Galaxy S25 and S26 Ultra Can’t Track Their S Pens—Enable This Warning

The S Pen stored inside a Galaxy S25 Ultra or Galaxy S26 Ultra cannot report its location, ring, or appear on a map after it goes missing. Samsung removed Bluetooth Low Energy from the bundled stylus on both phones, so there is no radio for Samsung Find or SmartThings Find to locate.

That does not leave owners completely unprotected. Both phones include a warning that can alert you when the stylus remains outside its silo. It is worth enabling before the pen disappears under a café table, inside a seat cushion, or somewhere along a commute.

Turn on the warning before you need it

On a compatible Galaxy Ultra phone, open Settings, choose Advanced features, then tap S Pen. Open More S Pen settings and enable Warn if S Pen is left behind. Menu wording can vary slightly after a software update, but Samsung documents that path for both current models.

The notification is preventive, not investigative. Samsung says it appears when you walk away without attaching the pen and the phone's screen is off. It can remind you to turn around soon after leaving the stylus behind, but it cannot show where the pen went. If you dismiss the alert or notice the loss much later, the standard S Pen has no location history to retrieve.

A simple habit makes the warning more useful: return the pen to its silo as soon as you finish writing. The phone can only know that the stylus remains ejected; it cannot distinguish between a pen sitting safely in your hand and one left on a desk.

Why the newer built-in pens cannot be tracked

Samsung's official S26 Ultra guide says its included S Pen does not rely on Bluetooth and therefore does not need pairing or charging. Samsung lists the same Bluetooth limitation for the S25 Ultra. That is convenient for basic writing because the pen is ready whenever it touches the display, but it also removes features that require a wireless connection.

Bluetooth-equipped pens on older Galaxy Ultra models supported Air Actions, remote camera controls, connection status, and charging inside the phone. The S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra still recognize pen input, hovering, handwriting conversion, screen-off memos, and their own left-behind state. They simply cannot communicate from across a room once separated from the handset.

This distinction matters when shopping for a replacement. A listing that says “S Pen compatible” does not automatically mean the stylus supports Bluetooth, remote controls, or tracking. Check the exact pen model and the features supported by your phone before paying extra.

The S Pen Pro is different, with limits

Samsung's separate S Pen Pro has Bluetooth, a USB-C charging port, and SmartThings Find support. Samsung lists it as compatible with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra. After pairing it to a Galaxy device, open SmartThings, select the Life tab, open the Find card, and choose the S Pen Pro from the device list. Its location can then appear on a map.

Set up Offline Finding in advance if the option is available: in the Find card, open the menu, choose Settings, then Allow devices to be found. The pen must be powered on, and locating it depends on Bluetooth and nearby participating Samsung devices. A discharged pen or one that was never added to Find may not be recoverable.

The Pro model is also much larger than the built-in stylus and does not fit inside the phone. Samsung notes that Air Actions are not supported with the S25 Ultra or S26 Ultra, even when an S Pen Pro is used. Buying it solely for tracking trades the convenience of an internal pen for another accessory that must be carried and charged.

What to do after the standard S Pen goes missing

Retrace your route quickly and check the places where the pen is most likely to roll or snag: beneath furniture, between car seats, in bag seams, and near the last surface where you wrote. The S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra pens do not broadcast Bluetooth, so signal-meter apps cannot detect them. Apps claiming otherwise cannot create hardware that the pen lacks.

If the stylus is gone, Samsung sells model-specific replacements. Confirm that the replacement matches your exact phone; Samsung warns that the S26 Ultra's internal pen is not compatible with the S26, S26+, or S26 FE. Avoid forcing a third-party pen into the silo unless its dimensions and compatibility are explicitly confirmed.

The best fix takes less than a minute and costs nothing. Enable the left-behind warning now, while the pen is still in your hand. It will not turn the stylus into a trackable device, but it can stop a small mistake from becoming a replacement purchase.