What you’re dealing with
Sensors are the easier find by a distance: months of battery and a continuous broadcast.
| Broadcasts as | Edge, ELEMNT, or a sensor identifier |
|---|---|
| Typical battery | 15 to 20 hours on a head unit, months on a coin-cell sensor |
| Findable by scan | Yes, while powered on |
| Search window | Days to weeks |
Once the battery is gone: Sensors run for months on a coin cell, so a cadence or speed sensor lost in a garage is essentially always still broadcasting.
Where it usually is
The garage or bike store
On a shelf with the spares, still attached to a removed wheel.
Kit bags
Packed after a ride and left in the bag.
The car boot
Where bike kit goes and stays.
How to search for it
- Check the last-seen map firstBefore you search a room, find out which building. A pin saves you from searching the right way in the wrong place.
- Scan from the middle of the roomNote everything that appears, then select the device you want so the rest of the list drops away.
- Walk and watch the signalSweep in a straight line, give each position a few seconds, and turn 90 degrees when the reading stops rising.
- Search inside things, not across themA strong signal with nothing visible means it is underneath or inside something. Fabric and metal block Bluetooth badly.
Tips specific to bike computer
- Scan the garage before you scan anywhere else. Bike parts do not travel far.
- Sensors advertise constantly and cheaply, if one is in the building, a scan will find it.
- A head unit that fell off on a ride is out of range and gone; check the last-seen pin for where the ride was rather than searching.
Other things people lose
The same method applies to these, with different battery windows and different hiding places.
- How to find a Bluetooth card tracker, Three to five months
- How to find a lost Bluetooth headset, 6 to 12 hours talk time
- How to identify or find a dash cam, Runs from the vehicle
- How to find a lost VR headset or controller, 2 to 3 hours on a headset
- How to find lost AirPods Pro, Around 6 hours of listening
- Save the devices you care about, My Devices tab
- How to scan a room for hidden Bluetooth devices, Method
- All device guides, the complete list
Common questions
Do cadence and speed sensors show up in a Bluetooth scan?
Yes. They broadcast over Bluetooth Low Energy continuously and have very long battery lives, which makes them among the easiest devices to detect.