10 Hacks Every AirTag User Should Know
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AirTags can be exceptionally useful trackers. These tiny devices passively beam their locations to any passing iPhone, iPad, or Find My-enabled device, which makes it possible to track items like keys and bags when they go missing. They're not difficult to set up and use: Once they're in place, they're good to go—until their batteries die about a year later.
But while AirTags are simple, there's a lot you can do with them. You can locate missing tags in futuristic ways; use them as NFC tags to run automations with a scan of your iPhone; and you can share their locations with airlines to help locate your luggage when it goes missing. Whether you own one AirTag or many, you need to know about these 10 hacks to make the most of your trackers.
Use your Apple Watch to find your AirTags
AirTags are meant to find things you've lost, but there are many ways to find them. You can use Precision Finding on your iPhone to see guided directions to your missing AirTag, assuming it's within Bluetooth range. However, if you have the right kind of Apple Watch and the right kind of AirTag, you can use your watch to track down your tracker via Precision Finding, too.
To use Precision Finding, you need an Apple Watch Series 9 or newer, or an Ultra 2 or newer, as well as a second-generation AirTag. To set it up, open Control Center on your watch, then scroll to the bottom and choose "Edit." Here, tap (+), choose "Find Items," then choose "Find AirTag." Tap Choose, then tap an item from your existing AirTags. Tap "Done." Now, you're set to find that item in the future. When you need to, return to Control Center, then tap the "Find AirTag" button. If the AirTag is somewhere within range, you'll see guided directions on your Apple Watch.
Ask Siri where your AirTag is to quickly locate it
Depending on your situation, your fastest location method might be via Siri. If you're sure the AirTag you're missing is nearby, just pull out your iPhone (or your Apple Watch) and ask Siri where your item is. (e.g. "Hey Siri, where is my backpack?" or "Where are my keys?" Siri will "think" for a moment, and, if it can find them, will start pinging your AirTag, so you can follow the sound to locate them.
Whitelist locations to cut down on “left behind” alerts
Apple's "Left Behind" alerts can be useful. If you leave your house without your keys, for example, you might appreciate that notification letting you know. But if you have an AirTag in something you don't take with you every day—perhaps a suitcase or a backpack—you don't need your iPhone buzzing every time you step out your door. Then again, should you leave your hotel room without your suitcase, you may want that heads up before hopping in the Uber to the airport.
As such, you should whitelist specific locations where your AirTags can stay behind without triggering one of these alerts. That way, you can keep the notifications on in general, but spare your sanity whenever leaving items behind in a known location. Your iPhone may even do this for you automatically, depending on the locations it thinks you don't need the alerts from. However, you can add or remove any locations manually to your liking.
To set this up, open Find My on your iPhone, tap "Items," then choose the AirTag you want to adjust settings for. Here, scroll down, then choose "Notify When Left Behind." If the feature isn't on, enable it, then look down to "Notify me, except at:" Here, you can remove any automatically added locations, or add new ones by hitting "New Location."
Use this hack to make AirTags easier to open
When your AirTags' batteries are low (or, let's face it, dead), you can replace them yourself—assuming you bought the proper batteries. But they're not the easiest to open up: You have to press down on the silver back of your AirTag and rotate it counterclockwise until the cover comes loose. If you're having trouble getting it to work, you're not alone. But there's a simple hack to make it a bit easier.
I stumbled upon this via MacGeekGab on YouTube. The idea is, take a small amount of tape on the back, then use that as a grip to help with the twist. MacGeekGab also recommends using rubber thimbles, like the kind you use to count money, to achieve the same effect. The next time your AirTag's battery bites the dust, give this trick a shot.
Share AirTags with your airline to find your lost luggage
AirTags are great for luggage: You can pop one in your bag and track it down if it goes missing or gets left behind. That includes if your airline loses your bag. Not only can you show them the Find My app on your iPhone, but you can share your AirTag with your airline directly, so they can help pinpoint its location.
To do so, head to the "Items" tab in Find My, then tap the AirTag for the missing luggage. Under "Lost AirTag," tap "Share Item Location." (This will only work if the AirTag is not within range.) From here, you can follow the on-screen instructions to share the AirTag with your airline, and hope that they'll be able to find it on their end.
Share your AirTag with others to keep tabs on important items
In a similar vein, you can share your AirTag with a contact. That way, not only can they keep tabs on the AirTag's location, they won't receive tracking notifications for the item. (In other words, their iPhone won't assume your AirTag is silently tracking them, and will not alert them as such.) To share an AirTag, open it in your Find My app, then, under "Share AirTag," choose "Add Person." Tap "Continue," then choose a contact or contacts to share your AirTag with. When finished, tap the check mark in the top right.
Use an AirTag as an NFC tag
Your AirTag isn't just a tracker; it's also an NFC tag. This technology is what makes tap-to-pay work: You wave your iPhone over the tag, which triggers some pre-planned action. In this case, you can set up your AirTag to run any automation you want in Apple Shortcuts. For example, this Redditor uses it to remind themselves to take their medication; if they don't scan their AirTag, which they've stuck underneath the lid of their medication bottle, they'll receive a reminder.
To start setting up your AirTag as an NFC tag, open Shortcuts on your iPhone, then choose the "Automations" tab. Here, tap the (+) in the top right, then scroll down and choose "NFC." Tap "NFC Tag — Scan," then wave your iPhone over your AirTag. This can be a bit tricky, just as it can be difficult to get tap-to-pay to work. But I've found pointing the top of my iPhone at the AirTag to work best. Once it takes, name the tag whatever you want, then hit "OK." From here, the world is your oyster; you can choose any app or shortcut to run when you scan your AirTag.
Tap your iPhone against an AirTag to find its owner's info
As it happens, your AirTag has a default NFC function as-is: to pull up the contact info for an owner's AirTag after it goes missing. As such, you could be on both sides of this problem. If your AirTag goes missing, you should activate Lost Mode so that someone can scan it with their iPhone. But if you find one in the wild, you shouldn't just pick it up and ask if it belongs to anyone nearby. You can tap it with your iPhone like you would when paying at a POS, and, if it's in Lost Mode, you should see the owner's info.
To set this up on your end, open the AirTag in your Find My app, then, under Lost Mode, choose "Show Contact Info." Tap "Continue," then follow the on-screen prompts. (Again, this only works if your AirTag is not with you.)
Perform a factory reset if your AirTag is acting up
If your AirTag isn't working properly, but its battery still has plenty of juice left in it, you can try a factory reset to get things working again. This will reset the AirTag to its original settings, which means it will unpair with your Apple Account. As such, not only is it an option if things aren't working as they should, but it's also an easy way to give your AirTag to someone else if you no longer want or need it.
To reset your AirTag, first identify whether it is a first-gen or second-gen AirTag. The instructions are slightly different depending on which you have. You can do so by identifying the serial number on the inside of your AirTag. Once you do, follow Apple's instructions here depending on your AirTag generation.
Remove the battery to extend its life when your item sits idle
AirTags are designed to run for about a year before their batteries die. That's not a bad battery life for a piece of tech. However, not all AirTags are used the same. While the AirTag on your keys is used all the time, the one in your suitcase might not be. If you only take your luggage out every few months or so, your AirTag is slowly burning through a battery it doesn't actually need to be using.
Unfortunately, you can't put an AirTag into standby mode, or enable something like a Low Power Mode. Instead, consider removing the battery for any AirTags that aren't frequent fliers. That's what YouTuber HotshotTek does with his, and, in fact, tapes the battery to the front of their AirTag to keep it ready to go when they need it.
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