This app is like a homing device for bluetooth signals

Bluetooth devices are more common than ever. Wireless technology seems to be built into almost every product we buy. Connect your iPhone to your Apple Watch and Fitbits, connect your wireless headphones to your audio source, and connect your game controller to your console. Of course, the more wireless the technology, the more likely it is to go missing. I’ve lost my AirPods to my couch many times, and I think I’ve had similar experiences. However, there are apps that make it as easy as you can imagine to find almost any Bluetooth device.

Indeed, if you’re part of the Apple ecosystem, Find me: This network of Bluetooth devices communicates with internet devices such as iPhones to update their location on the Find My map. Check the app to see the last known location on all compatible devices. Apple’s U1 chip takes you one step further in finding items as the technology literally guides you. Where the Bluetooth device is hidden.

However, not all Bluetooth devices are compatible with this technology, and not all Bluetooth devices are part of the Apple ecosystem. There are many Bluetooth devices in your world that can be lost without a clear solution to find them. Fortunately, there are apps designed to help track these items, regardless of the smartphone you own, similar to how Apple’s U1 chip works.

Find lost Bluetooth devices on iPhone and Android

The best free app I’ve ever seen is Wunderfind, iOS When Android.. If you skip the slightly aggressive upgrade screen, you’ll see a simple interface, showing almost any Bluetooth device nearby. Not only can you see the devices you own (computers, speakers, headphones, etc.), you can also see many devices. please do not I realize that I probably belong to my neighbor. The Bluetooth range is about 30 feet, so it makes sense to pick up a particular device in the next apartment.

Other free apps like LightBlue and BluetoothBLE Device Finder also display a list of devices in your area, so this isn’t a unique feature.However, on top of these apps, Wunderfind offers guided tracking. For free.. Tap one of these devices to bring up a new screen with a large circle with a small blue circle in the center. The size of the blue circle depends on how close it is to the Bluetooth device. Distances are expressed as a percentage from 100. For example, if you see a small blue circle with a score of 20%: ‘It’s not particularly close to an object. If you see a big blue circle with a score of 80%, you’re almost there.

App reviews praise this feature. While there are many reviews thanking developers for helping them find devices such as the Apple Pencil and earphones, we also find that more important devices such as hearing aids have been discovered. You’ll be wondering why more and more companies aren’t making apps like this, and if so, why it doesn’t take long to make them. Apple’s Find My is a good start, but you can obviously add features like this.

Difficult to scan AirTag with Bluetooth tracking app

Where I think these apps can be improved, and where it may not be their fault, is to identify AirTags.You may have Read about the controversy surrounding the company’s small trackersDesigned to help you find different devices and items that can easily go missing Or the target of theft. AirTags can be attached to keys so you can easily pick them up from your sofa or backpack in case someone “accidentally” picks them up and leaves your place.

In this respect, it’s a great product. However, the problem is immediately apparent. If you can track an object, you can track a person. Apple Did it Think of a workaround hereHowever, if the iPhone senses a strange AirTag in close proximity for long enough and the AirTag is isolated from its owner. Warning Not only as an iPhone announcement, but also as a horn from the AirTag itself.There is also App for Android users Manually scan nearby AirTags.

From what I can collect, these bluetooth tracking apps don’t get my AirTag. The fact that none of them are so wonders if there is anything specific to AirTag that doesn’t show up in the Bluetooth scan. I’ve seen complaints that the Android AirTag Tracker app won’t work unless it’s been separated from the owner for a period of time. Perhaps this is the case here as well. However, it’s difficult to test because I’m running the Bluetooth scan app using my iPhone. In the same way.

Apple isn’t the only Bluetooth tracker in the game. Tiles also make these devices, I don’t own it myself. I can’t see if these apps can get the tile tracker by scanning, or if they have similar issues with AirTag. Keep this in mind if you are trying to scan your Bluetooth tracker using these apps.

That said, Wunderfind is a great option for finding lost Bluetooth devices. If you want to pay a one-time $ 4.99 premium, you can use “professional” features such as playing sound to find your lost device, notifying you when your device is lost or found, and a map of your Bluetooth device in your area. You can access it. , Free updates for future professional features.