A ‘Find My Remote’ feature is finally coming to some Google TV devices as part of the new Android 14 for TV update, according to Android Authority.
References to the feature, already available on the Walmart Onn 4K TV Pro streaming box, were discovered in an emulator build of Android 14 for TV sent out to developers after its unveiling at the recent Google I/O developer conference, which saw major announcements involving Gemini, Android 15 and more.
The feature, which is already included in some of the best streaming devices such as various Roku streamers, is designed to find a lost remote by emitting a sound from the remote itself to alert users to its location. On the Onn 4K TV Pro, users can press a button located on the front of the box which triggers this alert with both a beep and flashing LED light on the remote. The finding process lasts 30 seconds if the remote is within 30 feet of the Onn streaming box.
How it works with other Google TV devices
The Find My Remote feature will ship natively with Android 14 TV devices such as Google TV, but it’s unclear if it will work with older TV devices. If it does, it will be added via a firmware update.
Naturally, for the feature to work you’ll also need a remote that carries a speaker and LED to emit sound and light. Could this hint at updates to remote designs on future Google TV devices?
If Find My Remote is to be shipped out to older devices via an update, it begs the question of whether you’ll need to update your remote or if there will be a different method for the remote to be found without the sound, such as a more obvious flashing LED.
If you’re someone who regularly loses your remote, this will prove to be an extremely useful feature – now we’ll just have to see how it’s going to work, if at all, on existing Google TV devices.
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