Weirdly Apple seems to have something like this built-in for finding an apple TV remote - but the same flow doesn't appear to be launchable for any other device
If you have multiple fixed BLE receivers, you can do full trilateration. This project integrates into Home Assistant using HA proxy BLE receivers to track phones moving around in your house: https://github.com/agittins/bermuda
When I lost my phone I put in one earbud and walked around the area listening for the connection sound.
Turns out it wasn't useful because someone else had taken it to lost and found within a few minutes of me losing it, before I knew I'd lost it. But it was a good idea.
A few years back I was shoveling knee deep snow when I completely lost a white earbud. The app had a 'find my bud' feature, but when I activated it I couldn't hear anything. I pulled out the 2nd bud as a test, and it started chirping like a bird. Ironically, it was a beautiful day out so the sound just blended in with the other chirping birds all around. I ended up slapping my snow shovel on the ice a few times until one chirp remained!
Google is reportedly launching an airtag competitor tomorrow. I'm interested to see the details. I have a pair of their headphones, and they don't broadcast when the case is close, which makes them easy to loose.
Wait, I can purchase $2-$4 "find hub" compatible beacons all day and have been for months. I have even made my own using a CR2032 + ESP32-C3 and they work fantastic with "find hub" - is this just an official version of that or something else entirely?
Apple uses similar for finding individual airpods (which don't have a UWB antenna), but it's also used in conjunction with the camera to map signal strength to 3d space.
What an awful website for such a wonderful feature. I don’t expect to see this in the original Find My (Apple’s) as their implementation is fully custom and works altogether differently (and already had a protocol-level rewrite not too long ago), but this is still really cool. Of course needing to be in range of the device is always a problem; some ear buds will drop out altogether if you walk to the next room.
Jokes aside, I thought BLE RSSI was too noisy to be accurate enough for something like this.
20 years ago I meant to write something like this, but so friends could find each other nearby in places like clubs.
I've seen a few versions of this idea for music festivals and the like - https://totemlabs.com/products/totem-compass
I thought unless an android or iPhone is beaconing, it only broadcasts ble on device wake?
Maybe I'm misremembering, but for example my esphome proxies in HA will show nothing for ages at night while my phone isn't being interacted with.
If the phone is lost, it's probably not super awake lol
Post inspired by "Lost my phone at the office. Claude suggested tracking Bluetooth signal strength" 07.aug.2026 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215786 215 comments ?
Weirdly Apple seems to have something like this built-in for finding an apple TV remote - but the same flow doesn't appear to be launchable for any other device
It works for newer AirTags as well, this isn't BLE based but Ultra Wideband.
That's an entirely different technology, and if you look at it from an RF lens, a highly impressive one.
UWB is interesting.
If you use your phone as a key for your Tesla, you can turn on "nearby interactions" on the phone and the car can very accurately know your position.
Then with the accurate positioning, you can stand still in front of your trunk, and have it open. (it is a setting, hands free trunk/frunk)
If you have multiple fixed BLE receivers, you can do full trilateration. This project integrates into Home Assistant using HA proxy BLE receivers to track phones moving around in your house: https://github.com/agittins/bermuda
When I lost my phone I put in one earbud and walked around the area listening for the connection sound.
Turns out it wasn't useful because someone else had taken it to lost and found within a few minutes of me losing it, before I knew I'd lost it. But it was a good idea.
A few years back I was shoveling knee deep snow when I completely lost a white earbud. The app had a 'find my bud' feature, but when I activated it I couldn't hear anything. I pulled out the 2nd bud as a test, and it started chirping like a bird. Ironically, it was a beautiful day out so the sound just blended in with the other chirping birds all around. I ended up slapping my snow shovel on the ice a few times until one chirp remained!
Google is reportedly launching an airtag competitor tomorrow. I'm interested to see the details. I have a pair of their headphones, and they don't broadcast when the case is close, which makes them easy to loose.
Wait, I can purchase $2-$4 "find hub" compatible beacons all day and have been for months. I have even made my own using a CR2032 + ESP32-C3 and they work fantastic with "find hub" - is this just an official version of that or something else entirely?
https://9to5google.com/2026/07/31/this-is-the-google-pixel-t...
Hopefully it works with GrapheneOS.
Apple uses similar for finding individual airpods (which don't have a UWB antenna), but it's also used in conjunction with the camera to map signal strength to 3d space.
Bluetooth now has something that does this more accurately on a protocol level: https://www.bluetooth.com/learn-about-bluetooth/feature-enha...
What an awful website for such a wonderful feature. I don’t expect to see this in the original Find My (Apple’s) as their implementation is fully custom and works altogether differently (and already had a protocol-level rewrite not too long ago), but this is still really cool. Of course needing to be in range of the device is always a problem; some ear buds will drop out altogether if you walk to the next room.
Nice. I saw someone comment about this yesterday, and today, someone built it.
Someone used Claude:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215786
Seems to be macOS only.
Some many posts about this idea.
Is it just me that close bluetooth to not empty my battery?
macOS only (arm64 + x86_64)
Now turn it into a pervert-glasses detector and tracker
Make your phone alert when one walks into a room within several meters
Already exists, most of them advertise via BLE so you just need to watch for their adverts: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.pocketpc.ne...
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