How Far Can You Actually Track Apple AirTags?

Apple introduced its AirTag accessory for locating lost or misplaced items back in 2021. There are rumors that a new AirTag 2 version will be coming in late 2025, but the original AirTag remains a fantastic accessory. You can connect it to items like your keys, purse, luggage, or wallet, or even place in your car, on a pet collar, or in a child's backpack.

When the item is nearby, like keys in an unchecked pocket or a wallet underneath the car seat, you can use Siri or the Find My app to make the AirTag play a sound. With Precision Finding, you can get navigational directions right to it using the app.

AirTags can work from even further distances, like if you left your keys on the patio table of the local coffee shop, or in the gym locker. Using the expansive Find My network around the world, you could even find your luggage if it somehow ended up in another country. Essentially, you can track AirTags up to about 30 feet away using Bluetooth (potentially longer outdoors), but virtually infinite distances using the network of Apple device owners.

It's important to set up Apple's Find My network when you get an iPhone so you can locate both the phone, and as many as dozens of items by logging into the app on any other Apple device. Ring a misplaced iPhone, display a message on screen so it can be returned to you, or even remotely lock or erase a lost or stolen iPhone by using Find My. 

Link items to the Find My app, like AirTags and third-party accessories that use the Find My network. For example, I have a Satechi Passport Cover connected to my Find My network, so I never lose that essential document. I once left it at a counter at the airport and was able to find it!

If the item is within the 30-foot Bluetooth range, you can see its location and use sounds to find it. When using an iPhone 11 and up, Precision Finding (which leverages Ultra Wideband technology from the U1 chip) can lead you right to it, providing turn-by-turn directions. It uses the phone's camera, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide you along to the AirTag's location like you're on a scavenger hunt.

How does it work if the AirTag is miles away? Apple's Find My network, made up of the network of more than 2.35 billion active Apple devices out in the world, uses those devices in tandem to find yours. When someone with an iPhone or other Apple device (with Bluetooth turned on) comes within at least 30 feet of your AirTag, the AirTag will "ping" the device with its location. You can then see approximately where it is via the app's map.

The person who comes across the AirTag can tap their iPhone or any NFC-capable device to the AirTag, and it will open a website that shows your contact phone number if you provided it in Lost Mode setup. From there, the good Samaritan can call or text to let you know they found your item and make arrangements for a safe return. The experience is protected by end-to-end encryption, so it remains private and secure.

The rumored AirTag 2 is expected to boast improvements like a thinner design, upgraded Ultra-wideband chip with longer Precision Finding distance, and improved privacy. So, you might want to wait to see what the new version has to offer.