Sometimes, you may lose your precious ring or earring in the garden or you may have kept the ring/key on the couch and the ring fell under the sofa or on the couch when your hand accidentally came in contact with it. Or, you want to renovate the old house you’ve bought by erecting new pillars and getting rid of old pillars. The owner of the house may not have the structure of the apartment or he/she may have forgotten the locations where pillars of the house were erected. It is difficult to find studs in an old apartment or a house.
To find metal within or metallic objects such as a ring, earring, etc inside walls or brick + mortar structures, in a garden, etc, you don’t have to purchase a stud finder machine or waste time looking for the stud manually. You can turn your phone into a stud finder with the Android and iOS applications I’ve shared below. The apps allow you to find metallic objects inside things such as walls, wood, etc.
Best stud finder apps for iPhone and Android
Stud Finder Scanner
You’ll find the following four options on the screen when you start the Stud Finder Scanner app:
Scan: This option will make the app detect metals in the nearby area using the phone’s sensors. Once SFS finds a metal, it will show the “Metal Detected” message. The Scan interface also displays the readings of the magnetometer.
Sensor: When you tap this option, you’ll see constantly changing X, Y, and Z axis values along with the status of the phone’s magnetic sensor.
Graph: If you want to see a graph along with the background activity of the application, tap the “Graph” utility. The application shows one of the following two messages:
- Metal detected.
- Nothing detected.
Once the application finds the metal, it will make the smartphone play the beep sound.
Stud Finder
SF ships with three options – Stud Meter/Digital/Graph. This application shows the intensity of the magnetic waves on the compass-like object. If you move the smartphone near the wall having a stud, the reading/intensity will increase. Likewise, if you move the phone away, the intensity will decrease.
Stud Detector
Stud Detector shows the following options on its main interface:
Detect Stud: With this option, you can find a stud in the wall or beneath the surface.
Stud Finder: This option shows the calibration level of the magnetometer and its current reading.
Stud By Graph: SD shows a graph and the strength.
Stud by Meter: This option not only shows the reading but also displays the name of the object the app has detected. For example, it showed the “Computer/TV/Mobile Stud Detected” message when I was using this application. The phone was near the laptop when I was using the application.
Magnetic Stud Finder
MSF was designed for the older versions of Android OS but it works on new Android operating systems as well. MSF ships with a default reference value. According to the developer, if you turn on the GPS and WiFi on your phone while using the application, the reference value will be precise. The above applications calibrate the sensor/phone automatically. MSF lets users calibrate the phone/sensor manually. It can vibrate the phone or make it play the beep sound. It can also keep the phone’s screen on as long as the application is in front of you.
Gold Detector
GD and the 1st two apps on this list share similar features. The only difference between Gold Detector and the remaining applications is the user interface. GD is a beginner-friendly stud finder app as it shows the message “Move phone near suspected devices” message when you tap on one of its options. The application constantly updates the readings/graphs and it also shows a “Metal Detected” message when it detects a metallic object such as a gold ornament, nut, bolt, etc.
Stud finder how it works? The above applications use the phone’s magnetometer/magnetic sensor to detect metallic objects.
Are the above apps accurate? I have tested each application I’ve shared above. After running the application, I moved my smartphone near a pillar with steel columns and a metallic cupboard, the phone played the beep sound or had vibrated. The readings of the magnetometer also increased by 20/30 uT. If you’ve lost something made of metal, you can use the above free applications to detect and locate the object.
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