Apple’s AirTags are revolutionary (see our complete AirTag guide) and have low-key saved my bacon in multiple situations because I’ve placed them in some non-obvious everyday locations. AirTags (which cost $29 or less each) leverage the over 1.5 billion iPhones in the world to anonymously and passively track the location of these tiny coin-sized tracking devices.
This means that you can track anything, anywhere, if it has an AirTag on it (or in it). That creates a lot of interesting ways to avoid losing important items, like your kid’s backpack (and by association, your child). If you’re not tracking these everyday items with an AirTag, you’re missing out.
Brand
Apple
Material
Plastic, Metal
Track your wallet
Losing your wallet is a nightmare you never have to experience again
Credit:Â Brandon Miniman / MakeUseOf
Losing your wallet is one of the worst disasters. Suddenly, you have to cancel credit cards and worry about identity theft, then go through the process of getting new cards, a new government ID, and more.
The simple solution is to drop an AirTag into your wallet. Even better, you can use the Find My app to have the AirTag send you a notification if it’s left behind. Open Find My on your iPhone, tap Items at the bottom, and choose the AirTag you want to enable this for. Then scroll down, tap Notify When Left Behind to make sure this option is enabled, and choose any locations where you don’t want the alert to sound.
This has been a huge help for me! Recently, I was at a restaurant, and my wallet slipped out of my pocket without me knowing. As I got up to leave, my iPhone sent me a notification: “Brandon’s wallet was left behind”. I was able to go back to my table and pick up my wallet from the floor, instead of driving home without it.
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I misplaced my wallet daily. But with an AirTag, I never lose it for too long, because I can open the Find My app and use the real-time beacon tracking (which is precise as “turn to the left and walk 3 feet”) to find my wallet. Or, if it’s stuck in the couch cushions, the AirTag has a tiny speaker so you can find the missing item with a chime.
Track your luggage
Never travel without putting an AirTag in your suitcase
Credit:Â Brandon Miniman / MakeUseOf
Whether trying to find your suitcase on the luggage carousel at baggage claim or dealing with lost luggage from the airline, having an AirTag in your bag will ensure that you know the general vicinity of your precious belongings. If you can see that your suitcase is still waiting in Philadelphia while you check in at your hotel in Miami, you can give the airline a clue on where to look for your lost bag.
An AirTag is just one of the essential bits of travel tech you should carry.
Track your children
Bonus: know when the school bus is coming
Credit:Â Brandon Miniman / MakeUseOf
If you have children, this is a must. Placing an AirTag in your kid’s backpack means not only can you keep an eye on where they are after school, but has the added benefit of letting you track the school bus’s movement.
This has been especially helpful because the bus won’t drop off my young son unless I’m there. The bus is often not on time due to a variety of factors. With an AirTag, I can see the general location of the bus so I get to the stop on time (not too late, but also not too early where I’m wasting time). In addition, sometimes my daughters will go home with friends on different buses. Having an AirTag in their backpacks means I can always keep tabs on where they are.
This is especially helpful with young children who don’t yet have a phone or watch with cellular connectivity that offers more precise tracking. AirTags beacon their location as long as they’re around an Apple device. They do this via Bluetooth, anonymously, by crowdsourcing their location through the massive network of iPhones in the world.
Track your dog
A simple accessory means you’ll never lose Fido again
Credit:Â Jonathon Jachura / MUO
This is another example of how using an AirTag can save a life—in this case, your dog’s life. There are a variety of AirTag holders you can place on your dog’s collar, like the GOCII dog collar holder. Then if your dog takes off or is otherwise hard to find, you’ll be able to track them down.
A lot of them are even sealed to prevent moisture from entering the AirTag, since AirTags are not water-resistant yet. Remember that nothing is truly waterproof, though.
But they can really save the day
As great as AirTags are, there are many limitations to them. Most glaringly, they don’t work on Android. But since someone in your household likely has an iPhone, you can set up the AirTags with them.
Second, the tracking can be imprecise, and the update frequency can be low, if the AirTag hasn’t been in contact with an Apple device recently. This is why AirTags aren’t intended as real-time GPS trackers, but rather to give you an idea of an item’s whereabouts. Keep your expectations realistic.
Lastly, AirTags are powered by CR2032 batteries, which should last for about a year depending on how often you summon the AirTag. When the battery dies, so does the ability to track it. Fortunately, the Find My app does a good job of letting you know when any AirTag battery is getting low, so you can change it before this becomes a problem.
If you can’t get enough of AirTags, check out even more genius ways to use AirTags so you can put this revolutionary little device to better use.