AirTags - tag and locate objects you might misplace or lose

What are AirTags?

AirTags are small, battery operated, devices that help you locate lost or misplaced objects using your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac. Items with AirTags attached can be located  anywhere - if you left something behind in your hotel in Rome or if you simply put it down somewhere unusual at home. AirTags are light, disc-shaped devices which have a slightly larger diameter than a UK 50p coin and have a domed white front. The flat, circular battery compartment cover comprises most of the back of an AirTag. Although they are called tags, AirTags incorporates no means of attachment to other objects; holders with various attachment options are available separately from Apple and other suppliers. AirTags cost £35 each or £119 for a pack of 4. 

How are AirTags set up and attached?

When you unbox an AirTag and remove it from its package mount it will probably be protected by a thin film.  Remove this.  You should now be able to feel a small tab protruding from the edge of the AirTag.  This needs to be pulled firmly out to engage the AirTag's internal battery. The AirTag will play a sound when the tab is successfully removed.

AirTags work well with VoiceOver. To set up an AirTag simply hold it close to an iPhone or iPad running iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 or later and you will be taken to the setup screen. Select a description for the AirTag from the available list or enter a custom description and then connect. 

The AirTag box contains several printed pages.  The important one is the one that describes how to remove and replace the standard CR2032 AirTag battery, which Apple claim will last a year in normal use.  SeeingAI should be able to speak the printed instructions for you.

Using attachment accessories, AirTags can be attached to key rings, handbags, anything you might mislay. They may, of course, also simply be placed inside bags. AirTag holders with self-adhesive pads are also available for fixing to larger objects you may leave lying around somewhere unusual at home or, worse, leave behind when you are out and about. I have an AirTag fixed to my ViewPoint wearable video magnifier with a self-adhesive holder from Amazon. I also have an AirTag on my key ring and I have to use the FindMy app on that one quite often at home to discover where I left my keys!

How do AirTags work?

AirTags don't have GPS. They rely on bluetooth connection to a nearby iPhone or iPad and use its location. A lost AirTag will be located when an iPhone or iPad comes within bluetooth range of the AirTag. The locating device must be a member of Apple's FindMy network; this is enabled by default and many millions of devices worldwide are participating. If you misplace something in an airport, it is likely to be spotted by other devices very quickly. If you drop your keys in a remote outdoor area, then rapid discovery is obviously much less likely. However, you may be told the last known location which may assist you in retracing your steps. 

Approximate AirTag locations can be found using all iPhones and iPads running current versions of iOS or iPadOS. The approximate location will probably state the postal address and, if the item is very close, but not necessarily in the same room, you will be told that it is with you. Owners of iPhone 11 or later models will also be able to use the precise location feature that guides you to an AirTag once you are within the range of the precise location feature. I have an iPhone which supports the precise location feature and I can confirm that it is fully accessible to VoiceOver and low vision users.

Apple has produced a short video demonstrating the sounds that an AirTag can make.

AirTags and the FindMy app

You can use the items tab in the FindMy app on iPhone, iPad and Mac to locate AirTags and, if necessary mark them as lost. On Apple Watch use the Find Items app.

The location reported by FindMy will be the location of the last iPhone which spotted your AirTag when it was at its nearest point to the AirTag. If you left something in a friends car, you may, for example, be told that the AirTag is at a house on the opposite side of the road if that's where someone with an iPhone last walked past the car.

Anyone discovering an AirTag that has been reported as lost can scan it with their iPhone to check for any message, perhaps your mobile number, that you left for a finder.  

There is a notify if left behind feature that may be useful for items that you definitely always want to take with you or that you are particularly concerned not to leave behind.  If you wish, you can set this to avoid telling you when items are left at a specific location, for example at your home. You probably woulnd't want that setting turned on for your keys but the notification doesn't usually work quickly enough to stop you locking yourself out if you leave your keys behind, but if there is someone at home you might want to slip back and pick them up.

Siri and AirTags

After an AirTag is set up, Siri can help you find the tag. Just say something like "Find my keys" and, if they are nearby Siri will tell you that they are nearby and play a sound on the AirTag. Siri doesn't seem to use precise location on devices which support it; if you need precise location to find your tag then you must use the FindMy app. You may need to repeat the Siri request several times as you walk around the house unless you have extremely sharp hearing! If the AirTag isn't nearby, you will probably be told the last known location and how long ago that was. Occasionally, you may have to wait until the AirTag is spotted wirelessly by one of the millions of  iPhones and iPads which participate in Apple's FindMy network.

Similar devices from other manufacturers

One final point.  AirTags are by no means the only product of their kind. Prior to AirTag launch the  market leader was Tile, which uses its own network of iPhones and Android phones running its app to help locate lost Tiles.  Apple has opened its FindMy network up to other product manufacturers and at least one alternative tracker, Chipolo, now uses this. Although Chipolo products use the FindMy network, it is necessary to use the Chipolo app to locate items using your phone or tablet. Some of the alternative trackers are designed to attach without the need for additional accessories. You will find numerous comparison reviews online. Chipolo also produce a thin, card shaped, tracker which is designed to fit into wallets. I have one of these and it works well. My iPhone frequently reminds me as I walk down the road that I left my wallet with my bus pass at home! The battery in the Chipolo card is not user replaceable, but the card may be returned to Chipolo for battery replacement.

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