You’re trying to track a lost phone or maybe just checking your kids' location, and then it happens. The screen flickers, the app hangs for a split second, and a gray box pops up telling you that Find Device closed unexpectedly. It’s frustrating. It's actually worse than frustrating because, usually, if you’re using this app, you’re already in a bit of a panic.
Software fails. We know this. But when Google’s Find My Device or the system-level "Find Device" service on Xiaomi, Samsung, or Pixel phones hits a wall, it’s usually down to a specific conflict between your hardware and the background Google Play Services. Most people think the app is just "broken," but the reality is more nuanced. It’s often a handshake issue. Your phone is trying to talk to a server, the server is asking for a permission that got revoked during a recent security update, and the app just gives up.
The Mystery of the Sudden Crash
Why does this happen? Honestly, it’s often about the "cache." That word gets thrown around a lot in tech circles, but here it actually matters.
Think of the cache as the app's short-term memory. If that memory gets corrupted—maybe because of a botched background update—the app starts trying to execute instructions that no longer exist. It hits a dead end. Instead of sitting there doing nothing, Android forces a "Force Close." This prevents the app from overheating your processor or draining your battery in a loop.
Xiaomi users see this more than almost anyone else. On MIUI or HyperOS, the "Find Device" process is deeply integrated into the Mi Cloud. If you’ve signed out of your Mi Account but the Find Device service is still trying to "ping" the home base, it triggers a crash loop. You’ll see the Find Device closed unexpectedly error message every five seconds, making the phone almost unusable.
It’s a conflict of interest. The system wants to protect your privacy by stopping the process, but the process is hard-coded to keep running.
Real World Fixes That Actually Work
Don't just restart your phone. Well, do that first, but don't expect it to be a permanent fix. If you're dealing with the persistent "unexpectedly closed" error, you have to go deeper into the settings.
Dealing with Google Play Services
Most of the heavy lifting for location tracking is done by Google Play Services, not the "Find My Device" app you see in the drawer.
Go to your Settings. Find "Apps." You might have to tap "See all apps." Look for Google Play Services. You aren't going to uninstall it—you can't—but you can clear the data. Tap on Storage & Cache. Clear the cache first. If the error persists, go to "Manage Space" and "Clear All Data."
Warning: This will reset some of your preferences. You might have to re-add your cards to Google Wallet or re-pair a Wear OS watch. It's a pain, but it's often the only way to stop the Find Device service from tripping over its own feet.
The Xiaomi "Find Device" Loop
If you are on a Redmi or Poco phone and the error is popping up so fast you can't even type, you're in a "system loop." This usually happens after a regional firmware update.
The fix is weirdly specific. You need to pull down the notification shade as fast as you can and toggle off your Wi-Fi and Mobile Data. For some reason, the crash is often triggered by the device trying to report its location to a server it can't verify. Once the internet is off, the crashing usually stops long enough for you to go into Settings -> Mi Account -> Devices -> Find Device and toggle it off. Then, sign out, turn your internet back on, and sign back in.
When the Hardware is the Problem
Sometimes, the "Find Device" service is crashing because the GPS module is failing. If the software asks the hardware "Where are we?" and the hardware returns a bunch of gibberish, the software doesn't always know how to handle it.
I've seen this on older Pixel 4 and 5 units where the motherboard starts to degrade. It isn't common, but it's a possibility. To test this, try opening a different app that uses high-accuracy GPS, like Google Maps or a compass app. If those also stutter or crash, your Find Device closed unexpectedly error is just a symptom of a dying sensor.
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Permissions and "Special Access"
Android is getting very aggressive about privacy. This is good for us, but bad for older apps.
In Android 13 and 14, there is a setting called "All-time location access." If you—or a "battery saver" app—changed this to "Only while using the app," the background service will crash the moment you put the phone in your pocket. It's trying to do its job, but the operating system is blocking its path.
- Go to Settings.
- Search for "Device Admin Apps."
- Ensure "Find My Device" is toggled ON.
- Go to "Location" in settings.
- Find "App Permissions."
- Make sure "Find My Device" (and Google Play Services) is set to "Allow all the time."
The "Find Device" Update You Didn't Get
In early 2024, Google rolled out the new Find My Device network, which uses a mesh of billions of Android devices to find offline phones. This was a massive architectural shift.
If your phone is stuck between the "old" way and the "new" way, you might get the Find Device closed unexpectedly error. This is common if you’ve sideloaded a version of the Play Store or if you’re using a device in a country where the new network hasn't fully launched yet.
Basically, the app is trying to join a network it doesn't have the "keys" for yet. In this case, your best bet is to check the Play Store for a "Google Play System Update" (this is different from a regular Android update).
Go to Settings -> Security -> System & Updates -> Google Play system update. If it's red or orange, you're behind. Update it, reboot, and the crashes should vanish.
Actionable Next Steps to Resolve the Issue
Stop the cycle of crashes by following this specific sequence. Don't skip steps, because the order matters for clearing out the system's "memory."
- Disable the "Find My Device" admin privilege: Go to Settings > Security > Device Admin Apps and turn it off. This "unlocks" the app so you can actually clear its deep data.
- Force Stop and Clear Cache: Go to your Apps list, find both "Find My Device" and "Google Play Services," and hit "Force Stop." Then, clear the cache for both.
- Update Google Play Services: Sometimes the version on your phone is buggy. Go to the Google Play Store, search for "Google Play Services" (you may need to find the direct link through a browser if it doesn't show up in search), and see if there is an "Update" button.
- Reset App Preferences: If you still see Find Device closed unexpectedly, go to Settings > System > Reset options > Reset app preferences. This won't delete your photos or messages, but it will reset all notification and permission settings to factory defaults. This is the "nuclear option" before a full factory reset.
- Check for Account Conflicts: If you have multiple Google accounts on one phone (like a work and personal email), remove the work account temporarily. Sometimes the "Work Profile" security policies clash with the personal "Find Device" settings, causing a crash.
If none of this works, you are likely looking at a corrupted system partition. At that point, your only real move is to back up your data and perform a full Factory Data Reset. It sucks, but it clears out the "ghosts in the machine" that cause these types of persistent background service failures.