TL;DR
- We can confirm that Google’s new Find My Device network feature is available on Oppo’s latest Find X8 series (on the latest software update).
- On the Find X8, it is the Dimensity 9400’s 4nm Wi-Fi/BT chip that facilitates the feature.
Two of the latest Android flagships, the Oppo Find X8 (review) and OnePlus 13 (review) support the Powered Off Finding feature. Both smartphones support Google’s Find My Device network, which makes finding lost handsets or other connected devices easier. However, Powered Off Finding is a relatively new feature that lets users locate their smartphones even when turned off.
How Does Powered Off Finding Work?
Before Powered Off Finding came around, community-based belongings tracking networks relied on online and offline tracking. However, when such devices are powered off (whether due to the depletion of the battery or deliberately turned off by a thief), the Bluetooth transmitter stops receiving power, thus preventing the phone from broadcasting its location to other Android devices nearby.
In an attempt to enable tracking even after a smartphone’s battery dies, Google launched the Powered Off Finding feature on the Pixel 8 series. From what we understand, the device allows the smartphone to store pre-computed Bluetooth beacons and transmit them even when the device is off, using “specialized Pixel hardware.”
Also Read: Android Theft Protection: How To Enable And Protect Your Smartphone?
The beacons contain encrypted location information, which is processed in the Find My Device network and relayed to the device’s owner. To do so, it relies on some sort of reserve battery or a battery management system that enables the Bluetooth and ultra-wideband chips to remain active even after the usable battery is dead.
This, in turn, allowed users to locate their Pixel phones, even after the phones ran out of battery. Fortunately, the feature is now expanding to other Android flagships, including the Oppo Find X8 and the OnePlus 13.
Both Oppo Find X8 And OnePlus 13 Support Powered Off Finding
At the time of writing this article, there’s quite a lot of information about how the OnePlus 13 supports the new Powered Off Finding feature. However, we can confirm that Google’s new Find My Device network feature is available on Oppo’s latest Find X8 series (on the latest software update).
- Find X8 Pro: version CPH2659_15.0.0.401 (EX01V20P01)
- Find X8: version CPH2651_15.0.0.401 (EX01)
Both devices show the message “You can locate this phone with ‘Find My Device’ even when powered off” in the power menu. Below is the screenshot of the Find My Device menu on the Oppo Find X8 Pro (review), which mentions, “Find My Device can also use the network to help locate this device when it’s powered off or out of battery.”
Although we haven’t had a chance to use the Powered Off Finding feature yet, the prompt in the Power Off menu and the description in the Find My Device menu suggest that it is available on the Find X8.
Snapdragon 8 Elite And Dimensity 9400: Both Support Powered Off Finding
On the OnePlus 13, it is Snapdragon 8 Elite’s FastConnect 7900 subsystem that supports Powered Off Finding, per the report by Android Authority. However, on the Find X8, it is the Dimensity 9400’s 4nm Wi-Fi/BT chip that facilitates the feature.
“Even when the smartphone is turned off, the 4nm Wi-Fi/BT chip can remain active and broadcast location advertising packets so the smartphone can be found,” reads the official landing page by MediaTek.
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