How do AirTags track pets out of the range of home WiFi?
I have 3 AirTags for my cats.
I have used an AirTag on their collars but they aren’t tracking them other than in the home.
How do they work?
AirTag
Question marked as
Short answer: The Apple AirTags are not designed for tracking Whether that is for pets or people.
Longer answer: To directly answer your question, the AirTag participates in the Apple Find My Network. This network consists of literally millions of iPhones.
How it works: The AirTag does NOT know its location. It has to means to as it is not a GPS device. Instead, it periodically broadcasts a Bluetooth beacon that can be received by an iPhone within Bluetooth range of it (~ 30-40'). If that iPhone has an active Internet connection, it will relay the tag's ID, along with the phone's GPS location, to the Apple servers. This is where you would see the tag's location updates with the Find My app on your phone.
So, a few reasons that they will not be very helpful in tracking your cat:
- Once your cat/tag is outside of the Bluetooth range of the iPhone they initially paired with, they will be dependent on other iPhones. Not guaranteed, especially if you live in an area where there are not a of other iPhone around nearby.
- If the tag is separated from your iPhone for anything from 8-24 hours, it will start beeping. This can be very annoying to an animal.
- I will let this article speak for itself: Here's why you don't put an AirTag on your dog's collar - Apple Insider
Bottom line? If your goal is to track your cats, you may want to consider getting a dedicated tracking device that is based on GPS, not Bluetooth. Although the following was designed to be used with dogs, I'm sure thare are other companies that make them for other pets: Whistle Go Explore
