There are some things Apple does better than Google. For one, the Cupertino company allows users to track their iPhones even if they are turned off whereas Google requires the phone to be switched on. This may change soon as the Big G is reportedly working to improve Android’s Find My Device functionality and will soon enable you to hunt down your lost or stolen device even if it’s off. Let’s take a closer look at the details.
As shared by 91Mobiles, Developer Kuba Wojciechowski has found evidence that Google is working on a Find My Device feature that will let you find your device when it’s powered off, similar to what Apple’s Find My app does. The report states that it will be called the Pixel Power-off Finder on Google phones.
To implement this feature, Google will apparently build a huge network of all Android devices, including optional support or UWB, and Google’s own tag codename “grogu”. This network will likely help your lost device connect to other devices over Bluetooth and relay its location.
According to Wojciechowski, the code reveals a new Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) definition named “hardware.google.bluetooth.power_off_finder”. This definition will feature precomputed Finger Network keys that are sent to the device’s Bluetooth chip, allowing it to remain active even if the phone is turned off.
However, it seems only the upcoming Pixel 8 phones will be able to support this new feature as it requires hardware support to keep the Bluetooth chip-enabled at all times. It is unclear whether the current Pixel 7 smartphones carry such technology.
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