Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra support Powered Off Finding, a feature that enables them to be located via Google’s Find My Device network even when they’re turned off.
- Very few smartphones support this feature, which requires reserve power to be dedicated to the Bluetooth controller when the rest of the phone is shut down.
- The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were the first phones to support this feature, but the OnePlus 13 was the first non-Google phone to support it.
Months after its launch in China, the Xiaomi 15 has finally launched globally. While the global version of the Xiaomi 15 has basically the same hardware as the Chinese version, the software is radically different due to the global version’s support for Google services like Find My Device. While every Xiaomi phone sold outside of China supports Find My Device, the Xiaomi 15 has a leg up on its predecessors, as it can be located even when it’s powered off.
Find My Device locates devices in one of two ways. Either a device reports its own location or another nearby device reports it for them. When an Android phone is turned on, it can easily report its own location by using Wi-Fi, mobile data, or GPS. It can also report the location of other nearby devices that are within Bluetooth range and are broadcasting Find My Device beacons. However, both of these tracking methods are unavailable for most Android phones that are powered off, as they stop sending power to any and all radios that could be used to locate them.
The Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra are not like most Android phones, however. When they’re powered off, they provide power to their Bluetooth controllers so they can continue broadcasting Find My Device beacons. Other nearby Android devices that detect these beacons can then report the location of the Xiaomi 15 to the Find My Device network.
Neither phone can indefinitely power their Bluetooth controller when they’re powered off, but they should be capable of providing power for at least several hours. That should hopefully provide enough time to pinpoint their location via Find My Device, though that depends on whether any Android devices that have opted into the Find My Device network pass by them. Given the lackluster performance of the Find My Device network thanks to its default “with high-traffic” setting, you may struggle to locate your lost phone if it’s not in a high-density urban area.
Most Android phones aren’t configured to provide power to the Bluetooth controller when they’re powered off, which means this feature can’t be enabled via a simple software update. Thus, if you’re hoping for this feature to make its way to any existing Xiaomi devices, you’re out of luck. If you are interested in other devices with this Powered Off Finding capability, only a couple of the best Android phones support it, including the Pixel 8 series, the Pixel 9 series, and the OnePlus 13.
