Google Find My Device Feature to Soon Work Even When Phone Is Turned Off: Report

The feature is expected to be named Pixel Power-off Finder on Google phones.

Written by Sucharita Ganguly, Edited by Richa Sharma | Updated: 6 April 2023 20:16 IST

Google Find My Device Feature to Soon Work Even When Phone Is Turned Off: Report

Photo Credit: Reuters

Google will need hardware to have the Bluetooth chip enabled at all times

Highlights

Google is reportedly working on locator tags like Apple AirTags
The feature’s tag codename is reportedly ‘grogu’
It is likely that Pixel 8 will support this feature out-of-the-box

Google is reportedly working on a feature which will enable the Find My Device feature to work even when the concerned smartphone is turned off. This feature is similar to Apple AirTags or the Find My feature available on Apple products. The report suggests that the Mountain View-based tech giant is planning to release this feature soon. Although it is not certain if the feature will be supported on existing Pixel devices, it is speculated that the Pixel 8 model will launch with support for this purported feature.

According to a 91 Mobiles report citing reliable tipster Kuba Wojciechowski (@Za_Raczke), the feature will be called Pixel Power-off Finder, at least on Google's Pixel devices. The company is said to be working on creating a massive network of all Android devices, featuring optional support or UWB, locating tags similar to Apple AirTags, and even including Google's own tag codenamed "grogu" and others, according to the report. Google is believed to have given early source code for Android 14 to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) registered in the Early Access Program (EAP).

Reportedly, a new Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) definition called "hardware.google.bluetooth.power_off_finder" is included in the source code. Precomputed Finger Network keys will be transferred to the device's Bluetooth chip, which will help the chip remain active even when the phone is turned off, according to the code comments, the report adds. The working is quite similar to what the Find My feature does on an iPhone.

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Google also recently extended its Nearby Share feature to Windows. The feature was already available on Android phones and Chromebooks. It allows seamless transfer between two devices, much like Apple's Airdrop feature.

To use the Nearby Share function, both concerned devices sharing and receiving a file must be signed into the same Google account in order to accept file transfers automatically. Previously, Android users could only share files and links with their contacts (on an Android smartphone). With a later upgrade, users were able to share files with multiple Android users near them at the same time. The feature is currently introduced in only the beta version for Windows PCs.

Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Google Find My Device, Google, Pixel 8, Pixel Power-off Finder, Apple AirTags

Sucharita Ganguly

Email Sucharita Ganguly

Sucharita is a writer with Gadgets 360 and is mostly found playing with her cat in her free time. She has previously worked at breaking news desks across organizations. Powered by coffee, The Beatles, Bowie, and her newfound love for BTS, she aims to work towards contributing to a better media environment for women and queer folk. More