Google aims to keep Bluetooth enabled on Android 15 for ‘Find My Device’ feature
Google is developing new ways to encourage Android users to keep their Bluetooth turned off, a key component of its upcoming Find My Device network that promises to create a massive system for tracking lost devices. This initiative, launched ahead of the network’s official release, will use billions of Android devices to support mutual tracking via Bluetooth, similar to Apple’s existing Find My network.
Such a system requires that Bluetooth remains enabled on the connected devices to ensure its effective operation. Turning off Bluetooth can not only prevent users from tracking their own devices in case of loss, but also prevent others from finding their lost gadgets.
In response to this, Google is developing a feature for Android 15 that will allow users to “pause” turning off Bluetooth, instead offering an alternative that can automatically turn on Bluetooth the next day. This mechanism is displayed as an “automatically turn on tomorrow” toggle in the Quick Settings dialog box, which also informs users that some key features, including Quick Access, Find My Device, and device location, use Bluetooth.
Interestingly, the code for the Bluetooth auto-enablement feature has already been added to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), indicating that this feature can only be activated by system applications, thus ensuring that third-party applications cannot enable Bluetooth without the user’s knowledge. While this feature may be available on earlier versions of Android that use the AOSP Bluetooth stack, not all devices will support auto-power on.
Currently, the Bluetooth auto-enablement feature is not activated in previous versions of Android 15 or Android 14, but there is a possibility that it will appear in future beta versions. It remains an open question as to why auto-enablement doesn’t work on all devices, but Google will no doubt continue to adapt and improve this feature to ensure the widest possible coverage and user engagement with its Find My Device network.
