Can Apple Air Tags Track a Car?
By Trae Jacobs,
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Apple air tags are pretty new to the market, and some people might be curious about what they do and how you can use them. Essentially, they act as small tracking devices designed to be attached to things like keys and wallets. However, if you really want to keep track of your most valuable belongings, you may be wondering if Apple Air Tags can also track a car.
Apple Air Tags can track a car, as long as they are synced with the Find My app on your Apple device and can connect via Bluetooth. They can ping to any iPhone or iPad and transmit a location every few minutes.
Below, we’ll talk about how Apple Air Tags work and how to connect them to your devices. We’ll also cover whether they can be effective at preventing someone from stealing your vehicle.
Can Apple Air Tags Be Used to Track a Car?
As long as you have the Find My app and have a Bluetooth device within range of the Air Tags, you can use them to track a car.
Apple Air Tags use Bluetooth to show their location, so they don’t need Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. It updates its locations every few minutes and can send an update to any iPhone within 20 meters. To see the location of your Air Tags, you have to set them up in your Find My app. Follow these steps to get started:
- Go to the Home screen on your iPhone.
- Remove the battery tab on the Air Tag and hold it near your iPhone.
- Tap Connect.
- Name the Air Tag.
- Select Continue to Register.
- Tap Finish.
- Go into the Find My app.
- Tap Items.
- Tap Add Air Tag.
You will be able to use the app to see any of your connected Apple Air Tags and their exact location. You can also see the last known location from the app if the location has not been updated recently.
Does Apple Air Tag Have GPS?
Apple Air tags don’t have GPS or position location capability. However, they can use Bluetooth to ping to Bluetooth-enabled devices. So, if there is not a Bluetooth device near the Apple Air Tag, it will not be able to give you a location.
However, when there are iPhones around, the Air Tag can offer a very precise location. When you use an Air Tag:
- Every iPhone or Apple device will be able to upload details of the tracker to Apple’s servers.
- The monitoring network is global, so Apple will be able to use the Air Tag to see the last known movements and locations.
- You will be able to use the directional finding to locate a missing tag from the Find My app.
- You will have a small tracker that is easy to use and easy to keep in the car or wallet.
- You have an easy way to find items you misplaced or got stolen.
Can I Use Apple Air Tags to Find a Stolen Car?
Now that you know that Apple Air Tags can track cars and you can give a location via Bluetooth, you probably think you can place them in your car and use them in case your car gets stolen. While this is true, there are some problems:
- Apple notifies people when an Air Tag is tracking them after 24-72 hours. This means if the thief has an iPhone, Apple will alert them about the tag a few days after they steal the car.
- The thief can locate the tag. With the new ultra-wide-band chip technology, the thief will be able to use their phone to find the Air Tag and remove it.
While this might seem like a pretty useless car tracker, you will still have a few days to determine the location of your car before the driver is alerted. Apple has also begun discussing ways to differentiate between stolen Air tags and those used by the original owner.
Overall, these regulations were put into place to prevent people from using Apple Air tags for malicious intents such as stalking or other crimes.
Final Thoughts
Apple Air Tags can be used to track cars as long as you have them connected to the Find My app, and there are Bluetooth devices near the car for the tag to ping a location. However, they might not be the best option for finding your car after a robbery since the Air Tag will alert the driver after a few days that they are being tracked.