![\"Glenn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/glenn-shaferbrown.png\")
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After my article on 2nd-generation AirTag compatibility issues<\/a> a few weeks ago, in which I explained that the 26.2.1 or later release of each of Apple\u2019s operating systems was required to pair and view the revised tracker, my friend Adam Engst posted a question about compatibility<\/a>, and Six Colors member Scott wrote in with a related query.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t use a 2nd-generation AirTag with an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch\u2014because you can\u2019t upgrade the device to its respective 26.2.1, or have chosen not to\u2014does that mean that this newer AirTag model is invisible to those devices when reporting its location? And\u2014me partly extrapolating a related question\u2014does this prevent anti-stalking features, created by Apple and by an Apple\/Google industry initiative, from \u201cseeing\u201d an unwanted AirTag 2?<\/p>\n Fortunately, the ability to pair and track a 2nd-generation AirTag is distinct from participating in Apple\u2019s crowdsourced Find My network, allowing its encrypted, privacy-protecting broadcasts to be recognized by all generations of Apple hardware. And the new AirTag doesn\u2019t create an accidental loophole in deterring and detecting unwanted tracking\u2014in fact, it might even be a better \u201ccitizen\u201d due to its ability to emit a louder noise and its longer Bluetooth range.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re within Bluetooth range of an AirTag (either generation), a third-party Find My tracker, or a device with one embedded, Bluetooth lets you find your devices. This includes most Apple and Beats audio hardware and Apple\u2019s Internet-connectable hardware.<\/p>\n But outside that range, the Find My network kicks in. It relies on crowdsourcing. When your \u201cdevice\u201d (iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch) lacks an Internet connection, it begins broadcasting over Bluetooth using a network name that contains encrypted information. Audio hardware not near a paired device does the same, and AirTag and Find My items broadcast all the time.<\/p>\n This signal is picked up by any nearby iPhone, iPad, or Mac with an Internet connection. It takes the encrypted Bluetooth identifier, which reveals nothing to the device\u2019s owner, packages it with the currently derived location (using a combination of GPS, cell tower finding, and Wi-Fi positioning), and uploads it to Apple. Because the data is uploaded, only a device registered to the same Apple Account can download and decrypt it, which is why native Find My apps are required on each major device platform.<\/p>\n The 2nd-generation AirTag broadcasts the same kind of information as the 1st-generation model. In fact, due to a newer Bluetooth chip, it will likely be picked up at a greater range than its predecessor, making tracking more likely.<\/p>\n Unwanted tracking<\/p>\n Technology is always turned to dark ends, and it\u2019s our job, as people who buy, make, or critique devices, to appreciate the good uses and to mitigate or eliminate the poorly developed ones. So far this century: Bad work, everyone!<\/p>\n The AirTag is a great case in point. Before it existed, Tile offered trackers that worked within Bluetooth range and had developed a crowdsourced passalong technology, but needed a vastly larger installed base to make it valuable\u2014and dangerous. Besides Tile, if you wanted to track something (or someone), you had to get a GPS tracker with cellular connectivity, which could be expensive and have relatively short battery life.<\/p>\n This was useful for expensive hardware, families of people with dementia or cognitive decline, and for stalkers, whether domestic (or former) domestic partners or others. But the cost, size, complexity, battery life, and other details put them out of reach of most people.<\/p>\n Apple shipped the AirTag, and it immediately changed the equation. Because an AirTag can rely on a billion pieces of Apple hardware already in the field, and because it has a lithium-ion cell that can last about six to 12 months, it\u2019s a boon for making keeping tabs on our bags, cars, and bikes. But also a boon for the creeps and abusers of the world.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t relitigate the critique Apple received for its initial settings, but the company made changes over time to make it more likely that we would become aware that someone was trying to track us without our knowledge. Here\u2019s a rundown of the two main features and how the new AirTag improves discoverability:<\/p>\n Planted on you or your stuff: When an AirTag is separated from its paired device, it makes a sound when moved. Initially, the delay was three days; Apple reduced it to a random duration of 8 to 24 hours. Thus, if someone stuck a tracker in your bag while you were out and about, when you picked it up within a day, you\u2019d get an audible alert. The 2nd-generation AirTag is 50% louder (according to Apple\u2019s measurements) than the 1st-generation model. Google has adopted additional countermeasures that I wish Apple would consider:<\/p>\n Trackers\u2019 locations are relayed only when they\u2019re in \u201chigh-traffic\u201d areas, like an airport, a path, or a street people commonly walk on. This prevents tracking in homes or when someone is out for a drive or bike ride. It makes it less likely to be useful for finding someone on their own, for sure. Apple may have implemented some aspects of the above, but the company doesn\u2019t disclose or document them.<\/p>\n For further reading<\/p>\n Since my last column, I\u2019ve updated my book Take Control of Find My and AirTags<\/a> to incorporate all the details related to the 2nd-generation AirTag and the new availability of Precision Finding for certain Apple Watch models.<\/p>\n [Got a question for the column? You can email glenn@sixcolors.com or use \/glenn in our subscriber-only<\/a> Discord community.]<\/p>\n [Glenn Fleishman<\/a> is a printing and comics historian, Jeopardy champion, and serial Kickstarterer. His latest books are Six Centuries of Type & Printing<\/a> (Aperiodical LLC) and How Comics Are Made<\/a> (Andrews McMeel Publishing).]<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airtag-1-2-sbs.png\")
Think quick, hot spot! Which one of these AirTags is first-generation and which is second? The AirTag 1 is at left, with upper and lowercase type on its back plastic battery panel; the AirTag 2, at right, is all uppercase and calls out the IP67 water resistance. (Images: Apple)
\nFind My network counts on you<\/p>\n
\nMoving with you: In whatever fashion a tracker comes to be near you for a persistent period of time\u2014Apple doesn\u2019t disclose, but it\u2019s likely 15 minutes or longer\u2014you will receive an alert on your iPhone or iPad about it, and be able to play a sound on the tracker. It should appear when you arrive home or at a significant location, defined and securely stored locally on your devices, or by the end of the day if the previous trigger didn\u2019t occur. The 2nd-generation AirTag\u2019s 50% louder volume helps here, too. Apple and Google co-wrote a standard for anti-tracking that led both companies\u2019 mobile operating systems to recognize each other\u2019s devices as moving with you. <\/p>\n
\nIf you mark your home address in your Google Account, this prevents any Android device from relaying trackers in or near that location. That can keep a stalker from knowing when you leave or return home.
\nA tracker\u2019s owner is limited in how frequently they receive updates. Google doesn\u2019t provide details says they \u201crate limit\u201d and \u201cthrottle\u201d requests, as most lost items remain in stationary locations.<\/p>\n