Take the AirTag out of its case, unwrap it, and pull out the battery tab to activate it. As long as your iPhone is nearby, the two instantly talk to one another and pair. That’s it. You’re ready to go. This is the same experience as the original AirTag.
Once paired, your AirTag lives in the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad. It’s listed under the Items tab, which shows you the things you’ve tagged with an AirTag. You can give your tag a name and an emoticon to make your items easier to sort visually in the app. The new tag requires iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and watchOS 26.2.1 and newer. AirTags are not compatible with Android phones; the Tile Mate works with Android and iOS, while the SmartTag 2 works only with Android.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The AirTag functions in two ways. The first is a direct connection with your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch when you are in close proximity. The AirTag has a new Bluetooth radio and Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip to help. These are what power the Precision Finding tool, which provides you with arrow-based, turn-by-turn directions to your item. Apple doesn’t provide a range, but says Precision Finding works from “1.5x farther away” than the original AirTag. In testing, I was able to maintain a direct connection with the second-generation AirTag from every room in my house (~2,000 square feet), even at distances up to 50 feet. That’s with the AirTag in my attic and me standing in my basement three stories below. I needed to be much closer, about 25 feet and within one floor, to maintain a direct connection with the first-generation AirTag.
(Credti: Eric Zeman)
What’s new is that Precision Finding works from your Apple Watch. You can call up the Find My app, see a list of your items, and get directions to a lost AirTag. Alternatively, you can add a tag to your watch’s Control Center. When you initiate Precision Finding, it defaults to car-based navigation from your wrist, but a toggle lets you choose walking, bicycling, or transit directions instead. This feature requires the Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 or newer. I found I needed to be about 35 feet from the AirTag for precision finding to work from the watch. You can find the original AirTag with your Apple Watch, but you can’t get the same precise directions to it.
You can also ping your AirTag to make it emit a sound. You can do this from your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac; the button is right next to the one for Precision Finding. Apple says it redesigned the speaker, which is now 50% louder and emits a new, higher-pitched chime. It’s not dramatically louder than the original AirTag, but it’s definitely more audible at a greater distance. I found it easier to hear throughout my quiet home, and in the same room with a TV on.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
When you’re not close to your lost item, the AirTag doesn’t connect to your phone via Bluetooth and doesn’t use GPS. Instead, it relies on Apple’s Find My network, which is essentially every iPhone, iPad, and Mac out there on planet Earth. If a stranger’s iPhone passes by an AirTag, it makes a note of the tag’s location and shares that with you. The owner of that iPhone does not see the AirTag and cannot access its location; they won’t even know they passed by someone’s AirTag. Apple says this connection is encrypted and secure. Even Apple doesn’t know the location of your AirTag. This is how you learn that you left your keys at work, or at your parents’ house, or on the bus, or literally anywhere else.
Get Our Best Stories!
A Smart, Bold Take on the Wireless World
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy
Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The one flaw here is that the location is only as accurate as the last iPhone to pass by the AirTag. If your AirTag is in a place that’s full of iPhones, you’ll always be able to see it. If it’s at the top of a mountain you climbed, you’ll only be able to see its last-known location (the last time an iPhone connected to it). You won’t know if a chipmunk later picked it up and wandered halfway down the mountain with it until another iPhone comes within range. AirTags are great for densely populated areas, but can get well and truly lost in areas with no people or iPhones. The Tile Mate and Samsung SmartTag 2 work similarly for close (Bluetooth) and far (other phones) location tracking, as does the original AirTag.
If the AirTag is still missing anything, it’s the ability to press a button on it to make your iPhone ring. The Tile Mate and SmartTag 2 both offer that functionality.
