What it means
The Find My network uses hundreds of millions of Apple devices to anonymously report sightings of lost items, which is how an AirTag can be located in another city.
This is the single biggest capability gap between Apple’s system and any standalone Bluetooth scanner. A scanner reaches as far as your own phone’s radio. The network reaches as far as other people go.
It requires an account, because a sighting has to be reported to someone. That is a reasonable trade and worth understanding rather than resenting.
It covers Apple hardware and accredited third-party accessories. Most ordinary Bluetooth devices, third-party headphones, speakers, budget tags, are outside it entirely.
Related terms
The other pieces of Bluetooth vocabulary that change how you search.
- Coin cell: The battery in most tags
- Attenuation: What blocks a Bluetooth signal
- Unwanted tracking alert: How phones warn you
- RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator
- MAC randomisation: Rotating Bluetooth identifiers
- See battery on nearby devices, Inside Scan
- How to find a lost camera, A few hundred shots
- Full glossary, the complete list
Common questions
Do I need Find My as well as a scanner?
For anything that might leave the building, yes. The network is what covers distance; a scanner covers the room you are standing in.
In the app: The scan shows this value live for every device around you. Read about Bluetooth Scanner.