The latest version of Samsung's Find My Mobile app comes with a pretty fantastic new feature: Offline support. As in, you can find your phone even if it doesn't have a data connection — assuming everything works right and another Galaxy device stumbles upon it.

The change was first spotted by XDA Developers' Max Weinbach, and it' tied to the latest update to the Samsung Find My Mobile app (v7.2.05.44 according to our testing), which started rolling out over the last few days. Once installed, you'll receive a notification prompt asking if you'd like to enable the feature:

Tap that notification on the left, and you're taken to the (new) setting on the right. 

Toggle it on, and you get the benefits — but also a responsibility. Not only will it let other Galaxy devices locate your phone even when it doesn't have a data connection, the feature will also use your phone to scan for other such devices. Essentially, Samsung's building a sort of crowdsourced, sneakernet location system.

The feature will also work with Galaxy Watches and earbuds (implying it might work by identifying things like Bluetooth broadcast details like a device's MAC address) and has an "encrypt offline location" setting. We're not sure what that does, except maybe make your offline location data more secure in some undefined, abstract, and apparently optional way.

The feature may be exclusive to the US and Korea for the time being, and those that have experimented with it claims it works pretty well. It sounds pretty similar to Apple's "Offline Finding" feature for Find My iPhone that rolled out with iOS 13, down to the name.

The update with this feature should be rolling out now. You can download it via Samsung's Galaxy Store or over at APK Mirror, if it isn't showing up for you.

Via: XDA Developers

UPDATE: 2020/10/28 5:55am PDT BY SCOTT SCRIVENS

Now available outside the US

As reported by Dutch blog GalaxyClub, 'Offline finding' is now widely available in the Find My Mobile app on Samsung phones running Android 10 or higher. Previously (see above), this feature was exclusive to Galaxy handsets in the US and South Korea. First, make sure you've updated the app to version 7.2.07.19. Then head to Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile > Offline finding to toggle the setting on.

Source: GalaxyClub (Dutch)