Google makes it easier to find your missing Android device

Google is making it easier for users to find their lost devices, including Android phones.

The Alphabet-owned search giant on Monday released a new version of its “Find My Device” feature that incorporates a new crowdsourced network of more than a billion Android devices, according to Google. It’s the Google equivalent of Apple’s popular “Find My” feature that allows users to locate registered devices, including laptops, phones and headphones.

The new service will first be available on phones in the United States and Canada and will eventually be available worldwide.

For Android users, this means that owners will be able to locate their devices even when they are offline. “Find My Device” can now ring a device or show its location on a map – previously it had to be connected to the Internet, Google said in a blog post.

Pixel 8 and 8 Pro mobile phone users will be able to find their devices even if they are turned off or their battery is dead. And from May, everyday objects such as keys and wallets made locatable thanks to location beacons from Chipolo and Pebblebee will join the network. The new Find My Device works with devices running Android 9+.

Google said the network “is secure by default and private by design. The multi-layered protections built into the Find My Device network help keep you safe and private, while keeping you in control of devices connected to the Find network My Device”. “.

Google said the new feature will also be compatible with headphones from JBL, Sony and other brands.