A factory reset changes the lost-phone recovery situation dramatically because it erases user data and removes ordinary third-party applications from the device. A tracker that was installed before the reset cannot simply keep running afterward. If the phone is missing, preserve available recovery information before remotely erasing it and understand the trade-off between protecting data and continuing to locate the device.
A normal factory reset removes installed application data and returns the user-data portion of Android to a fresh state. That means an ordinary third-party GPS tracker such as LocationOf is no longer configured with your account and permissions after the reset.
The LocationOf website may retain historical points according to the service's normal retention behavior, but it cannot create new points from an app that no longer exists on the handset.
Google Find Hub and other platform recovery systems can offer an erase option for a missing device. Erasing protects personal information when recovery looks unlikely, but it can also limit or end some methods of locating the phone afterward. Read the current platform instructions before taking that irreversible step.
Do not erase merely because an unrelated “IMEI tracker” website tells you to.
The IMEI remains useful as a cellular-equipment identifier and can help a carrier or police report identify the device. It is not a public GPS password. A factory reset does not transform the IMEI into a consumer location service.
For the distinction, read Can you track a phone by IMEI?.
Android security mechanisms can require credentials associated with the device after certain resets, making unauthorized reuse more difficult. That security protection should not be confused with a live map service. Preventing easy activation by a thief and reporting a fresh GPS coordinate are different functions.
Save the timestamp and relevant screenshots for your records, and contact authorities when theft is involved. Do not travel to a suspicious address or confront somebody based solely on a map pin. Location estimates have uncertainty and a device can move.
Also record the IMEI, serial number, purchase information and police or insurance reference where relevant.
If a reset has removed the installed tracker, LocationOf cannot reinstall itself remotely. An old last point may still tell you where the phone was before tracking stopped, but it must not be described as the current location.
Continue using the official account-based lost-device tools available to you and protect accounts that were signed in on the handset.
Preparation provides options that cannot be added retroactively after the device disappears.
LocationOf can contribute a trail only when its Android application was already installed, authorized and producing records. It is not a post-reset recovery bypass. For the complete sequence after a loss, see How to find a lost Android phone and Can LocationOf find a lost phone?.
If you still control the recovery account, decide what matters most before issuing an erase. Is sensitive work or financial data exposed? Do you have a strong screen lock? Is the device still producing useful current locations? Have you recorded the IMEI and serial number elsewhere? Is an insurer or police report already open?
There is no universal answer because the security value of erasing can outweigh the recovery value of continued tracking. The important point is that the decision is often irreversible. Read the current recovery-service explanation on the day you act rather than relying on an old screenshot or forum post.
If you erase, treat any LocationOf history that remains on the website as historical evidence only. It should never be presented as a live post-reset location.