How does Apple iPhone Airtag work? – AppleRepo, Have you ever wanted to call your keys when you forgot them somewhere? Or look at the map where you left your bag? Or maybe get your wallet to shout “Here I am” when you can not find it?
If you have an iPhone, you can finally do it all. Apple has its first brand new gadget called: Airtag, a new way to track and find your gadgets.
Although similar products from Tile have been on the market for a while, Apple’s tracking puck is a novelty for many. Therefore, we want to try to answer some questions:
Read: How to Find Your Lost iPad? Use Find My Ipad
Table of Contents
1. What is Airtag?
An airtag is a small round puck-shaped helper that allows you to find what you have attached it to. It basically works much like a GPS transmitter, with the difference that Airtag does not use GPS at all. Instead, it uses the Find Network, a network made up of all the iPhones, iPads and Macs in the world.
Read: Best iPhone GPS Tracker Apps
Through the Find network, your phone or computer finds out where your airtag was “last” seen. Your airtag can be attached to most things with the help of holders, so you can get help finding almost anything. Airtagen is powered by CR2032 3V Lithium button cell batteries that you can easily replace yourself.
2. How can I use Airtag?
When you start your airtag for the first time, you pair it with your phone. Then you can easily use your phone’s Find function to search for the airtags, or ask your tracking puck to play an audio signal just like when you ask someone to call your phone to find it.
If you have forgotten your bag with an airtag somewhere in the city, use the Find network instead. For example, if the bag has been left in a café, the other café guests’ phones and / or tablets over iCloud will tell you that your airtag is nearby. Through the Find function on your iPhone, you can then look at where your bag is.
No location data is stored on your airtag, neighbors’ Macs or your device, and all communication about the airtag’s location is fully encrypted. You can also record a message or leave contact information on your airtag, so that anyone with an NFC-compatible phone can dock their phone to the airtag to be able to contact you.
An Airtag needs to stick to what you want to be able to find. Fortunately, there are accessories that allow you to attach an airtag to almost anything you want to keep track of.
Keychain holders allow you to quickly find the keys before leaving home, while longer cords can be put on the suitcase in front of the airport’s luggage belt, train or bus. With a cabin hook, you can hang the airtags on the backpack and most other things. Stick-on holders can be attached to anything that has a flat surface, such as your laptop, the battery for your electric bike or why not the children’s sailing dinghy (calm, the airtags are waterproof at depths up to 1m).
All of these holders are available in several materials, ranging from TPU and silicone to metal and genuine leather. In each material you can choose from several colors, such as metal holders in rose gold, keychains in blue, red, brown, yellow, gray, black, green or pink genuine leather, or silicone holders in a whole palette of colors (even luminous! ).
Is Airtag something for me?
Airtags belong to the Apple family, so you need an iPhone or a Mac to use them. If you have it, and dislike when stuff gets lost, airtags may be something for you. To help with the purchase decision, we list here some advantages and disadvantages:
Benefits of Airtag
Easy to find
The biggest advantage is of course that you can now easily find whatever you have lost, as easily as you can call a phone you put somewhere in the apartment. That you can then find anything, and it is almost as easy at the other end of town as in your own living room, does not make things worse.
Not tied to charger
Since the tracking pucks are powered by batteries you can buy in the store, you do not have to remember where the charger is when the battery starts to run out. It follows up the concept of not losing things in a good way, we think.
Protection against being tracked
The encryption of all information on the Find network means that no other Apple product can track you, and since no location data is saved, even Apple does not know where you or your tracking puck are or have been.
Affordable deal in its entirety
The price is an advantage, not least compared to many other Apple products. Airtags are available in Sweden for SEK 350 / piece, or 4 pcs. for SEK 1010. This makes it possible to secure several things at the same time, and affordable to buy both Airtag and accessories.
Disadvantages of Airtag
The precision tracking that tracks your airtag in e.g. among the rooms in your apartment only works for phones with a U1 chip, ie iPhone 11 or later models. For older phones, the tracking function gives at most a hum, for example which address the puck is at.
The noise on the ring function can be quite low, making it difficult to hear where the puck is in loud environments. Furthermore, the Find network only works when there are other Apple products nearby. For example, if you have lost a camera on the forest walk, you will have to look with your own phone along the walking path to find it. This will of course be easiest if you have an iPhone 11 or later.
Because Airtag is powered by standard batteries, it is easy for a thief to remove them and turn off the tracking puck so that it cannot be tracked itself. This can easily be explained by the fact that Airtag is a helper, not a theft protection.
Summary
In summary, Apple Airtag is a welcome new addition for iPhone owners, and a much-needed helper in everyday life, no matter what you want to find. It is best for those who have an iPhone 11 or later, but as long as you remember approximately where you have been and what you have done, Airtag is still a very affordable purchase!
