It took Google a while, but earlier this year it finally rolled out ultra-wideband-based precision search for compatible trackers. Since the feature relies on UWB, it only works with a handful of high-end devices from Samsung, Google, and Motorola. However, there’s a catch: if you own a Pixel 6 Pro or Pixel 7 Pro, you can’t use Precision Search on them, even though both phones have the required UWB hardware built-in.
Google launched the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 years before adding UWB-based precision search support to Find Hub-enabled trackers. But the hardware in these older Pixels seems to have failed, as they don’t support precision searching.
As Android AuthorityMishaal Rahman of , the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro do not support UWB functionality. Google also finally confirmed this, stating that Precision Search only works on the Pixel 8 Pro and its new Pro Pixels. However, he did not provide a clear reason for this.
Without precise search, the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro cannot provide precise location advice for an item labeled like their new Pixel siblings.
The hardware is there, not the features
So why don’t the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro support Precision Search even though they appear to have the required hardware? Mishaal Rahman discovered that both phones do not support background telemetry. For this reason, applications cannot use UWB hardware in the background to obtain an estimate of the location of the tagged item.
It’s unclear why Precision Search requires this feature, especially since you have to open the Find Hub app for it to work anyway.
The Pixel 6 Pro’s UWB chip does not support angle of arrival (AoA) determination, which is part of the reason for its omission. However, this still doesn’t clarify why the new Pixel 7 Pro also lacks precision search support.
The Moto Tag is currently the only Find Hub compatible tracker with precision search support. This number is expected to increase sooner rather than later, and then the lack of precision of the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro’s search support will bite their users.
Without precise research, the UWB chip in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 is only used as a digital car key with certain vehicles.
