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My AirTag has stayed at home for two days along with an old iPhone 8 that has the location on. The AirTag will not update its location unless I am home with my iPhone 15. Shouldn’t it constantly update with the IPhone 8 at home all the time?
iPhone 8 Plus, iOS 16
I'm assuming that both of your iPhones are logged in with the same Apple Account. Is that correct? If so, it doesn't matter which phone you used to pair the tag with.
Once both phones are outside of the Bluetooth range of this tag, the tag will rely on the Apple Find My network to send it ID to. In turn, any iPhone that get's within range will pick up that ID, and relay it, along with that phone's GPS location, to the Apple servers over the Internet.
What I'm not 100% sure about is this particular situation where you leave one of your phones nearby the tag.
If I had to venture a guess, that phone would still receive the tag's ID by BLE or Bluetooth, but unless that phone has an active Internet connection, it won't be able to relay it to those Apple servers ... thus, you would not see any updates.
I suggest you hang in there and see if someone else chimes in with a better answer for you.
Both phones are signed into the same Apple ID.
So the situation is… I got the AirTag for our dog. It’s on his collar. When we have to be gone overnight, we leave him outside and sometimes he digs out. I know AirTags weren’t designed to track pets, I just want to make sure he’s still at home. Or at least be able to know when/if he escapes.
So I borrowed an old iPhone to just leave at the house in hopes the AirTag will constantly have an iPhone to connect to so the AirTag’s location will stay updated.
The iPhone’s location stays updated, but it isn’t working for the AirTag.
What if I made an entirely new Apple ID for that phone? Would that possibly work?
You definitely do not want to create a second ID, so I would avoid that route.
The key is once your dog leaves the house, as I mentioned, that tag will rely on the Find My network. Again, once the dog/tag gets within range of another iPhone, the location of that phone will get sent to the Apple servers. In turn both of your existing phones should be able to see those updates with the Find My apps on the respective phones.
Unfortunately, it does not appear to work when the dog is still at home.
Also, just to be sure you understand. The AirTag has no idea where it is located. It has no means to do so. It can only work with a nearby iPhone which does know its location. That's the biggest disadvantage of Bluetooth "trackers." On the other hand, if knowing your dog's location is important to you (as it appears to be), you may want to consider get a dedicated tracker, that uses GPS technology (like your iPhone), to get exact & timely location updates. Of course, the biggest disadvantages of GPS trackers are: cost & short battery life.
AirTag Not Updating Location
