AirTag location not updating, but it's still being detected

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Level 1

4 points

AirTag location not updating, but it's still being detected

I have an AirTag on my cat. He usually comes home. The location is pretty accurate. It has not updated in 14 hours and he has not been seen. I’ve scanned the whole area where it was less detected and get the response from the AirTag. We live in a pretty dense community so it updates often when he’s out and about. What would be the reason the AirTag isn’t updating? Should I assume he has been stolen? But still doesn’t explain why the location of the AirTag isn’t updating. Battery is less than a month old.

AirTag

Posted on May 9, 2026 9:23 AM

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Answer 1

Rudegar

Level 10

182,442 points

May 10, 2026 4:03 AM in response to ndinardo

the way they work is

they have no means at all to know their position

they have no means to communicate other than bluetooth (so about maybe 30meters)

if an iphone with bluetooth enabled and internet access is within the bluetooth range then the airtag will trigger the iphone in question to send it's own location to your account in icloud which then will pass it on to your devices so they can show you the location.

This makes it a somewhat subpar pet tracking device vs. those which has a sim card and a real gps build in, and also why they do not advitice them as a pet or kid or stalking tracking device

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

158,940 points

May 10, 2026 6:57 AM in response to ndinardo

ndinardo wrote:

What would be the reason the AirTag isn’t updating?

Here are a few:

The tag is located where its Bluetooth broadcast signal cannot be received by any iPhone ... even if any of those phones are nearby.
Your cat managed to remove its collar. I'm assuming that you are using a collar that holds an AirTag.
The battery, even on a new AirTag, could be defective.
The tag, itself, could be defective.
Someone found the cat and removed the tag.
Someone found the tag and disabled it.
Etc.

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