TL; DR
- Code sleuthing has actually discovered possible strategies to broaden the Discover My Device system to work even when phones are powered off.
- Apple iPhones have actually had this perk for several years now.
- It’s possible this function would just deal with the Pixel 8 series, a minimum of in the beginning.
If you lose your Android phone and it’s powered off, you will not have much luck finding it. Although there are several methods to track an Android phone’s area, none work when the phone is powered down. You’ll be entrusted the last recognized area just.
Fortunately, it appears like this might alter in the future. Thanks to some code sleuthing from Kuba Wojciechowski (by means of 91Mobiles), we have tips that Google is dealing with a method for Discover My Gadget– its hardware area tool– to work even when an Android phone is powered down.
If this sounds familiar, it’s due to the fact that iPhones can currently do this. In reality, iPhones have actually had this function for several years.
How would this work? According to the dripped code, Bluetooth hardware in the phone would remain powered even when the phone itself is off. When you integrate this with ultrawideband (UWB) innovation, Google’s servers might identify your phone’s area with a high level of precision, even with it shut off.
Naturally, for this to be a truth, the phone’s hardware would require to keep the Bluetooth module powered at all times. At the minute, it’s unclear which Android phones support this– if any at all. It’s possible this would be something the Pixel 8 series would do initially and after that gradually present to brand-new Android phones with time.
Bear In Mind That Google has an AirTag rival in the works, codenamed “grogu.” This news today incorporate well with that, so we ‘d anticipate Google to make a huge push for Discover My Gadget and suitable hardware this year.