I rarely lose things, but I often misplace them. Sometimes I think it’s a symptom of aging, but my wife insists that I’ve been that way since she met me as a young man.
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Most of the time, the things I can’t find are somewhere in my house. If it’s my phone, I can call it, but I might not hear it if the ringer is turned down. Fortunately, both Apple and Google have services that will ring the phone at full volume even if the ringer is turned off. But there is a catch. The phone must be turned on and in range. It won’t ring the device if the battery is dead but will tell you where the phone was when it last had contact with it. That might be a way to figure out if you left your phone at a restaurant or other location even after the battery died, but it might not help if it’s in a drawer or under the couch. Google says that Pixel 8 and 8 Pro owners will also be able to find their devices if they’re powered off or the battery is dead, but I haven’t yet figured out how that is going to work.
Apple calls its App “Find My,” while Google calls its app “Find My Device. If you don’t have these on your phone or tablet, you can download them from the Apple or Android app store.
In addition to accessing these apps on your phone, you can also access them from the web, which is handy if you’ve lost or misplaced your phone. For Apple, it’s iCloud.com. For Google, it’s google.com/android/find.
Devices find devices
You can use devices to find devices. An Apple Watch can be used to find an Apple phone or tablet or vice versa. The same is true with Android. I can use my Google Pixel Watch to find my phone or have my phone cause my watch to make a sound, which I use frequently at home. I have a Google nest smart speaker that allows me to use my voice to say, “Find my phone” and have the phone ring, regardless of whether the ringer is turned on.
You can also do this with other Apple or Android products like earbuds and tablets. This is one of the ways that both Apple and Google encourage people to stick with products from their offerings. If you’re an iPhone user, it’s one of the advantages of buying an Apple tablet or watch or AirPods rather than a competitor’s device. The same is true on the Android side though unlike Apple, which has the monopoly on iOS and Mac OS hardware, there are Android devices from companies other than Google.
Tags for other items
For all other items, including wallets, keys and backpacks, there are tags or cards you can attach or insert that will beep and tell you where they were last seen. These include Apple AirTags, Tile tags and, starting in May, tags from Pebblebee and Chipolo that will use Google’s recently launched Find My Device network to locate your belongings whether they’re in your house or anywhere in the world, so long as they’ve come into contact with an Android device. If this sounds familiar, it’s very much like the way Apple’s Find My app works with Apple AirTags.
Like other trackers, the new Android compatible tags will use Bluetooth to find devices that are nearby, such as when you can’t find your wallet at home. Not only will they play a sound, but there will be a way to determine their proximity while you’re looking. I currently have some Tile tags, and often the beep isn’t loud enough for me to hear from across the house. Being able to navigate to an approximate location should make it easier to hear the sound coming from the tag.
Networks of strangers helping find your objects
Whether it’s Apple, Tile, or soon, Android, one beauty of these systems is the ability to tap into networks of other devices that can help you locate your device. Today, hundreds of millions of iPhones and other Apple devices work like search tools to help strangers find their lost Apple devices. If you lose your Apple device and someone with a compatible Apple device comes near it (which is likely in public places), that device sends the location of your device to Apple’s iCloud service so that you can find it in your Apple Find My app.
The Android Network, which is currently rolling out to Android devices in the U.S. and Canada, will work very similar to the way Apple’s does, enabling what Google calls “a new, crowdsourced network of over a billion Android devices to help you find your misplaced Android devices and everyday items quickly and securely.”
Whether it’s Apple, Android or Tile, these tags can be pricey, typically $20 or more, depending on the brand and quantity you buy. But, if they can help you find something that’s very valuable to you, like your wallet, backpack, purse or keys, they are worth the investment.
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Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist. Contact him at larry@larrymagid.com.