Subj : Finding your offline Google Pixel 8 on Android's Find My Device n
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu May 09 2024 12:45:05

Finding your offline Google Pixel 8 on Android's Find My Device network might 
be harder than we thought

Date:
Thu, 09 May 2024 11:39:20 +0000

Description:
You can find your offline Google Pixel 8 on Android's Find My Device network, 
but there are several restrictions.

FULL STORY
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When Google unveiled its Find My Device network  Androids riff on Apples Find 
My network  one Pixel 8-exclusive feature caught the eye. Even if your Google 
Pixel 8 is switched off, or its battery has died, it can be found on the 
network. Now Google has revealed a few more details about the feature  and it 
already sounds a lot less impressive. 

On its official support page , under Step 4: Find offline devices and devices 
without power Google explains that there are a handful of caveats to finding 
these devices. 

We already knew that the feature currently only supports two devices  the 
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro  but Google adds that you must also turn the setting 
on. By default its set to work With network in high-traffic areas only  which 
means that offline devices can be found with their encrypted recent locations 
or the network in areas like airports or busy footpaths. 

You also have the option to set it to be found 'With network in all areas' no 
matter how busy they are, or 'Without Network', so that you only use the 
devices last known location, or you can switch the setting off. Though those 
last two wont update if your device is offline. 

Google adds that when your device is switched off or shuts down you must also 
have both the Location and Bluetooth settings turned on if they arent then 
you cant rely on the Find My Device network to locate it. 

Lastly, this offline option has a time limit, which Google says is several 
hours. So if you do need to rely on the Find My Device network to locate an 
offline device youll want to act fairly quickly, as accurate location data 
wont be available forever. (Image credit: Google) Disappointing, but not 
unexpected 

A lot of these specifics do make sense  they just make Googles seemingly 
magical offline device-finding feature a little less special. And it's worth 
keeping them in mind if you're hoping the feature would mean youd never lose 
your phone ever again. 

There is one silver lining, in that Googles page mentions supported devices, 
suggesting other Find My Network-compatible devices could get the offline 
feature too  though most likely these would be upcoming handsets like the 
Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S25 . 

You can still use the network with other devices; they just wont benefit from 
offline tracking. To turn it on go to your Settings app > Google > All 
Services > Find My Device. Youll also need to turn on your Location setting. 
You might also like Android Find My Device : what is the new tracker network 
and how will it work? Google AirTags : why the incoming Apple rivals could 
take over the world Want Apple's tracker instead? Read our Apple AirTag review



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/phones/finding-your-offline-google-pixel-8-on-androi
ds-find-my-device-network-might-be-harder-than-we-thought


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