Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could miss out on a crucial tracking feature

One of the lost object-tracking updates that appeared for Android phones this year was the ability to locate them even when they run out of juice. The convenience is shipped as part of Android’s Find My Device system. It, however, appears that Samsung’s next flagship will miss out on that convenience.

The folks over at Android Authority did some code sleuthing and spotted details of a disabled Bluetooth-finding protocol. Owing to the inactive status, the phone won’t appear on the location-finding map once it runs out of battery juice. Before we proceed further, do keep in mind that these are pre-launch details about unreleased hardware, so the situation might change down the road.

As for the feature itself, which Android serves as “Find your offline devices,” it relies on Bluetooth and location proximity data from nearby Android devices. The idea is not too dissimilar from how Apple’s own Find My network works for millions of devices across the globe, relaying their location so that users can find misplaced gadgets.

Google won’t say how exactly location finding works for devices that have run out of juice and gone offline, except for a vague “specialized Pixel hardware” on one of its store listings. The feature is active by default and supports the recent wave of Google hardware, including the Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 series phones.

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What it does, however, is piggyback off the network pings from nearby devices, which subsequently relay their location on the Find My Device network. To enable it for your phone, follow this path:

Settings > Google > All Services > Find My Device > Find your offline devices

Users can pick an offline finding range from two options: With network in high-traffic areas only and With network in all areas. Google’s support page mentions that offline devices will be discoverable “for several hours” after they run out of local power.

“When others detect your items, they securely send the locations where they detected them to Find My Device,” explains the company. As far as the Galaxy S25 Ultra goes, Samsung is reportedly going to equip it with the second-generation Corning Gorilla Glass Armor protective shield.

Moreover, the design has been slightly overhauled, thanks to rounder corners and a splash of new colors. Internally, things don’t appear to be changing dramatically, save for your usual year-over-year iterative updates.

The camera hardware will be a familiar affair, led by a 200-megapixel main camera. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC will lead the charge, but aspects like charging pace and battery capacity are not receiving any noticeable upgrades, as per leaked material.