Google’s Find My Device network has been slow to come to all Android devices, but if you buy a supported tracker, it will be activated during the initial setup phase on your device.
My colleague Ben Schoon has recently detailed the process of adding a supported tracker to your account. The guide is great if you already have the Find My Device (FMD) network activated on your account. However, I was a little annoyed that I had received some trackers but still no FMD access.
Even so, I decided that maybe I’ll try and set up Chipolo’s newest trackers before heading off for a long weekend away. Without Find My Device network activated on my Pixel 8 Pro, I expected to be left high and dry with a useless tracker. Instead, the initial setup phase allowed me to connect to the enhanced network and integrate the first wave trackers almost instantly.
To reiterate: None of my Pixel devices have received a notification indicating they can access the updated network until this stage. Instead, the pop-up confirmed that I would be pairing to my account. This was followed by the “Use responsibly” prompt that has you agree to the terms and conditions of joining the network.
From here, you should be able to see any trackers from the Find My Device app. Initially, the location would not appear but this was updated after a few minutes. I expect that this is due to the system initializing due to the lack of prior activation on my account.
I’m sure that – like me – a lot of you are still waiting for the updated Find My Device network to be activated on your account. If you have pre-ordered a tracker from Pebblebee or Chipolo and were worried that you might not be able to use these with your devices, then this news is bound to reduce the stress of waiting for the functionality to rollout eventually.
More on Find My Device:
- How to share a tracker in Google’s Find My Device network
- Android’s Find My Device app may soon add biometric unlock
- Hands-on: Setting up Chipolo’s trackers for the Android Find My Device network
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