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What is the distance that you can find your air tag?

What is the distance that you can find your air tag with your phone?

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 15

Posted on Aug 20, 2022 1:33 PM

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5 replies

Aug 20, 2022 2:06 PM in response to Nicktalia

Finding an AirTag uses a “crowd-sourced” approach. There are iPhones all over the world, and they will detect (and report) AirTags that they get close to. One enterprising tech reporter bought a bunch of AirTags and put them in packages that he shipped around the world. He was able to track them almost everywhere except in North Korea. But Russia, China, India, throughout Europe he was able to “find” them, as well as track them as they moved about with various shippers.

Aug 20, 2022 2:15 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

It's all Bluetooth range. Maximum range is dependent on any number of factors including obstructions, the strength of the transmitter/receiver, and possibly even the angle at which the AirTag and/or device is oriented. Many say around 10 meters but there are all sorts of things that could reduce the range.


But it's a somewhat anonymized system where a network of Apple devices will help to scan for AirTags. I think there is a way to turn it off,.

Aug 20, 2022 2:31 PM in response to y_p_w

y_p_w wrote:

It's all Bluetooth range. Maximum range is dependent on any number of factors including obstructions, the strength of the transmitter/receiver, and possibly even the angle at which the AirTag and/or device is oriented. Many say around 10 meters but there are all sorts of things that could reduce the range.

But it's a somewhat anonymized system where a network of Apple devices will help to scan for AirTags. I think there is a way to turn it off,.

It is Bluetooth range, but that means the range of any Apple Bluetooth device that has Find My Network enabled in the Find My settings on any phone within 30 feet of the AirTag, regardless of where in the world the AirTag or the nearby phone is. That phone near the AirTag reports the location to Apple, who reports it to your phone.


The operation is similar to the Tile network, but the difference is the Tile find capability only works with devices that have the Tile app installed, which is far fewer than the number of iPhones in the world. Still, I get notifications from Tile when my Tiles register on someone’s phone.

Aug 20, 2022 3:14 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:
It is Bluetooth range, but that means the range of any Apple Bluetooth device that has Find My Network enabled in the Find My settings on any phone within 30 feet of the AirTag, regardless of where in the world the AirTag or the nearby phone is. That phone near the AirTag reports the location to Apple, who reports it to your phone.


It should include iPads that have Bluetooth enabled.

What is the distance that you can find your air tag?

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