Have lost your keys? Can’t find your gold earring in the place you were yesterday? Trying to find studs hidden under the drywall in order to safely hang something on the wall?

Nowadays there are lots of useful apps that help us to find something, for example, a place to go out for dinner. To find them, it’s enough to click here and read about “11 best free Restaurant Finder apps for iPhone & Android”.

And if you lost a metal thing, special Stud Detector apps will come up with help. Any of them uses your device’s compass (magnetometer) sensor to precisely target wall studs by pinpointing metal joists, nails, screws and other metal conducting fasteners in wood studs located beneath the drywall, plasterboard, or sheetrock in every wall. This won’t be a problem anymore after installing one of the free apps for Android below. Thanks to these apps, your mobile quickly turns into the metal detector.  These apps allow you to find lots of different things made from metal or even to find old treasures hidden by wiseacre. But do not forget that the electronic devices precense can do harm for their work!

So, to make things easier, we made up the list of 12 best free apps for android that you’ll probably like!

Magnetic Stud Finder

Google Play

Stud Detector by Guylyhey

Interesting design is a special chip that you”ll probably like in this app. Customize the sensitivity you want depending on what are you going to find and the thickness of the layer.

Fire up the app, move the magnetometer location marker and see the green stability indicator at first after start of the research. Then see red LEDs 3 detection level indicators which make you clear how close the metal thing is located. If all 3 red LEDs light, then the object is close enough to be founded. Thanks to the special detection beeper, you’ll also hear about the lucky results of research.

Thanks to in-app DIY instructions, you will always know how to use the app, but thanks to it’s user-friendly interface, it is unlikely to be able to not understand how the Stud Detector by Guylyhey works.

Google Play

Stud Detector by Chatterbox Software

What makes the app unique? It is special left-handed mode presence. Yeah, sauthpaws, you’re not forgotten!

The another thing is that the app also both good for your smartphone and tablet. It is supported by all those devices without any problems.

Efficient design supposes you to configurate screen operation, see and listen to the results of the research. This becomes possible thanks to displaying magnetic field magnitude and useful optional vibration and audio feedback systems. Thanks to visual indication of feedback, you can stay clear about the magnetic field magnitude that will point you the right way how to find metal things like framing studs, screws, nails in walls or other.

It allows you customize sensitivity you want, and optional wake lock presence makes it more comfortable to use.

The mainest thing you should not forget is that Stud Detector requires a device with a working magnetic sensor to function properly. If it is not, Stud detector will let you know by special audio feedback. It will also let you know if the magnetic sensor is malfunctioned and used to provide faulty readings.

Well, if your phone has a magnetic sensor that, we hope, works properly, you can start the research right now by simply clicking the link below.

Google Play

 Metal Sniffer: Metal Detector

Metal Sniffer will help you to figure out metals or electrical wiring within the wooden walls to 15 cm away.

This app can also be used as detector for all ferromagnetic objects and won’t work well if the magnetic field magnitude becomes not strong enough to pick up. Of course, the app’s capabilities depend on your phone’s sensor. The app works through wooden walls or drywall if used properly.

Besides this, Metal Sniffer app works with the newer versions of Android,  like Honeycomb and Gingerbread and is optimized for Ice Cream Sandwich, too.

Google Play

 Metal Detector by Kurt Radwanski

This app will be a real trouvaille for those who have android and looking for metal stud.

At first  this can be misunderstood so the creator advices to read an instructions  to know exactly how to use it. But the principe is the same – just bring the phone with fired up app and wait for the word “detected” becoming on the screen. So, you will successfully find every metal thing all around you. All to do is just clicking the link below.

Google Play

Metal Detector by Dexati

These app will not only find the metal stuff like screws and nails around but also will show you the scientific calculations. This app works by using magnetic sensor in your phone. Metal detector application can also be used as EMF Meter. The magnetic field level or EMF  in nature is about 49 μT. μT is a special physical quantity that shows the magnetic field in microtesla. So, if the app shows that  EMF is more than 49 microtasla, than you have found something metal next to you.
If there is a beach near the place you live, you can go and try to find something in the sand! The great idea of how to spend time with children. Just think of how many games can be created by you and your curious child spending time together and trying to find something hidden from the eye.

This app will be also interesting  for an aspiring physicist. All you should do is to install the app on your smartphone.

Google Play

Stud Finder by StarvingMind

This app is not very popular so it is the another one reason to try it. It has great original thematic design with pictures giving instructions just in time of the research! It also shows the calibrated noise level and current noise. As you can see, the picture lights up when the metal stuff is detected. Beside this, the app automatically determines the meaning of sensitivity of the magnetic sensor. If you want to try smth new, it will probably be the right decision, just click the link below to install Stud Finder in your android.

Google Play

Metal detector by NETIGEN Utilities

As the screenshot shows, this app shows us the fluctuations schedule of magnetic field value in μT. There is an another one physical quantity is mG or milli gauss. 1 microtesla is equal to 10 milli gauss (1μT = 10mG.)

If the magnetic field changes, the schedule will show the hesitation. These green, red and yellow lines are the 3 dimentions which increase the indication level. If the meaning  increases enough, the device will vibrate and make sounds announcing that metal is close. You can customize the sensitivity of vibration and sound effects in the settings.

You should remember that the app won’t work in places next to the big metal objects including computer, TV or microwave.

Metal detector by Netigen Utilities will not detect gold, silver and coins made by copper. They are non-ferrous and, unhappily, has no magnetic field. But it will be a good luck if the treausure is in the metal box, that can be really noticed by the app!

Google Play

Metal Detector by Smart Tools.co

The app works like the others metal detector apps but the most interesting thing about it is the review of user who hasn’t been fired thanks to this app. This is a true story. He was working in the airport. According to him, that day when he was at work, he had lost his professional metal detector and did not know what to do. He did not become confused and decided to launch this app on his android even he did not believed in it’s power. What do you think? It worked! The app was finding everything like keys and other metal things like the truly metal detector! The user was suprised and didn’t lost his serious and responsible work.

Here you can see the screenshots.

Google Play

Metal Detector by Gamma Play

Some of us believe that ghosts influence a special kind of electromagnetic fields and can be noticed by metal finders. It’s your right to decide whether it is true or not. And Metal Detector by Gamma Play is an another app that can help you to find every ferromagnetic object. You will fast understand how to use it thanks to easy interface and convenient settings.

Google Play

Metal Detector HD by UsefulApps

Before working with Metal Detector HD app you should calibrate it. To do it, fire up an application, raise the telephone high upper than your head and make moves like you are writing 8 pattern in the air. And just after thet it will be ready to work. It shows you the meaning magnetic field with coordinates x, y, z in space as succesfully as it’s meaning of it in microtesla.

Google Play

Metal Finder by pineapple4

This app is as easy to use as others above. Beside them, it’ s one more try to find the best app for you individually and one more chance to try your luck. The app’s design is different from the others. It has circles instead of the schedules of measurements and the diameter depends on the the magnetic field.

Google Play

To sum it up, we hope that these apps or one of them will be really useful for you.

You can also try all of them to find “your” special app.

Good luck!