Your Galaxy phone might warn you about a missing S Pen but finding it is a different story. Leaving your Galaxy S26 Ultra's S Pen in an office meeting room triggers a warning, but the phone cannot tell you where inside the room it might be. That warning is not a tracking feature, just a reminder. Samsung retired the Galaxy Note series, but its S Pen lives on. The company introduced S Pen support to the Galaxy S21 Ultra in 2021 and added a built-in S Pen slot to the S22 Ultra a year later. The S Pen name has been used for a variety of pens, ranging from battery-free pens on older Galaxy Note phones to Bluetooth-enabled pens and larger styli for tablets and foldables. However, only one is officially compatible with Smart Things Find.
The S Pen Pro is the one you're looking for. Samsung unveiled it with the Galaxy S21 Ultra in January 2021, then released it alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 that August (only the Fold 3 supports it). Compatible phones also include the Note 10 and Note 20 series, Galaxy S21 Ultra through S26 Ultra and Z Fold 4 through Z Fold 6. Sold separately for $100, it is a larger, rechargeable stylus with a USB-C port under its cap, a dedicated pairing button and a switch for compatible Galaxy devices. It is also the only S Pen Samsung officially supports for tracking via Smart Things Find. There is one problem, however: it won't fit in the Galaxy S26 Ultra's built-in pen slot, which isn't exactly convenient for something you are worried about losing.
Bluetooth does not guarantee tracking functionality. In 2018, Samsung added a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen to the Galaxy Note 9, letting users remotely activate the camera and control some apps. Similar capabilities were carried over to later Note models and the Galaxy S22, S23 and S24 Ultra. However, none of their built-in S Pens can be found via Smart Things Find. Samsung removed Bluetooth from the S25 Ultra's S Pen and the S26 Ultra was the same. Tablet owners also face variations. Some Galaxy Tab S Pens support Air Actions via Bluetooth, while others, such as the pen on the Tab S9 FE, don't. The S Pen Fold Edition and Creator Edition also lack Bluetooth, so neither supports Smart Things Find. Bluetooth support alone does not make an S Pen trackable, and Samsung's naming conventions don't make that distinction especially clear.
To prepare the S Pen Pro for tracking, charge it, select the appropriate mode and hold its Connection button for three seconds. Tap Connect when prompted and make sure you're signed in to your Samsung account. Next, open Smart Things, head to Life > Find and open the three-dot menu. Select Settings > Allow devices to be found and enable Offline finding. If you lose the S Pen Pro: Open Smart Things > Life > Find and select the S Pen Pro, swiping between device cards or opening the device menu if needed. Tap Refresh to update its location on the map. Select More > Navigate for directions, or swipe up on the pen's details to access Navigate and Blink light, which flashes its indicator when searching nearby. The separate Samsung Find app also lists the S Pen Pro under its Devices tab. Participating devices are Galaxy phones or tablets with offline finding enabled. They can detect the powered-on S Pen Pro over Bluetooth and anonymously relay its location to Samsung without pairing with a pen.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing