How to Search, Filter, and Replay Flights on ADS-B Exchange

ADS-B Exchange's globe interface (globe.adsbexchange.com) lets you do three things beyond just watching live traffic: search for a specific aircraft or place, filter the map down to the aircraft you care about, and replay an aircraft's recent flight history. All three live in the same map view — the search box, the filter panel, and the history/playback controls are part of the standard interface, and the page evidence confirms the exact labels used below (Search, Filter by altitude, Filter by source, Filter by DB flags, Filter by interesting, History, Play, Speed, Date/Time).

Searching for an aircraft, airport, or coordinate

The search box is labeled Search, with a Clear Search button next to it. It accepts more than one kind of input:

• Callsign or registration — type the flight callsign or tail number to jump to that aircraft.
• Hex ID — the ICAO 24-bit address (or a non-ICAO hex, see below).
• Airport — the interface has a separate Jump to Airport or Latitude, Longitude field for this.
• Coordinates — enter latitude and longitude in the same jump field to center the map on a point.

If a search returns nothing, the most common reasons are: the aircraft isn't currently being received by any feeder, the callsign is being broadcast differently than you typed it, or you're searching a hex that the site flags as non-ICAO (see the next section).

Understanding what you're filtering: hex IDs and MLAT

Two labels in the data panel change how you should interpret a result:

• Non-ICAO hex — the aircraft is transmitting an address that isn't a valid ICAO 24-bit address. The page notes this hex ID is dynamic and can't be reliably tied to a type or registration. It's often an anonymized MLAT result or an ATC contact broadcast.
• MLAT — multilateration. The page states MLAT requires the contact to have a ModeS transponder and reception by 4 receivers. So an MLAT-only target is position-derived, not directly broadcast, and its accuracy depends on receiver geometry.

Practical consequence: if you filter or search by hex and get an odd result, check whether the target is flagged non-ICAO or MLAT before trusting the type/registration fields — they may show as n/a for exactly this reason.

Filtering the map

The filter controls sit together and each has its own Filter and Reset button:

Use Reset on any individual filter to clear just that one, rather than resetting everything.

Replaying flight history

History playback is per-aircraft and works like this:

1. Select an aircraft so its detail panel opens.
2. Find the History section. It shows UTC day: previous / next to move between days.
3. If a trace exists, a trace line is drawn on the map. The page instructs: "Click on the trace line to start playback!"
4. Playback controls include Play, a Date and Time (UTC) readout, and a Speed control with steps of 1x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 40x.

If the panel says "No history available for this aircraft," there's no stored trace for that target on the selected day — this is common for aircraft only briefly received, or for MLAT/non-ICAO targets where a continuous trace wasn't built.

Map settings that affect what you see

The settings panel (opened from the map controls) includes:

• Text and Icon size and an Icon size multiplier — useful when the map is crowded.
• Units: Aeronautical, Metric, or Imperial.
• Toggles for Ground Vehicles and Non-ICAO Targets (radar track / airframe unknown) — turn these off if you only want confirmed ICAO aircraft.
• Reset All Settings to return everything to default.

There's also an Altimeter: Set Standard / From Plane control, which changes whether altitude is shown against standard pressure or the aircraft's reported setting.

Common snags

• "Problem fetching data from the server" — the live feed dropped; reload or wait, it's a server/connection issue, not a filter problem.
• Everything shows n/a — you've likely selected a non-ICAO or MLAT-only target, where type, registration, and many fields genuinely aren't available.
• Playback won't start — you need to click the trace line itself, not just the aircraft icon, and a trace must exist for that day.
• Search finds nothing — confirm the callsign/hex is currently being received; the site only shows what its feeders are picking up.

The interface also references a Premium option (no ads / satellite layer) and a login, so some display features are tied to an account — the page evidence doesn't state pricing, so treat availability of those extras as account-dependent rather than assumed free.