The Find My Device network was full of promise, but Android’s alternative to the tech behind Apple’s AirTag launched to a rough start in 2024. Over time, though, it seems to finally be getting better. Are you actually using it?
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After a year’s delay, to Apple’s benefit, Google finally flipped the switch on the Find My Device network for Android in mid-2024. The staged rollout took months, and left trackers from Pebblebee and Chipolo practically worthless. Compared to the likes of the AirTag and even Samsung’s Galaxy-only network, Google’s just wasn’t as good as we found in our tests, and as others showed just the same.
The main struggle with the Find My Device network was seemingly Google’s privacy-forward decision to default the network to a “high-traffic” status that prevented a lot of Android phones from contributing to the network in more rural areas. Beyond that, Google also designed the network to require two devices to locate the same tracker. The two combined put the network at a steep disadvantage in the United States, a market dominated by the iPhone, and didn’t really help the situation internationally.
Google did commit to improving things, though.
One way that seems to be happening is the wider use of a message in the Find My Device app that tells users to enable tracking in all areas, not just in high-traffic locations. This prompt has been around for a while, but it seems to be appearing more consistently in recent months on devices that don’t have “low-traffic” tracking enabled.
Anecdotally, the network also just seems to be working better lately than it has in the past. Trackers connect faster – perhaps thanks to firmware and app updates – and seem to be located faster. In my travel to Las Vegas for CES 2025 this week, the Moto Tag in my checked suitcase was getting location updates just as quickly, if not faster than the AirTag next to it. That was far from true even a few months ago, and I’m impressed!
I’m sure there were plenty of behind-the-scenes improvements involved here, though I suspect most of this is simply from mass adoption and the slow process of getting people to turn on “low-traffic” support.
What do you think? Have you noticed better performance from Find My Device trackers? Have you been using them at all? I wouldn’t blame anyone for throwing in the towel on these trackers – I nearly did too – but I’m glad that, months later, things finally seem to be getting a whole lot better.
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