Metal Detector: Magnetometer

MetalDetector uses your phone's built-in magnetic field sensor (magnetometer) to react to magnetic metal nearby, such as iron and steel, and to magnets.

What it does

- Shows a live magnetic reading, updated many times a second, with a graph of the last few seconds.

- Tap Zero away from metal to set today's baseline, then every reading is measured from that baseline.

- Set a threshold with the sensitivity slider. When the reading goes above it, the screen shows "Metal Detected" and the phone can beep and vibrate.

- Sound and vibration can each be turned on or off.

- Take a photo with the current reading shown on it. Captures are saved on your device and listed in History, where you can open or delete them.

What it can find

- Iron and steel objects, such as screws, nails, bolts and tools, when they are within a few centimetres of the phone.

- Magnets.

What it cannot do

- It does not react to non-magnetic metals such as gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminium, so it will not find most jewellery or coins.

- It is not a stud finder or a wire or pipe detector. Do not rely on it before drilling into a wall.

- It cannot tell you the type of metal or how deep an object is.

- Its range is short: a few centimetres for small objects.

Tips

- Tap Zero away from metal, then sweep slowly. Turning the phone changes the reading, so keep it in the same position as you move it.

- Magnetic phone cases, speakers, laptops and other electronics also change the reading.

- Your phone needs a magnetometer, the sensor its compass uses.