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 £29 each or £99 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 may 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 may contain 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. You will receive a notification when the battery should be replaced. SeeingAI should be able to speak the printed instructions for you. It's a simple operation and the disc battery can't be inserted the wrong way round. The hardest part of the operation may be removing the battery from its protective cover since these are now required to be robustly childproof.

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. An 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 your AirTag finds its way to 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. 

Locating AirTags

Approximate AirTag locations can be found using the FindMy app on all iPhones, iPads and Macs or the Find Items app on Apple Watches. 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. The apps can also play a sound on the AirTag to help you locate a nearby AirTag. Owners of iPhone 11 or all later models except iPhone SE and iPhone 16e will also be able to use the Precision Finding feature that guides you to an AirTag with accurate distance and direction information once you are within range. I have an iPhone which supports Precision Finding and I can confirm that it is fully accessible to VoiceOver and low vision users. In my home, I may have to walk around a few rooms before Precision Finding picks up one of my first generation AirTags and starts to direct me to it. Apple introduced a second generation AirTag in January 2026. This plays a louder sound and has about twice the Precision Finding range. iPhone 15 or later is required to support the extended Precision Finding range of the  second generation AirTags but older iPhones will continue to give first generation AirTag Precision Finding range on second generation AirTags. Precision Finding on Apple Watch requires Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later and will work only on second generation AirTags.

If you lose an item tagged with an AirTag you can use the FindMy app to provide contact information to a finder who brings the AirTag close to the top of their iPhone. You can also temporarily share the location of the item with a trusted third party, including some airlines when they lose your luggage. It is also possible to share an AirTag's location permanently with a trusted third party.

The location reported by FindMy or Find Items 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.

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.

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.  Another alternative is the range of trackers from Chipolo. Most alternatives to AirTags are designed to attach without the need for additional accessories and are available in a range of different attachments. You will also find a thin, card shaped, tracker which is designed to fit into wallets. I have one of these from Chipolo and it works well. You'll also find differing features  including a Tile feture that can find a misplaced phone by playing a sound on it even if the phone is silenced. Unlike AirTags which work only with Apple devices, Tile and Chipolo devices will work in conjunction with Apple and Android devices. You will find numerous reviews of trackers online. 

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last updated 6 February 2026