“We’re incredibly proud of how quickly the SmartThings Find service has grown in less than a year, helping people all over the world locate hundreds of thousands of misplaced devices every day,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “SmartThings Find is yet another example of how Samsung is continuing to create meaningful new experiences that help make life more convenient and less stressful.”

The fast-growing SmartThings Find service enables users to pinpoint registered Galaxy smartphones, smartwatches, earbuds and even S Pen Pro, as well as personal belongings—like keys or wallets—that have a Galaxy SmartTag or SmartTag+ device attached. SmartThings Find, a standout feature of the SmartThings ecosystem, uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to locate misplaced devices. Even if the device is offline, other Galaxy users can opt-in to enable their Galaxy smartphone or tablet to help others find nearby lost devices.

SmartThings Find is continuing to evolve with the addition of the newly launched SmartThings Find Members service, which now enables users to invite friends and family to become members of their SmartThings account, so they too can find and manage their devices. Users can now invite up to 19 other people to become members and locate up to 200 devices at once. Once someone has accepted your invitation to SmartThings Find Members, you can opt for them to be able to view your selected devices and locations for specific devices, all upon your consent.

SmartThings Find Members is particularly useful for families, as they try to keep up with pets or keep track of their car keys—even if they don’t have their phone with them.

For more information about the SmartThings app and SmartThings Find service, visit: www.smartthings.com/partners/smartthings-find.

About SmartThings
SmartThings is the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT. Its open platform already supports thousands of devices across hundreds of brands and offers endless possibilities to innovators and developers seeking seamless connectivity in a vast IoT ecosystem. The company is committed to bringing smart functionality and capabilities everywhere consumers want to be, while enhancing the user experience. There are currently millions of people in more than 200 countries accessing SmartThings technology daily to create automations and control facets of their smart homes via the SmartThings App and through a range of Samsung products such as phones, TVs, and digital appliances. SmartThings offers the most flexible amount of protocols, including the new IoT standard, Matter. Launched in 2012, SmartThings is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and is a founding board member of Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the IoT. For more information, please visit www.smartthings.com.

It was this revelation that inspired Samsung Electronics to launch Galaxy SmartTag in January 2021 as a part of the SmartThings Find service.² This compact device can be attached to your belongings such as bags, keys and more. Once a user connects and pairs their Galaxy SmartTag with their smartphone, the tag allows them to conveniently track and manage the location of that item right on their smartphones, preventing them from losing their prized possessions. And most recently, Samsung launched a new version of the tag, Galaxy SmartTag+, which uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to pinpoint locations even more precisely.

Samsung Newsroom met with the developers of Galaxy SmartTag to find out about the research and development that went into this innovative product, as well as how consumers can best make use of it.

▲ HanJun Ryu, Jimo Park, Jinhong Jeong, So-Ra Hyun, and Bruce Jang from the SmartThings Strategy Group at Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business pose to showcase the unique benefits offered by Galaxy SmartTag.

A Wide Variety of Potential Uses

When you accidentally drop your pet’s leash while walking them, or if your pet runs out when the door is open, tracking them down again can prove a real headache. However, when you attach Galaxy SmartTag to your pet’s collar, you can instantly view their location to quickly find them and bring them home.

HanJun Ryu introduced some other possible scenarios in which the Galaxy SmartTag comes in handy. “In hospitals, there is a range of movable pieces of equipment that have to be put back in the exact same place after use. If they are not returned to the right location, they can have dire consequences in an emergency. But it’s not only hospitals, attaching a Galaxy SmartTag to items like these – and other objects that must be returned to specific locations, like bicycles and shopping carts – can prevent them from getting lost and save a lot of time,” Ryu explained.

More Precise Tracking, Even Over Long Distances

Samsung utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology so that users can use their mobile device to easily locate items with Galaxy SmartTags attached.³ As the user gets closer to the item, the BLE signal gets stronger and the green circle displayed on their phone grows larger. “When users are close to their devices, they can tap the ‘Ring’ icon to make their Galaxy SmartTag emit a sound that allows them to easily locate their lost item, even if it’s not immediately visible, like under a sofa or a seat,” explained Jimo Park.

For when your item is further away, Galaxy SmartTag includes an “Offline finding” feature. It draws help from other nearby Galaxy devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to enable users to easily locate their items. What’s more, Offline finding even works when the assisting devices are not connected to Bluetooth. If a Galaxy user with Offline finding mode passes close by the Galaxy SmartTag, then the BLE signal is automatically detected and the location information is sent to the SmartThings server, which then sends the information to the SmartTag user’s smartphone. Essentially, the assisting device picks up the “SOS message” from the Galaxy SmartTag and securely passes it along to the user.

Galaxy SmartTag also has strong security features with its proprietary technology, “Private ID”. The encrypted Private ID function is designed to protect the user’s device by randomly changing the device’s ID every 15 minutes to prevent the BLE signal from being misused.

On top of that, Galaxy SmartTag+⁴ uses UWB technology to provide even more accurate locating capabilities. Users can locate their missing items in real-time with augmented reality (AR) overlay and even receive location information that is precise down to the centimeter.

“I hope Galaxy SmartTag and SmartTag+ help users find lost items and give them peace of mind that their most valuable possessions have an added layer of protection,” said Ryu. “Going forward, we are excited to continue to make our users’ finding experience better – we expect it to become a must-have device that users can’t be without.”

¹ ‘The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve’ by Hermann Ebbinghaus, includes the findings of a study on memory and retention

² Available in the SmartThings application

³ Bluetooth range is up to 120m without obstruction. Requires initial setup on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone running Android 8.0 or higher & RAM of 2.0GB or above and opt-in for location tracking through the SmartThings Find service of the SmartThings app

⁴ Availability may vary by market.

Samsung Electronics today announced the official launch of Galaxy SmartTag+, available starting on April 16.¹ Galaxy SmartTag+ is equipped with both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) technology so that it can pinpoint the location with greater accuracy.² It also uses augmented reality (AR) technology to visually guide you towards where your missing item is located using your smartphone’s camera.³

Easily find your misplaced items

Galaxy SmartTag+, the newest iteration of Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag, can be attached to everyday items, like a backpack or keychain, so they can be precisely and easily located through the SmartThings Find service on your Galaxy device.⁴

Locate your belongings visually with new AR Finder technology

Because Galaxy SmartTag+ is both BLE- and UWB-enabled, you can now use AR technology to find your missing item.⁵ The AR Finder guides you with an easy-to-follow interface on your UWB-equipped smartphone, such as Galaxy S21+ or S21 Ultra, which shows you how far away you are from your Galaxy SmartTag+ and points you in its direction. And once you’re closer to the tag’s location, you can choose to have it produce a loud ring so that even if it’s slipped under the sofa, you’ll have no trouble finding it.

“UWB is a true game changer, making it possible to lock onto the position of an object with much greater precision,” said KJ Kim, EVP and Head of Mobile R&D Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “That’s why we’re continuing to expand UWB throughout the Galaxy ecosystem, finding new ways to leverage this technology to help make people’s everyday lives easier and more convenient.” 

Pinpoint your tag’s location, even when it’s far away

Galaxy SmartTag+ can also leverage SmartThings Find’s powerful detection capabilities, allowing you to locate tagged items on a map, even if it’s misplaced somewhere very far from where you are. That’s because the tags use BLE connectivity and the power of the Galaxy device network. SmartThings Find users can choose to opt in via the SmartThings app and enable their Galaxy smartphone or tablet to help others find their own lost tags or devices. Once you report your tag as missing in SmartThings Find, any nearby Galaxy device that has opted in will alert the SmartThings server about its location and you will receive a notification. All data in SmartThings Find is encrypted and protected, so the tag’s location isn’t revealed to anyone but you.

Remotely control your smart devices with the click of a button

On top of that, Galaxy SmartTag+ and SmartTag are helpful for more than just locating lost possessions. Forgot to turn off your bedside lamp but you’ve already left the house? Rather than running back home, you can use your SmartTag+ or SmartTag to turn off the light remotely.⁶ Through the SmartThings app, you can choose different functions you would like your tag to complete when you press or hold down the tag button.

Galaxy SmartTag+ is progressively available from April 16.¹ Galaxy SmartTag+ operates using the SmartThings Find service, provided in the SmartThings app. To find out more, visit www.samsung.com/smartthings.

¹ Availability and timing may vary by market.

² Versus Galaxy SmartTag with only BLE technology.

³ Within AR Finder feature of the SmartThings Find service, provided in the SmartThings app.

⁴ Bluetooth range is up to 120m without obstruction. Requires initial setup on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone running Android 8.0 or higher & RAM of 2.0GB or above and opt-in for location tracking through the SmartThings Find service of the SmartThings app.

⁵ Available on Galaxy devices with UWB technology, including the Galaxy Note20 Ultra, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold2.

⁶ Must be within Bluetooth range of Galaxy phone.

Now, with Samsung’s SmartThings Find, you can overcome your panic, as it helps you locate your Galaxy devices quickly and efficiently.

Utilizing the latest in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, SmartThings Find will come to your rescue when you need searching for missing Galaxy smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and buds (down to each individual earbud). It doesn’t matter if you leave your Galaxy S21 Ultra in the car, or cannot find the right ear unit of Galaxy Buds Pro! SmartThings Find will help you locate all your Galaxy devices swiftly through the easy-to-use SmartThings app.

SmartThings Find provides you with two modes of tracking your devices. You can either ‘Search Nearby’ as your smartphone will directly locate the lost device and ring it in case it supports the ringing function. Alternately, you can ask for the location of your device and the servers will update you with the latest location of the device on a map, as found by other SmartThings Find users around your house, in your city or even globally. So simply, ‘Navigate’ to the last location and retrieve your Galaxy device.

With the SmartThings Find service, you can easily locate your missing device even when it is offline. SmartThings users can now opt to securely use their Galaxy smartphone or tablet to help others locate their lost devices. Once a device has been offline for 30 minutes, it produces a beacon signal that can be read securely only by other SmartThings Find mobiles and helper devices. If you report your device as lost via SmartThings Find, any nearby Galaxy smartphone or tablet that has opted into helping find misplaced devices can alert the Samsung server about its location, which will in turn notify you.

SmartThings Find uses minimal battery for operations and ensures that user data remains encrypted and secure and the location of the device is revealed only to the owner.

Join SmartThings Find community to keep track of your Galaxy devices and help build a stronger global community.

Download SmartThings on your smartphone from Google Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samsung.android.oneconnect&hl=en_IN&gl=US