doc:appunti:hardware:android_tracking_tag

Android Find Hub and Tracking Tag

Testing the Reyke GPS Tracker Tag - Android Google Compatibile

The Reyke GPS Tracker Tag is actually a Bluetooth tracker, it does not have GPS capabilities at all. It's on sale on Amazon for around 16 euros (July 2025).

Need to enable a screen locker

To enable the Find Hub app to store your device locations, you need to enable a lock on your home screen: SettingsSecurityUnlock Options. When you launch the Find Hub app, you will be presented with the same unlock request.

If you disable the screen lock feature what happens? FIXME

Need to enable the Bluetooth

The Find Hub crowd network relies on many users have installed the required app, have enabled the relevant security options and have enabled the Bluetooth on their devices.

If you disable the Bluetooth on your smart device:

  • Your tracking tag cannot exchange data with your smart device, so it is unable to communicate its position to the Find Hub network. It will result off-line and only the last known position will be shown.
  • If you mark your tracking tag as lost, the tag will be eventually located by the Find Hub crowd network (using others users' Bluetooth).
  • The Find Hub app will warn and urge you to enable the Bluetooth, but this will not prevent you locating your lost devices.

The tag does not appear in the Find Hub web page

Find Hub App Find Hub Web Page As you can see in the two pictures, the wireless tag does appear in the Android app of the phone which is paired to, but it does not appear in the Find Hub web page.

The problem is reported by several users. It may be a bug or, if the tracker is a “Find My Device” network accessory, it may not appear on the web version due to a deliberate restriction by Google prioritizing security, privacy, and a streamlined user experience. See this question asked to the Google support team.

You can view the tracker on another Android device, different from the one you used for the pairing. On this device you must install the Find Hub app and enter the authentication code (e.g. the PIN) in use on the pairing device.

Last seen info lags by hours

During normal operation (the tag is not marked as lost) the last seen info sometimes lags for long time.

Case #1

The tracker tag is in the same house where the paierd smartphone is. The last seen info is lagging by 12 hours. Eventually the info was updated later.

Case #2

The tracker tag in the same car where the paierd smartphone is: the car moves for about 20 km. in the Find Hub app the tracker remains at the starting point (last seen at 05:22), when the car trip started at 07:05 and ended at 07:35.

Cannot show the tracker location history

It seems that the Find Hub app does not have the feature to show the history of the location of the Android Bluetooth trackers.

Even the timeline of full Android devices have suffered a restriction: Google has removed the Timeline feature from web browsers. You can now only access and manage your location history through the Google Maps mobile app. This change is part of a shift towards storing location data directly on your device for increased privacy.

The Play sound feature

The Reyke Tracker is capable of playing a sound at increasing volume for 10 seconds, the volume is rather low, you will be unlikely to hear it in a noisy environment.

Sometimes the Play sound function fails, even if the tracker is in the Bluetooth range; the app will report the error so you can try again.

If the device where you run the Find Hub app is not in the Bluetooth range of the tracker, it cannot play the sound on the tracker. It seems that if you have another Android device linked to your same Google account and that device is in the Bluetooth range of the tracker, it may proxy the command for you. In my case it failed with the message Can't play sound (I was in the office and the tracker was at home in the same room with my tablet, but the tablet had Bluetooth turned off).

Tag marked as lost

On the Find Hub app you can mark the tag as lost. Starting from now the Find Hub network will help locate the device. This requires that an Android device partecipating to the Find Hub network pass in the Bluetooth range of the tag and send to the Google cloud that information.

Partecipating to the Find Hub network requires the following in the Android settings:

  • The Find Hub app is installed.
  • The option SettingsSecurityFind Hub must be enabled.
  • Bluetooth is enabled.

Configuring the Find Hub security is a bit confusing: it is not clear which settings are used to locate your devices and which ones are used to participate on locating others' devices. The settings are supposed to work on a reciprocal basis: if you join the network to locate other users' devices with a certain level, you'll get the same level of service when you need to locate your own lost devices.

The most confusing setting is Find your offline devices because it actually affects both how you can locate your devices and how you participate to locate other users' devices. You can choose one of the following:

Off Find Hub does not store your devices' recent locations and the Android device does not participate in the Find Hub network to locate other users' devices.
Without network Your devices' recent locations are stored only when they are on-line (for the tracking tag this means when it is in the Bluetooth range of your own smart device). The Find Hub network is not used: you don't partecipate to the crowd network to locate other users' devices and your lost devices cannot be located by the same network.
With network in high-traffic areas only Your Android smart device participate to the Find Hub network helping in locate others' users lost devices, but only if you are in an high traffic areas, i.e. only if you are not the only one participant in the nearby. This setting seems to be reciprocal: your lost devices will be located by other users using the same criteria.
With network in all areas This is the most pervasive configuration (lowest privacy level): your device will communicate (to the Find Hub network) the location of other users' devices even if you are the only one participating in the nearby. This setting seems to be reciprocal: your lost devices will be located by other users using the same criteria.

NOTICE: If you switch from a mode with network to a mode without network, the location received so far for a device your marked as lost, will be deleted from your smartphone. You must to switch back to a “with network” mode and wait for another localization to be received.

Finding a lost device: field test

FIXME

Other Android devices shown in Find Hub app

I have an Android tablet, which is automatically show on the smarphone Find Hub app, because I registered it using the same Google account. I didn't have to do anything for the device to show up in the Find Hub app, either the Find Hub app is not yet installed on the tablet itself.

The tablet is shown and the name of the WiFi network it is connected to is shown. Also the battery percentage is shown, but not its location (Location unavailable is the label).

To let the tablet share its location on Find Hub I installed the Find Hub app on the device itself and gave it location permission (LocationAllow only while using the app, Use precise location). I also disabled the Pause app activity if unused. It is also required to enable the Android SettingsLocationUse location.

Web References

doc/appunti/hardware/android_tracking_tag.txt · Last modified: by niccolo