Your phone deserves a real name; SM-A102U1 won’t cut it
Every phone, tablet, smartwatch, TV, and other Android-powered device has a model name assigned to it by the manufacturer. The name shows up in a few places, including the desktop Play Store website, the super robust Google Assistant, and Google’s Find My Device tool. Sometimes the model name is easily recognizable (for example, “Google Pixel 3” or “Nokia 7.2”), but in other cases, it can be an incomprehensible string of characters and numbers, leading to inconvenience at times. Whether you use a desktop or an Android phone, it’s easy to change your Android phone name.
Some manufacturers are better than others when it comes to device names. Samsung is particularly bad, as most of its phones and tablets use names like “SM-A102U1” or “SM-G955F” instead of easily-recognizable product names. Chromebooks can also be difficult to identify in Google Play since they are usually referred to by the hardware platform name (such as “coral” or “hatch”) instead of the laptop name.
These names aren’t very helpful.
Google makes it easy to rename your Android devices. Better yet, your changes are synchronized across all of Google’s services, so you don’t have to set names in multiple places.
How to rename your Android device on the web
If you’re on a desktop browser, the easiest way to see your full list of devices (and change their names) is from the Google Play Settings. Google Play Store on the web recently received a much-needed makeover. It displays every Android device registered to your Google account.
Here’s how you can access it to rename your Android device.
- Visit Google Play Store on the web and sign in with your Google account details.
- Select your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
- Open Library & devices.
- Slide to the Devices menu and check all your connected devices to your Google account.
- Select the name box and rename your device.
How to rename your Android device on mobile
The Play Store website doesn’t work very well on phones, so it’s probably easier to open the Find My Device web page if you’re on a mobile device.
- Visit Find My Device on mobile.
- Check your connected devices at the top.
- Select a device you want to rename.
- Tap the name box beside your device to rename it.
Your list of devices displays at the top, and once you select the desired device, tap the name to change it. Interestingly, the Find My Device app on the Play Store doesn’t let you change device names, only the website.
Make your Android device identifiable
Follow the steps above and ask your Google Assistant to show the new device name. This is an essential step whenever you buy a new phone, as it can easily help locate you phone in the Find My Device app.
