All you need to know about AirTags [Updated]

In the last Spring Loaded event, Apple presented many new features and among these are the AirTags, we will review all the important information about this new accessory for iOS devices.

What are AirTags?

AirTags are an iPhone accessory that represents a new category of products for Apple, based on your search network (Find Mine).

Each AirTag is the size of a coat button and is designed to keep track of whatever object it is attached to and its location can be viewed from the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, Mac or iCloud.com. 

Each new AirTag is automatically configured by pairing the device with the iPhone. During the pairing process, the AirTag is associated with the device's Apple ID, allowing it to be located via the Search application.

AirTags do not depend on your internet connection, but instead leverage a network of nearly a billion active iOS and Mac devices around the world. 

Each AirTag sends its unique encrypted Bluetooth identifier; Apple devices can detect it and broadcast the location of the AirTag directly to the owner's Apple ID account.

Throughout the process, the communication is end-to-end encrypted, so that no one else but the owner of the AirTag (not the owners of the devices who collectively work together to move the AirTag's location or even Apple itself) has access to your current one. or past position of the AirTag. 

The Bluetooth identifiers emitted by AirTags are not only random, they change many times a day and are never reused, so that when the AirTag travels from one place to another no one can track it or identify it on the network.

At the moment, each AirTag is only available in one color, white, with a chrome back (like the original iPod), although it is very likely that this will change in later versions and we will see AirTags of different colors and customizations.

The AirTags have a replaceable battery, which has an estimated life of one year (obviously it depends on the use of the AirTag) and can be replaced by the user.

They can be engraved with up to four characters for free when ordering.

To locate an AirTag you need to use the Search app on your iPhone. When you connect an AirTag, it will appear in the "Objects" section, where all those compatible with Apple's search protocol will be.

Is Airtag a safe device?

One of the main benefits of Apple's AirTag is privacy. 

Apple points out that AirTag uses encrypted networks and that neither Apple nor third parties can read your location.

In early March, Apple introduced a new security feature in its search application, within iOS 14.5 (which will be available for download at the end of April) that will alert users when the iPhone‌ detects a device. unknown tracking, such as an AirTag, moving simultaneously. 

This distinction is essential so that the iPhone does not start receiving notifications from AirTags that belong to other people traveling with us (by train, bus, ship ...) 

When the notification appears, you will enter the Search application, where you can tell the AirTag to play a sound so you can locate it.

The purpose of the feature is to avoid situations where someone could slip an AirTag into a user's backpack and use its location to harass them.

If this happens, users will get a notification saying "AirTag has been detected near you" and can physically disable it from broadcasting. 

But what about people who don't have an iPhone? How can Android phone owners, or those who don't have a smartphone, know if someone has put an AirTag on them?

Apple has thought of this too. After an AirTag is away from the device it's paired with for a period of time (it's currently three days, but we're sure Apple will shorten it), the AirTag will automatically start emitting a sound to alert those around it to existence.

Of course, if you think you are in a risky situation, you should go to the police to report that a tracking device has been placed on you. The police will contact Apple and find out who it belongs to via Apple ID.

Can I use an AirTag to track children or pets?

As users quickly put their imaginations to work, once they saw the possibilities of the AirTag, the question arose whether it would help to place the children.

Please note that for the AirTag to appear in our search application, it must be within range of a Bluetooth device. If you get out of range, you'll have to wait for another iOS device to pass and broadcast your location - in short, not practical.

The range of Bluetooth is typically in the range of 12 meters, depending on spatial conditions and signal bounce.

Low battery notification

The AirTags come with a replaceable button battery which Apple says can last up to a year. 

The AirTags have no display or light, so it will be difficult to tell if the battery is low and needs to be replaced. 

The iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) will alert users when the AirTag's battery begins to run out.

Can I share AirTags with friends and family?

You may want to leave your car to a family member, for whom you will give them the keys. If your keys have a built-in AirTag, it is likely that, upon separation from you, the security feature of the AirTag will activate, alerting your friend or family member that you have an unknown tracking device following you (as discussed below. over it). 

Apple's way to prevent this is through Family Sharing.

If an AirTag is shared with an Apple ID within Family Sharing, the owner of the AirTag can disable security alerts to prevent their family or friends' iPhone from detecting it as unwanted tracking.

If you've borrowed something that has a built-in AirTag and don't have it within your Family network, it will be the one who can choose to turn off the security alerts.

How AirTags work

AirTags have a security feature called Pairing Lock, which protects against those who can find the lost item that has a built-in AirTag and use the AirTag as their own. 

Pairing Lock is similar to Activation Lock on iPhone. 

If you lose an AirTag, someone else who finds it won't be able to keep it to use as their own by connecting it to their phone.

If someone finds an AirTag, not only can't they use it to their advantage, they won't be able to discover the identity of the owner either. 

Each AirTag has a unique serial number printed on the stainless steel part, but the identity of the owner cannot be ascertained by knowing that number, unless the owner of the AirTag puts it in Lost mode (from the Search application). 

As with the iPhone, iPad, or Mac, each connected AirTag will now have a switch in the Find app that will allow you to mark the AirTag as lost. 

Once the Lost Mode option is enabled, anyone who finds an AirTag can scan it with an NFC-enabled device (such as an iPhone or Android phone) to be directed to a web page for that AirTag. 

Tapping the notification that will appear on the device that scanned the AirTag will open the browser and load an Apple support page, displaying the unique serial number of the AirTag and, if the owner of the AirTag so wishes, your number. phone so that the person who finds you can contact you - it is the same as the rest of the devices in Find when they go into lost mode.

What devices are compatible with AirTag?

AirTags work with any iPhone that can run iOS 14.5 (i.e. iPhone 6s and later) and can be attached to keys and bags with an additional accessory.

Requires an iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or later or iPod touch (7th generation) with iOS 14.5 or later; or an iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2 or later, or iPad mini 4 or later with iPadOS 14.5 or later.

They are available for € 35 each or € 119 for a pack of four (VAT included). 

Apple accessories start at $ 35 and other manufacturers offer their own versions too (cheaper. Well, minus Hermes) 

How the AirTags are configured

The configuration system of the AirTags is the same used to transfer the configuration from one iPhone to another or to connect the AirPods to the iPhone. 

You just have to bring the AirTag close to the device and it will connect automatically.

Once configured, they seem to take a long time to appear on the map in the Find app showing their location (up to 30 seconds, according to some), but once they are displayed, the guide to getting to the exact location updates quickly and efficient..

How many AirTags can I associate with my Apple ID?

Currently, the maximum number of AirTags that can be linked to a single Apple ID is 16.

If usage proves insufficient, Apple can change this limit through a software update.

How to order Air Tag

The AirTags will be available for purchase on April 30, but as is often the case with Apple products, it is while they are available. 

If they run out, delivery times will be extended as demand exceeds Apple's production capacity.

That's why Apple has allowed them to be pre-ordered now, so if you want the product, make sure you don't run out of them.

You just have to go to the Apple website (www.apple.com/es), select the iPhone tab and among the various products you find, one is the AirTags (easy to recognize because they have the word "New" in red below).

Make your choice by taking advantage of the free personalization option and choose the engraving you want and - for now - May 30th may be at your home.

Update June 4, 2020

Apple updates AirTags firmware with new anti-spyware measures

Apple released an ‌AirTags‌ firmware update in June with improvements in anti-espionage measures that will decrease the intervals required for an AirTag separate from its owner to emit a sound.

Currently, ‌AirTags‌ emit a sound after three days of separation from their owner. After the update, the ‌AirTags‌ will start playing the sound at a random time between eight and twenty-four hours after being separated from their owner.

Apple is also working to create an Android device app that will detect an unknown Airtag or embedded search element accompanying the user, which will prevent the use of AirTags to spy on Android users.

How to know if the AirTag has updated its firmware

You can check if your Airtag has the new firmware installed by checking its version number. These are the steps to do it:

1. Open the Search app.
2. Tap the «Objects» tab. 
3. Tap the AirTag you want to check.
4. In this view, tap on the AirTag name to see the firmware version it has installed.

The ‌AirTags‌ were released with firmware version 1.0.225 and the June firmware update is version number 1.0.276. If you see 1.0.276 in the firmware list, it means the AirTag has already been updated.

Unfortunately there is no way to force an AirTag update, it is something that is done "over the air" from your iPhone. To make sure that the update takes place, you need to keep the AirTag within range of your ‌iPhone‌, but you will have to wait until your Airtag's turn.