3mo ago

How long can you track a Pixel after a thief has powered it off? I tested it to find out

www.androidauthority.com

15 comments

TL;DR: The first test was a total disaster and my phone wasn't located until an hour after it was back next to me.
This is not a feature in my eyes; it's a security and privacy breach.
- First they took removable batteries, then they waited until people get used to it, and now we get this nice feature.
- Look at how it works.
  
  No one knows how it works except Google. Who is a notably untrustworthy source.
Wouldn't phone thieves also be using blackout bags anyways?
- If they are professional and not someone looking for a quick buck, and professionals probably wouldn't steal a random person's phone
- What is this and where do I get them?
  
  Bag with foil or mesh lining that turns it in to a faraday cage.
  Amazon and other similar marketplaces have them.
  
  Bag that effectively blocks any kind of radio signals such that they kill communications with any device you put in them.
How does this feature work? Is there a separate small battery just for this purpose? That's horrifying.
- I know nothing but in my head I imagine this feature works by having the phone going into "air tag" mode when powered off. Same battery, low power chip running minimal BLE to broadcast a tracker ID.
  Edit: after reading the article, both Apple and Google promise their feature works even with a dead battery, so probably a secondary rechargeable coin cell with the "find my" chip. So basically it's got a built in air tag with a much shorter battery light
  
  Yeah, I don't like that. I see the benefit, but it's a real gift to authoritarians too.
  
  No it works by simply putting the device into a deep sleep mode. Watch a disassembly video for any modern phone and you won't find any secondary batteries. The thing is a "dead battery" is not really dead, the device will just shut down before then.

15 comments