How to Use Google Find Hub

Google Find Hub is the service that helps you track down a lost phone, tablet, pair of earbuds, or a tagged item like your keys or luggage. It’s the rebranded version of what used to be called Find My Device, so if you’ve used that before, the tools will look familiar.

How it works #

Find Hub uses secure Bluetooth signals to detect nearby devices and tagged items. When another Android device in the network passes by your lost item, it sends the location back to you. That means an item can still be located even when it’s nowhere near your own phone.

Before you lose something: set it up #

Find Hub turns on automatically when you sign in to a Google account on an Android phone, and you’ll need Android 9 or later to use the network. Take a few minutes to confirm these settings now — they only help if they were already on.

1. Confirm Find Hub is enabled. Go to Settings → Security → Find Hub and check that Allow device to be located is on. On some phones it lives under Settings → Google → All services → Find Hub instead. Searching your settings for “find” will get you there either way.

2. Turn on Location. Open Settings → Location and make sure the toggle at the top is on. Without it, Android can’t access GPS and none of the location features will work.

3. Set a real screen lock. Go to Settings → Lock screen → Screen lock type and set a PIN, password, or pattern. This one surprises people: Google requires a screen lock before your device can be found through the crowdsourced network. Fingerprint and face unlock are good additions, but you still need the PIN underneath. Six digits or more.

4. Choose your offline finding setting. Go to Find your offline devices in the Find Hub settings. You’ll see four choices:

Setting	What it means
Off	Nothing is stored and your device doesn’t participate.
Without network	Your device uses its own encrypted recent location, but no crowdsourcing.
With network in busy places only	Nearby phones help locate it in places like airports and busy streets.
With network everywhere	The network helps in both crowded and quiet areas.

We recommend With network everywhere. It gives you the best chance of recovery, and the trade-off is that your phone also helps other people find their lost items. Locations sent through the network are end-to-end encrypted.

5. Install the Find Hub app on a second device if you have one. A tablet or spare phone makes searching much easier than borrowing someone else’s.

Finding a lost device #

1. Open the Find Hub app on another Android phone, or visit the Find Hub website from any browser.
2. Sign in with the Google account tied to the missing device.
3. Tap the device you’re looking for.
4. Enter your PIN or password when prompted. Devices on Android 8 or lower may ask for your Google password instead.
5. The map shows the current or last known location, along with the battery level and connection status.

What each action does #

Play Sound rings the device at full volume for five minutes, even on silent or vibrate. This is the one for “I know it’s somewhere in this house.”

Find Nearby kicks in once you’re close, roughly within 10 meters, and guides you the last few steps with an indicator that fills in as you approach.

Get Directions opens navigation to the device’s reported location.

Mark as Lost locks the phone with your existing PIN and lets you put a message and contact number on the lock screen, so whoever finds it can reach you without unlocking anything.

Factory Reset wipes the phone remotely. Treat this as the last step, not the first: once it’s done you can no longer track the device, and it may not erase data stored on an SD card.

If the phone is off or has no signal #

If someone takes your phone out of range, turns off cellular, or pulls the SIM, the offline network can still work. Nearby Android phones detect it over Bluetooth and report an encrypted location. You never learn whose phone found yours, and they never know they found it.

If the phone is powered off completely, that depends on hardware. Google currently lists only the Pixel 8, 9, and 10 series as able to be located for several hours after shutdown, using specialized hardware that keeps the Bluetooth chip alive. On any other phone, including current Samsung Galaxy models, assume you’ll only get the last known location until it powers back on.

Sharing location with family #

The People section of Find Hub lets you share your real-time location for an hour, until the end of the day, for a custom period, or until you turn it off. People you share with can see your location, profile, and battery level.

You can also set alerts for when someone arrives at or leaves a place, which is useful for kids getting home from school. The person sharing is notified that an alert has been set up, so this isn’t designed for covert tracking.

Earbuds, accessories, and tracker tags #

Find Hub works with compatible Fast Pair earbuds and headphones, showing where they were last connected. To add an accessory you’ve already paired, go to Settings → Connected devices, select it, and look for Find when disconnected.

Bluetooth tracker tags attach to keys, luggage, backpacks, or bikes and are added to Find Hub automatically when paired. Some tags support more precise directional finding on compatible phones. You can share an accessory with up to 10 people, handy for shared keys or luggage, and the invitation has to be accepted within 24 hours.

Turn on theft protection too #

This is separate from Find Hub but belongs in the same setup session. Go to Settings → Google → All services → Theft protection, or on a Samsung Galaxy, Settings → Security and privacy → Lost device protection.

• Theft Detection Lock uses motion sensors to detect someone grabbing the phone and running, and locks the screen immediately.
• Offline Device Lock locks the phone automatically once it’s been offline for a while.
• Failed Authentication Lock locks it after repeated failed unlock attempts.
• Remote Lock lets you lock the phone using just your verified phone number, without signing all the way into your Google account first. If the phone is offline, the lock applies as soon as it reconnects.

If any option is greyed out, your phone doesn’t support that feature yet.

One thing people forget: backup codes #

There’s a catch-22 waiting here. The phone you’ve lost may also be the device you use to approve Google two-step verification prompts, which means you can’t sign in to look for it.

Go to your Google Account, then Security → 2-Step Verification → Backup codes, and save them somewhere that isn’t your phone.

Test it before you need it #

Open the Find Hub website on your computer and sign in with the same Google account that’s on your phone. Your phone should appear in the list. Run Play Sound once to confirm everything is talking to each other. Google specifically recommends checking this before you actually need it.

Samsung owners: use both #

If you have a Galaxy, keep Samsung Find enabled alongside Google Find Hub. Two independent locating systems is a meaningfully better position than one.

Need help? #

If you’ve lost a device and can’t get Find Hub working, contact Galante Tech Services and we’ll walk you through it.