Can You Find Earbuds That Are Off or Offline?

Not by their signal. Bluetooth finds a device by listening for the packets it transmits, so earbuds that are switched off or out of battery can’t be detected by your phone, a scanner app or anyone else’s phone. What you may still have is the last location your phone or the maker’s finding network recorded before they went quiet, if you set that up before you lost them. Start searching there.

What it takes for a phone to detect earbuds

Bluetooth Low Energy devices make themselves known by advertising: they transmit small packets, and a phone that’s scanning listens for them. The Bluetooth SIG explains that receiving advertising packets shows the device is present. If an app stops receiving them, it can assume the device is no longer in range (Bluetooth SIG). Bluetooth LE uses advertising to sense presence and signal strength (RSSI) to estimate distance (Bluetooth SIG).

Earbuds with no power send no packets, so no scanner app can pick them up. A closed case can get in the way too. Google says headphones must be turned on, and earbuds out of their case, to ring through Find Hub (Google). Samsung says some Galaxy Buds models, such as the Galaxy Buds FE, Galaxy Buds2 and earlier, don’t support Nearby search while the earbuds are inside the charging case (Samsung).

When earbuds are powered and transmitting, signal strength can lead you to them. The Bluetooth SIG recommends following how the reading changes as you move, because the raw value varies from one chip to another. A strengthening signal means you’re moving toward the source, and a weakening one means you’re moving away. Readings drift because of the surroundings (Bluetooth SIG), and walls, windows and other obstacles of wood, glass, metal or concrete weaken the signal (Bluetooth SIG).

What the finding networks can do

Apple, Google and Samsung each run a crowdsourced network that can place a lost device on a map when it’s far from your phone. Apple’s works by having the missing device send out short-range Bluetooth signals that other Apple devices nearby detect and relay to iCloud (Apple). That depends on the lost device having enough power to send them.

Apple Find My network (AirPods)

With the Find My network on, AirPods 3, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max show their location in Find My for up to 24 hours after they last connected to your device, even when they’re not nearby. The network has to be turned on before they’re lost. Without it, Find My shows the last time and place they were connected (Apple). AirPods that are out of range or need to charge may show their last known location, “Offline” or “No location found,” and you can’t play a sound on them (Apple). Our guide to finding lost AirPods goes through each model, and there’s a separate one for Beats.

Google Find Hub network (Pixel Buds and other headphones)

Find Hub’s network is made up of Android devices and uses end-to-end encrypted location information (Google). Devices in it use Bluetooth to scan for nearby items and securely send the locations where they detected them to Find Hub. Google lists supported headsets among the accessories that work with the network, and Android prompts you to add headphones to Find Hub when you pair them with Fast Pair (Google). For the Pixel Buds Pro, Pixel Buds A-Series and Pixel Buds (2020), Find Hub remembers the place your phone was last connected to them, as long as Location and offline finding for Find Hub were on. Google says that isn’t an exact or current location, but it helps you decide where to start looking (Google). See how to find lost Pixel Buds for the newer models.

Samsung SmartThings Find (Galaxy Buds)

Samsung’s Offline finding lets nearby Galaxy devices pick up a signal from your missing device and send its location to Samsung’s server. Samsung describes it as working even when a device is turned off. It only works once you’ve turned it on: in the SmartThings app, tap Life, then the Find card, More options, Settings and Allow devices to be found, then turn on Offline finding (Samsung).

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds page is stricter. If the earbuds and the charging case batteries are both completely depleted, the earbuds can’t be located, and if only the case is lost, its location can’t be checked separately (Samsung). The general page covers all devices and the Buds page is specific to earbuds, so go by the Buds page: dead Galaxy Buds can’t be found through SmartThings Find. Our guide to finding lost Galaxy Buds has the steps.

Why some phones can be found when they’re off

Google says supported phones such as the Pixel 8 series can be located through the Find Hub network for several hours after they run out of battery or are turned off (Google). Google describes this only for phones, so don’t expect it from dead earbuds.

For other brands, see our guides to finding lost Sony, Bose and JBL earbuds.

A search plan when the signal is gone

1. Open Find My, Find Hub or SmartThings Find and look at the last known location and when it was recorded. SmartThings Find shows addresses and timestamps (Samsung), and Find Hub may show the last known location when it can’t find the current one (Google).
2. Mark them as lost so a finder can reach you. Apple’s Lost Mode shows your contact information (Apple). Google lets you leave a phone number, email address and message on an accessory you mark as lost (Google). SmartThings Find has a Lost mode for Galaxy Buds (Samsung).
3. Go back to the place and time of that last location and retrace your steps from there.
4. Search by hand in the spots where earbuds disappear from view: car seats and footwells, between couch cushions, coat and bag pockets, the laundry, gym bags, under the bed and behind furniture.
5. If you think they might still have some charge, try playing a sound from the maker’s app. If they still connect to your phone, our Earbud Sound Finder plays a loud chirp in just the left or right earbud while they’re connected, so you can follow the sound.