What you’re dealing with
If it is yours, Apple’s Find My is the better tool, it can play a sound and, on a recent iPhone, give you Precision Finding with an arrow. Use it first.
If it is not yours, you are dealing with something else entirely: an unknown tracker moving with you. Your iPhone will usually alert you, but the alert can be delayed, and an AirTag with a disabled speaker will never chime. A Bluetooth scan shows you what is actually broadcasting nearby regardless of whether an alert has fired.
| Broadcasts as | Advertises as an Apple Find My accessory with a rotating identifier |
|---|---|
| Typical battery | About a year on a CR2032 coin cell |
| Findable by scan | Yes, while powered on |
| Search window | Days to weeks |
Once the battery is gone: An AirTag runs for roughly a year. Practically speaking, a lost AirTag is always still transmitting.
Where it usually is
Car wheel arches and bumpers
Where a tag is placed on a vehicle to follow it.
Bag linings and inner pockets
Slipped into a compartment that is not used daily.
Coat hems and lining tears
Pushed through a hole into the lining.
Under a seat
In a vehicle, wedged into the rail or the upholstery seam.
How to search for it
- Check the last-seen map firstBefore you search a room, find out which building. A pin saves you from searching the right way in the wrong place.
- Scan from the middle of the roomNote everything that appears, then select the device you want so the rest of the list drops away.
- Walk and watch the signalSweep in a straight line, give each position a few seconds, and turn 90 degrees when the reading stops rising.
- Search inside things, not across themA strong signal with nothing visible means it is underneath or inside something. Fabric and metal block Bluetooth badly.
Tips specific to airtag
- For your own AirTag, use Find My first, nothing else matches Precision Finding for accuracy.
- For an unknown one, scan and watch which signals persist as you move between locations. A device that follows you across two separate places is the one to worry about.
- If you believe you are being tracked, do not simply remove the tag and carry on. Contact the police, who can act on the serial number, and read our full guidance first.
Other things people lose
The same method applies to these, with different battery windows and different hiding places.
- How to find a lost Tile tracker, One to three years depending on model
- How to find a lost Fitbit, About 5 to 10 days depending on model
- How to find a lost Garmin watch, One to three weeks on most models
- How to find a lost Kindle, Weeks
- How to find an electric scooter or e-bike, Days to weeks on standby
- Last-seen map for your devices, Map tab
- How to get something back you left in an Uber or taxi
- All device guides, the complete list
Common questions
Will an app find an AirTag that has had its speaker disabled?
A scan detects the radio signal, which a disabled speaker does not affect. What you lose is the ability to make it chime, which makes physically locating it much harder, you have to search by signal strength instead.
Why haven’t I had an unknown tracker alert?
Alerts depend on the tag being separated from its owner and travelling with you for a while. There is deliberate delay built in to avoid false alarms, so a scan can show you something before an alert would.