Apple AirTags are on track to find your lost items

These will only work if you have an Apple device like an iPhone or iPad — Android users will have to look at the alternatives

Fri, 28 May, 2021 - 10:31

Noel Campion

There’s been a lot of talk about tracking on the internet recently and like so many others, I’m sick of saying “no”, “reject all”. However, keeping track of personal possessions is a different matter altogether. It’s important to note right from the start that AirTags will only work if you have an Apple device like an iPhone or iPad so Android users will have to look at the alternatives.

Design

The AirTag is a small disk-shaped puck that on one side looks like a large white mentos while the other side has a chrome finish with an Apple logo. They offer free engraving which can be a mix of emoji, text and numbers to add a personal touch. The white side is plastic, and the other side is aluminium. The chrome finish looks amazing when you see it for the first time but it scuffs and scratches really easy.

Unfortunately, there’s no hole to attach a loop or hook it directly onto a keyring. However, the aluminium side can be twisted off to get at the replaceable CR2032 battery inside. Apple states that the battery should last a year, but given my typical use case, I expect it to last much longer.

Thanks to the shape and size, AirTags can be stowed anywhere. Rucksacks or laptop bags are ideal locations so you can track their location if they are misplaced or worse still, stolen.

You can place them anywhere you can fit them but there are also a lot of Apple accessories including a Leather Key Ring (€39), Leather Loop (€45), Loop €35). Third-party accessories include the Belkin Strap Holder (€13.95) and Belkin Secure Holder with keyring (€13.95).

I’ve also seen a lot of sites including amazon with a myriad of AirTag accessories in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours so there’s no shortage of choices.

So how do they work?

Each AirTag is wrapped and protected on arrival and you need to pull a tab for the battery to connect on the inside. Once active, you need to bring it near an iPhone or iPad where an animation will pop up and prompt you to pair. The process will activate the AirTag and bind it to your Apple account. Then, using the ‘Find My’ app you should be able to locate the AirTag.

The system works either by using Bluetooth or the Find My Network. For the former to work, you have to be within the Bluetooth range of the AirTag. This is the most typical use for things like lost keys in the house.

Open the app and tap Find and if you own an iPhone 11 or 12, the U1 chip inside will go to work and use Precision Finding which will guide you with details like distance and arrow directions. I did find the range wasn’t great and that once I got more than 6 or 7 metres away from my keys it would lose the connection. This wasn’t a big deal though since

I was able to find my hidden keys quickly either by using the Precision Finding on the iPhone 12 or ‘Play Sound’ which emits a tone loud enough to hear and find where it was coming from.

If you lose an AirTag and it's out of Bluetooth range, you'll need to use the Find My Network feature which the app will switch to automatically. The key to this technology is the Apple iPhone network which connects to Apple servers as long as the device has given permissions to opt into the network. This activity takes place in an anonymous manner, with no information about the user's location or privacy being disclosed. Apple says the system currently has over 1 billion devices enabled.

When a lost AirTag comes within range of another Apple device with location services turned on, it will ping its location to that device, allowing you to know its most recent location. To test this I gave an AirTag to a friend who went for a cycle to Fota House Gardens in Cork. I was able to track them at different stages along their journey including their destination at Fota. The tracking isn’t live so you’ll only see the locations where the AirTag was ‘seen’ by another iPhone.

Verdict

AirTags have been a long time in the making but finally, they’re here and are mostly everything we’ve hoped for. Yes, you need an iPhone to use them but if you’re already in the ecosystem then AirTags are a no-brainer to keep track of the obvious things like keys but more importantly, precious belongings. I have four and have strategically placed them in a camera bag, laptop bag and electric bicycle. I’d love to see someone tag one to a pair of socks to see where they end up.

AirTag €35 (4-pack €119) Apple