Find My Graphics generic
Find My Graphics generic
Find My Graphics generic

Using Bluetooth to track devices

Finding lost devices has always been a problem, and as we collect more and more smart devices and electronic gadgets, the risk of losing a device increases and the cost of replacing them goes up. GPS trackers are expensive and difficult to work with. However, with the proliferation of mobile phones in the World, there are now multiple crowdsourced networks consisting of many millions of devices that can be used to find lost devices.

Apple and Google both provide extensive crowdsourced networks that we can tap into when we are locating a device, and the key common element here is Bluetooth. With a tag or device that is enabled with Bluetooth LE, we can connect into the Apple Find My® or Find My network and use one of these networks to communicate the location of the device back to an app on the owner’s mobile phone. By supporting more than one network, we not only provide support for more phones, but we also increase the chance that a lost device can connect to some other device that is part of one of these networks, providing a medium for the information to get back to the owner.

Apple and Google both have specifications or SDKs that enable devices to communicate with their networks to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using Find My or Find My networks. The Apple Find My® network consists of iOS, iPadOS and mac OS devices with the Find My feature enabled. The Find My network consists of Android devices with the Find My feature enabled.

The location of the tracked item is displayed in the owner’s app for whichever of the ecosystems is applicable. These apps may have additional functionality to locate and protect the users’ devices and prohibit unwanted tracking, such as the option to play a sound on the tracked device. These networks use Bluetooth LE to broadcast a signal that can be picked up by nearby Apple or Android phone on the relevant network.

The networks cannot be enabled simultaneously, as for example, the user will have either an Android or Apple smart phone, so that would dictate which of those Find My networks could be used. Apple specifically disallows registration on another tracking network when using their Find My service.

Infineon has software released to support both device tracking networks on its Bluetooth MCUs, in particular the CYW20829, PSOC 63 Bluetooth LE MCU, CYW5591x, and CYW5551x and PSOC™ 63 parts. Some of this software can only be made available directly to customers due to licencing conditions, so please contact us if you are interested. More details on this can be found in the links below, as well as how to get development kits.

To learn more about CYW20829, PSOC 63 Bluetooth LE MCU, CYW5591x, and CYW5551x, click here.

To learn more about CYW5591x, click here.

To learn more about CYW5551x, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.

To learn more about Apple Find My®, click here.

To learn more about Find My, click here.

Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics

Apple Find My™

Tracking Bluetooth devices through a crowdsourced network

Apple has created a Find My™ network of millions of devices that uses Bluetooth technology to find missing items and communicate their location to the owner using the Find My™ app on iPhone®, Mac®, iPad®, iPod touch®, or the Find Items app on Apple Watch®.

By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Apple, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information.  The implementation includes a feature, ‘detecting unwanted location trackers’ (DULT) which adopts best practices and protocols for accessory manufacturers whose products have built-in location-tracking capabilities. By including this feature, a location-tracking accessory will be compatible with unwanted tracking detection and alerts on mobile platforms.

The Apple Find My® network consists of iOS, iPadOS and mac OS devices with the Find My feature enabled.

The Find My network was previously accessible only to items that had an Apple AirTag attached to them. Anyone could purchase an Apple AirTag and attach it to something of value to them so that they could track it if it was lost. The AirTag sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that nearby devices in the Find My network can detect. These devices then transmit the location of the AirTag to iCloud, allowing the user to use the Find My app on their iPhone, which would show it on a map.

Apple’s Find My network accessory program has opened the private and secure Find My network to third-party device manufacturers to build products to use the service, enabling their customers to use the Find My app to track and locate important devices. Now, this functionality is available to any device that contains the CYW20829 Bluetooth® LE MCU or PSOC™ 63 Bluetooth® LE MCU.

This functionality is enabled via an SDK that Apple makes available through Infineon Technologies, and which can be built into a Bluetooth application for the CYW20829 or PSOC™ 63, allowing such devices to communicate through the Apple Find My® network to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using the Find My app on their Apple iPhone or other Apple device.

To start developing products to work within the Apple Find My® network you need access to the Find My SDK within ModusToolboxTM.

  1. You must first enrol in the Apple MFi Program – this is a requirement for Apple licensing
  2. Request access to Apple Find My® SDK from Infineon
    1. Create a case1 (Microsoft Dynamics) requesting access to Apple Find My® SDK
      • This can be done by the customer directly or by an Infineon Field Applications Engineer (FAE) or Customer Applications Engineer (CAE)
    2. Include the MFi account number and name used to enrol in the MFi Program
  3. Infineon will then request approval from Apple to provide the Apple Find My® SDK to you
    • Using the supplied MFi account name and number
  4. Apple approves Infineon to supply Apple Find My® SDK to you
  5. Infineon provides a copy of Apple Find My® SDK to work on Infineon parts to you in response to the original case1

MFi Program

You must enrol in the MFi Program to access the technical specifications and resources needed to create your Apple Find My® enabled Bluetooth LE product for CYW20829 or PSOC™ 63 (see https://mfi.apple.com/). This is a pre-requisite for getting access to the Apple Find My® SDK to run for Infineon parts

Enrolling in the MFi program (see https://mfi.apple.com/en/enroll)

  1. Create an Apple Account using your business email address and submit an enrolment form.
  2. Complete company identity verification
  3. Execute an MFi license

Steps required to create an MFi accessory, from conception to production.

  1. Product Plan: Submit a Product Plan for an accessory that integrates MFi licensed technology.
  2. Development: Design, develop, and test the accessory. Procure any MFi components as needed.
  3. Certification: Use Apple’s certification tools to help ensure optimal user experience and interoperability. Submit production-ready samples and packaging materials for review.
  4. Mass Production: Upon completion of certification approved by Apple, begin manufacturing and sales.
  5. An MFI badge communicates to customers that an accessory has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards.

What will I need to apply for the MFi Program? (see https://mfi.apple.com/en/faqs)

  • Your contact information, including a business email address that matches your company's domain name
  • A registered legal entity name
  • Address for the company/organization's principal place of business or corporate headquarters (P.O. boxes not accepted)
  • Company/organization domain name/email address and website
  • Company D-U-N-S number
    • The D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit number that identifies business entities on a location-specific basis. Your D-U-N-S Number will be used to check the identity and legal entity status of your organization as part of the enrollment verification process for joining the MFi Program. Visit the D-U-N-S help pagefor more information.
  • Depending on your company's location, a tax identification number
  • A valid credit card or Apple Pay account
    • The MFi Program is USD $99 (plus any applicable taxes and fees) per membership year.

Apple Find My® Certification

  • Apple has an app, Find My Certification Asst., designed for use by MFi Licensees, who need to test their accessories’ interoperability with Apple’s Find My network.
  • MFi Licensees can use Find My Certification Asst. to test the “discovery, connection and other key requirements” for their accessories that will incorporate Apple’s Find My network technology.

To learn more about Apple Find My®, click here.

Infineon Find My Products

To learn more about CYW20829, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.

Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics

Google-Find-My-Device

Tracking Bluetooth devices through a crowdsourced network

Google has created a network of millions of devices that uses Bluetooth technology to find missing items and communicate their location to the owner using the Find My app on Android devices. By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Google, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information. There is also a feature to prevent unwanted tracking. The Find My network consists of all Android devices with the Find My feature enabled.

Google’s Find My network accessory program opens the private and secure Find My network to third-party device manufacturers to build products to use the service by developing software to their specification. A device that has the Find My feature enabled sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that nearby Android devices in the Find My network can detect. These devices then transmit the location of the device to the Google Cloud, allowing the user to use the Find My app on their Android phone, which would show it on a map.

By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Apple, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information. The implementation includes a feature, ‘detecting unwanted location trackers’ (DULT) which adopts best practices and protocols for accessory manufacturers whose products have built-in location-tracking capabilities. By including this feature, a location-tracking accessory will be compatible with unwanted tracking detection and alerts on mobile platforms.

This functionality can be included for any Bluetooth device that contains a CYW20829 or PSoC6-BLE Bluetooth MCU. Infineon has developed the feature according to the Find My specification, and this can be built into a Bluetooth application for CYW20829 or PSoC6-BLE. This allows any Bluetooth device to communicate through the Find My network to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using the Find My app on their Android phone, tablet or other device.

To start developing products to work within the Find My network you can access to the Find My library from within ModusToolboxTM.

 To learn more about Find My, click here.

Infineon Find My Products:

To learn more about CYW20829, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.

Find My Graphics generic
Find My Graphics generic
Find My Graphics generic

Using Bluetooth to track devices

Finding lost devices has always been a problem, and as we collect more and more smart devices and electronic gadgets, the risk of losing a device increases and the cost of replacing them goes up. GPS trackers are expensive and difficult to work with. However, with the proliferation of mobile phones in the World, there are now multiple crowdsourced networks consisting of many millions of devices that can be used to find lost devices.

Apple and Google both provide extensive crowdsourced networks that we can tap into when we are locating a device, and the key common element here is Bluetooth. With a tag or device that is enabled with Bluetooth LE, we can connect into the Apple Find My® or Find My network and use one of these networks to communicate the location of the device back to an app on the owner’s mobile phone. By supporting more than one network, we not only provide support for more phones, but we also increase the chance that a lost device can connect to some other device that is part of one of these networks, providing a medium for the information to get back to the owner.

Apple and Google both have specifications or SDKs that enable devices to communicate with their networks to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using Find My or Find My networks. The Apple Find My® network consists of iOS, iPadOS and mac OS devices with the Find My feature enabled. The Find My network consists of Android devices with the Find My feature enabled.

The location of the tracked item is displayed in the owner’s app for whichever of the ecosystems is applicable. These apps may have additional functionality to locate and protect the users’ devices and prohibit unwanted tracking, such as the option to play a sound on the tracked device. These networks use Bluetooth LE to broadcast a signal that can be picked up by nearby Apple or Android phone on the relevant network.

The networks cannot be enabled simultaneously, as for example, the user will have either an Android or Apple smart phone, so that would dictate which of those Find My networks could be used. Apple specifically disallows registration on another tracking network when using their Find My service.

Infineon has software released to support both device tracking networks on its Bluetooth MCUs, in particular the CYW20829, PSOC 63 Bluetooth LE MCU, CYW5591x, and CYW5551x and PSOC™ 63 parts. Some of this software can only be made available directly to customers due to licencing conditions, so please contact us if you are interested. More details on this can be found in the links below, as well as how to get development kits.

To learn more about CYW20829, PSOC 63 Bluetooth LE MCU, CYW5591x, and CYW5551x, click here.

To learn more about CYW5591x, click here.

To learn more about CYW5551x, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.

To learn more about Apple Find My®, click here.

To learn more about Find My, click here.

Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics

Apple Find My™

Tracking Bluetooth devices through a crowdsourced network

Apple has created a Find My™ network of millions of devices that uses Bluetooth technology to find missing items and communicate their location to the owner using the Find My™ app on iPhone®, Mac®, iPad®, iPod touch®, or the Find Items app on Apple Watch®.

By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Apple, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information.  The implementation includes a feature, ‘detecting unwanted location trackers’ (DULT) which adopts best practices and protocols for accessory manufacturers whose products have built-in location-tracking capabilities. By including this feature, a location-tracking accessory will be compatible with unwanted tracking detection and alerts on mobile platforms.

The Apple Find My® network consists of iOS, iPadOS and mac OS devices with the Find My feature enabled.

The Find My network was previously accessible only to items that had an Apple AirTag attached to them. Anyone could purchase an Apple AirTag and attach it to something of value to them so that they could track it if it was lost. The AirTag sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that nearby devices in the Find My network can detect. These devices then transmit the location of the AirTag to iCloud, allowing the user to use the Find My app on their iPhone, which would show it on a map.

Apple’s Find My network accessory program has opened the private and secure Find My network to third-party device manufacturers to build products to use the service, enabling their customers to use the Find My app to track and locate important devices. Now, this functionality is available to any device that contains the CYW20829 Bluetooth® LE MCU or PSOC™ 63 Bluetooth® LE MCU.

This functionality is enabled via an SDK that Apple makes available through Infineon Technologies, and which can be built into a Bluetooth application for the CYW20829 or PSOC™ 63, allowing such devices to communicate through the Apple Find My® network to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using the Find My app on their Apple iPhone or other Apple device.

To start developing products to work within the Apple Find My® network you need access to the Find My SDK within ModusToolboxTM.

  1. You must first enrol in the Apple MFi Program – this is a requirement for Apple licensing
  2. Request access to Apple Find My® SDK from Infineon
    1. Create a case1 (Microsoft Dynamics) requesting access to Apple Find My® SDK
      • This can be done by the customer directly or by an Infineon Field Applications Engineer (FAE) or Customer Applications Engineer (CAE)
    2. Include the MFi account number and name used to enrol in the MFi Program
  3. Infineon will then request approval from Apple to provide the Apple Find My® SDK to you
    • Using the supplied MFi account name and number
  4. Apple approves Infineon to supply Apple Find My® SDK to you
  5. Infineon provides a copy of Apple Find My® SDK to work on Infineon parts to you in response to the original case1

MFi Program

You must enrol in the MFi Program to access the technical specifications and resources needed to create your Apple Find My® enabled Bluetooth LE product for CYW20829 or PSOC™ 63 (see https://mfi.apple.com/). This is a pre-requisite for getting access to the Apple Find My® SDK to run for Infineon parts

Enrolling in the MFi program (see https://mfi.apple.com/en/enroll)

  1. Create an Apple Account using your business email address and submit an enrolment form.
  2. Complete company identity verification
  3. Execute an MFi license

Steps required to create an MFi accessory, from conception to production.

  1. Product Plan: Submit a Product Plan for an accessory that integrates MFi licensed technology.
  2. Development: Design, develop, and test the accessory. Procure any MFi components as needed.
  3. Certification: Use Apple’s certification tools to help ensure optimal user experience and interoperability. Submit production-ready samples and packaging materials for review.
  4. Mass Production: Upon completion of certification approved by Apple, begin manufacturing and sales.
  5. An MFI badge communicates to customers that an accessory has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards.

What will I need to apply for the MFi Program? (see https://mfi.apple.com/en/faqs)

  • Your contact information, including a business email address that matches your company's domain name
  • A registered legal entity name
  • Address for the company/organization's principal place of business or corporate headquarters (P.O. boxes not accepted)
  • Company/organization domain name/email address and website
  • Company D-U-N-S number
    • The D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit number that identifies business entities on a location-specific basis. Your D-U-N-S Number will be used to check the identity and legal entity status of your organization as part of the enrollment verification process for joining the MFi Program. Visit the D-U-N-S help pagefor more information.
  • Depending on your company's location, a tax identification number
  • A valid credit card or Apple Pay account
    • The MFi Program is USD $99 (plus any applicable taxes and fees) per membership year.

Apple Find My® Certification

  • Apple has an app, Find My Certification Asst., designed for use by MFi Licensees, who need to test their accessories’ interoperability with Apple’s Find My network.
  • MFi Licensees can use Find My Certification Asst. to test the “discovery, connection and other key requirements” for their accessories that will incorporate Apple’s Find My network technology.

To learn more about Apple Find My®, click here.

Infineon Find My Products

To learn more about CYW20829, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.

Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics
Find My Graphics

Google-Find-My-Device

Tracking Bluetooth devices through a crowdsourced network

Google has created a network of millions of devices that uses Bluetooth technology to find missing items and communicate their location to the owner using the Find My app on Android devices. By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Google, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information. There is also a feature to prevent unwanted tracking. The Find My network consists of all Android devices with the Find My feature enabled.

Google’s Find My network accessory program opens the private and secure Find My network to third-party device manufacturers to build products to use the service by developing software to their specification. A device that has the Find My feature enabled sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that nearby Android devices in the Find My network can detect. These devices then transmit the location of the device to the Google Cloud, allowing the user to use the Find My app on their Android phone, which would show it on a map.

By using messages that are end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, neither Apple, third-party manufacturers nor any other 3rd party can access an item’s location or information. The implementation includes a feature, ‘detecting unwanted location trackers’ (DULT) which adopts best practices and protocols for accessory manufacturers whose products have built-in location-tracking capabilities. By including this feature, a location-tracking accessory will be compatible with unwanted tracking detection and alerts on mobile platforms.

This functionality can be included for any Bluetooth device that contains a CYW20829 or PSoC6-BLE Bluetooth MCU. Infineon has developed the feature according to the Find My specification, and this can be built into a Bluetooth application for CYW20829 or PSoC6-BLE. This allows any Bluetooth device to communicate through the Find My network to allow the owner of the device to locate their device using the Find My app on their Android phone, tablet or other device.

To start developing products to work within the Find My network you can access to the Find My library from within ModusToolboxTM.

 To learn more about Find My, click here.

Infineon Find My Products:

To learn more about CYW20829, click here.

To learn more about PSOC™ 63, click here.