a refurbishment center attempts to refurbish the device, a Refurbishment Blocked event is logged to Event History.