What you need to know
- Back in April, Google announced that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro would support offline search.
- Now that Find My Device is widely used, Google is explaining the feature to users registered on the network via push notification.
- Google says the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro can continue to report their location to the Find My Device network for “several hours” after it is turned off or the battery runs out.
Google began rolling out the Find My Device network a month ago, a key feature for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. In an April 8 blog post, Google said these flagship phones would be able to report their location to the Find My Device ecosystem even when their batteries are dead or turned off. With the Find My Device network now widely enabled by Android users, Google is explaining to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro owners how this new feature works.
In a support document, Google explains how long Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro devices can continue to provide location data after they are turned off or the battery runs out. “On supported devices like the Pixel 8 series, the Find My Device network can locate the phone for several hours after it is turned off if the battery is low or it is turned off,” the company says.
Google largely references the Pixel 8 series in its support document, but doesn’t specify whether the Pixel 8a supports this feature or not. At other times, Google has referenced this functionality, with only the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro listed as supported. However, it’s possible that these documents were released before the Pixel 8a was announced and support could come in the future, as Mishaal Rahman noted.
9to5Google first discovered the push notification that Google sends to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro users. The notification appears to be more informative than anything else, informing users that the Find My Device feature is available. After all, if you don’t know it’s there, it won’t help you when you need it. Tap on Learn more The button in the push notification provides more details about offline search, such as: B. Google’s guidance that users should ensure both Bluetooth and location are turned on before shutting down their phone.
If you’ve opted into the Find My Device network, your Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro should automatically report its location when it turns off or runs out of battery. However, this may change if you adjust the default settings. Google offers users four offline device location settings to choose from: Out of, Without network, With network only in heavily frequented areas (default) and With a network in all areas.
To customize your selection, open the Settings app and navigate to Google > All services > Find my device. Then tap Find your offline devices and choose one of the above four options. It’s important to note that only the latter two will make your Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro available for offline searching.
Even though this feature is only useful in the first few hours after shutting down or turning off your smartphone, it is still useful. For example, if you lose your phone or it is stolen, no one can turn it off and stop the location reporting immediately. It’s limited to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro for now, but Google’s wording leaves the door open for future Pixel 8a support.