MIRON NURSKI • a long time ago • 3 comments
How to find a lost or stolen smartphone? Samsung's new service has just started globally. Yes, it also works in Poland.
Android users can locate lost or stolen devices using the Android Device Manager, for example. However, Samsung has created a tool tailored specifically to Galaxy devices, which makes better use of their capabilities.
How do I find a lost phone via SmartThings Find?
When launching the SmartThings & hairsp; - & hairsp; app which comes pre-installed on Samsung & hairsp; - & hairsp; phones, the user is greeted with a banner announcing the availability of a new feature. After clicking on it, download a special module and select devices that you would like to be able to locate if necessary.
Let's start with the classic & hairsp; scenario - & hairsp; lost phone. As we are talking about a device connected to the network, the matter is simple.
Just install the SmartThings app on another phone or tablet with Android 8 or later (it doesn't have to be a Samsung device), log into your account and & hairsp; - & hairsp; - & hairsp; use SmartThings Find & hairsp; - & hairsp; select your lost phone from the list. Its current or last known location will be displayed on the map. The app allows you to use navigation based on Google Maps.
Of course, the GPS module will only show the approximate location, but after reaching the place, the user has two options for more precise tracking of the phone. You can activate the beep here, or & hairsp; - & hairsp; c is a much more discreet method & hairsp; - & hairsp; to use Search Nearby.
The Search Nearby mode is a kind of radar that uses a Bluetooth module. The larger the green area displayed on the screen, the closer the lost device is.
SmartThings Find also helps you find headphones, watches and other devices without internet access
The phones of people who have activated the SmartThings Find function become, as it were, part of a global infrastructure tracking lost devices. It works like this:
- 30 minutes after breaking the connection with the phone, the watch or headphones start transmitting a Bluetooth Low Energy signal;
- the signal is received by nearby smartphones with the SmartThings Find function activated, which then send encrypted location data to the Samsung server;
- when the user of an accessory reports its missing in the application, he will see its approximate location on the map.
Samsung declares that all data is encrypted and secure, so SmartThings Find users don't have to worry about their privacy.
Of course, the effectiveness of this solution will depend on how many people activate SmartThings Find on their phones. Samsung, however, boasts that 6 million residents of the United States, Great Britain and South Korea did it only as part of the pre-release tests.
So there is a chance that the solution will be so popular that it will actually help you locate lost devices. At least in more densely populated areas.
Samsung SmartThings Find can do even better with a UWB chip
Ultra-wideband technology allows you to precisely locate devices in space. This allows the SmartThings app to lead to a lost device in augmented reality mode.
To use this function, both the lost device and the device used to locate it must be armed with a UWB chip. And this is for now only Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphones.
Samsung does not hide, however, that it has ambitious plans in connection with UWB technology. It can be assumed that in a few years it will be implemented in most (if not all) Galaxy devices. Then locating lost or stolen devices becomes even easier.
