Don’t look now, but Android finds my device trackers suddenly work great

When I’m not being ridiculed for my futile opposition to free chargers, you might find me with Google giving the rod to consumers with the dying feature or Cockamamie advertising technique of the time. It’s good to reach common ground, and I find the support reassuring from readers who also complain about Android’s struggle to compete with AirTags.

But those days are behind us. I’m happy to confirm what Ben Schoon of 9to5google revealed After traveling to CES 2025. You can now easily use and operate the Search Network with Android-enabled Bluetooth trackers, and we couldn’t be happier.

Someone at Google finally turned on the lights

But what am I going to complain about now?

Since Google’s tracker network showed widespread signs of life several weeks ago, we’ve seen comments from average users, enthusiasts, other experts, and industry figures hinting at what was going to happen. I refuse to get my hopes up because I’ve been burned before.

Not this time. After getting the mission, I went for a late evening dog walk, turned on airplane mode, and periodically turned off the paired Pebblebee trackers I wore. They recorded themselves several times on a short 45-minute swing around the neighborhood. It was 2 a.m. and the city streets were not flooded with phone users.

Further testing revealed that PebbleBee’s Universal Clip, Card, and Tag now work very well. I never noticed updates lagging more than an hour late, and the locations suggested by the app were no bigger than a street corner. A neighbor’s device pinged two of my trackers and updated its locations from “Last seen 45 minutes ago across the street” to where I sat at home with my phone in airplane mode.

Traveling in lower traffic areas didn’t ruin it either. Pings came as quickly outside a suburban mall as they did in a dense metropolitan area. I slipped a spare SIM card into my iPhone, and it sent me an unknown tracking warning to alert me to the presence of Google Device. Success.

Find my camera’s long-awaited moment in the sun

It would have happened the same way if I had been patient

Find your search parameters, including the most important opt-in parameter.

The network experienced repeated setbacks leading up to its launch. At one point it actively decided to hold back find the launch of my device explicitly to wait for Apple. This is one of the reasons why the lackluster performance disappointed everyone. The most obvious factor was the default In high traffic areas adjustment in relation to the opt-in nature of the In all areas to fall over.

By default, FMD requires multiple phones to detect the existence of a tracker. Then it aggregates the pings and sends the owner a likely location. The low prevalence of required pings and the imprecise nature of location aggregation sets the network up for an early problem.

One setting may account for most of the performance bump, but it’s happening behind the scenes. A different and more useful tool than at launch. It’s like someone turned on the head office lights to find my device. But as a Google representative explained to the Android Police, they’ve been tweaking it all this time:

For our part, we plan to continue ongoing testing and will expand it to new models when they become available. But the current takeaway is that, in some environments, PebbleBee’s Android finds my device trackers work as well as vents or better. It’s a refreshing sentence to write.

The Future of Android Device Tracking

The industry-leading Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are integrated with FMD connectivity.

Mr. Schoon’s reveal in Las Vegas, a growing number of satisfied users and a touch of prodding from the pros led to this long-awaited update. But it doesn’t stop here. The network will likely get high-precision UWB tracking for AR-assisted search at some point. Google is still working on New Android Find My Device features, and if these can improve a fraction of the basic amount of functionality, AirTags better watch out.

We have updates coming to some FMD tracker reviews and trials. We stand by our reports (industry and corroborated) that Chipolo trackers generally do not perform as well as those from PebbleBee. However, Google aims to provide users in each market with a consistent experience across Tracker brands and models, which hints at a good trajectory.

At the very least, Google followed through on its promise, like implementing Android-wide unknown tracker protection that spans the entire operating system. This way, people who don’t use trackers can manage their search for my device privacy without digging through additional apps.

Smartphone and tablet interfaces get biometric unlocking and a layout adapted to landscape orientation. Android Find My Device Network Outlook has done something close to a 180 over the past few months.

The current state of Bluetooth tracker hardware

Remember when Google was planning to launch its own?

Samsung users in some regions, like the United States, won’t have much reason to abandon Galaxy Smart Tags until the day Samsung loses its massive market advantage. But there’s no longer a categorical reason to avoid these third-party gadgets. Maybe that means we’ll see more because PebbleBee usually outperforms Chipolo, and Moto Tag (which we’re about to test) is the only other game in town.

For its part, PebbleBee is also going all-in on FMD. It abandoned its proprietary network with the launch of the universal beacon, announce a new monitoring philosophy at CES 2025. The evolved position includes the Binding Platform, making it easy to conduct a digital copy of ownership details to items that Pebblebee says “do not need constant monitoring.”

PebbleBee streamlines Link setup and how manufacturers can integrate secure digital personal details into their products using the LinkUp Enterprise feature. It also unveiled a pair of tiny, implantable tracker modules (in electronics, not people, we think) called the Plate and Pin, developed to make finding my device integration a breeze for device designers.

A small selection of trackers, for now

With more somewhere in the works

Until new advanced features come to the top, the Universal PebbleBee line will satisfy most users. Its three form factors meet most needs, and the tracking works fantastic. They’re lightweight, low-cost, unobtrusive gadgets with simple operation and long-lasting rechargeable batteries, although their IPX6 rating leaves a little to be desired.

We’ve seen anecdotal evidence that Moto Tag might work even better, and we’ll share details when it emerges from Android Police testing. A more durable, air-like design makes this a good alternative to pebbles if it tracks effectively.

The current competition (sparse)

It’s mostly Samsung versus Pebblebee at the moment.

Something is still stopping Chipolo’s Android trackers from working as well as the competition. Eufy has pushed back its launch announcement so many times that it probably never comes. A small company called Rolling Square says its new card and Bluetooth keychain trackers will ship this month. Upcoming trackers from Rolling Square, the company behind the Tau 2 Keychain emergency power bank, feature futuristic-looking bodies and powerful design considerations that should make them the most durable smart tags, if anything else.

Tile and PebbleBee compete for the most versatile Android Bluetooth tracking solutions for non-Samsung users. Despite the small selection, finding my device seems to have found its future. Protection against unknown tracker does what it says now. FMD trackers (from Pebblebee, at least) provide accurate and timely locations in metropolitan and suburban settings during the day and (especially) at night. And the promise of expanded features still looms.

The winning conclusion to a confusing chapter

Hey, Google, write the developers a note saying, “Thanks”

With the Tumultuous Find My Device starting behind us, Google will maintain its implementation and availability of FMDs in high-end smartphones like the OnePlus 13. Third-party manufacturers will continue to develop interesting form factors. We hope both parties will work together to enable new features such as location history and left notifications. Meanwhile, consumers will benefit from the ultra-ultra-ulant Android software tools that it didn’t steal from Apple.