Eric Zeman / Android Authority
Smart trackers like the Apple AirTag and Samsung Galaxy SmartTag promise to help you keep track of your luggage, wallet and other personal belongings. Indeed, they can come in handy if you lose your belongings or forget where you left your car keys. Newer models can even remotely inform you of their whereabouts so you can track them even from another city. Here’s everything you need to know about how smart tracking tags like AirTags work.
Related: The Best Apple AirTag Alternatives
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Most smart trackers, including Apple AirTags, don’t use GPS to report their location. Instead, they use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate their whereabouts to your smartphone. Some recent models also include Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, allowing them to provide positional guidance down to a few centimeters.
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How do smart tags like Apple AirTags work?
Smart trackers like the Apple AirTag and Tile Tag use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with your smartphone. It’s worth noting that modern smart trackers also broadcast Bluetooth signals that any nearby smartphone can pick up — not just yours. These nearby smartphones routinely upload your tag’s location to the cloud, so you can see the last known location on a map anywhere in the world. Apple calls this the Find My network, while Samsung has a similar network called Galaxy Find.
While Bluetooth works well enough to approximate a tag’s location, it won’t help narrow the search if you’re within a few feet of it. For this reason, a handful of tags now include Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology.
Apple AirTags use both Bluetooth and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies to indicate their whereabouts.
In a nutshell, UWB is a short-range wireless communication protocol that works alongside existing standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. Unlike those protocols, however, UWB allows exact location determination, down to a few centimeters. This will allow your phone to literally direct you to the exact location of the tag once you are within UWB range, as pictured above.
Modern flagship smartphones, including the iPhone 13, Pixel 6 Proand Galaxy S22 Series, support UWB. As for smart tags with UWB support, you have to choose between the Apple AirTag and Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus.
Don’t worry if your smartphone doesn’t contain UWB or if you bought a tracker with only Bluetooth. Almost all tags on the market also have a built-in speaker and can play a sound. You must be within range of the tag and using the associated app.
How AirTags, Tile and SmartTag help you find your stuff
While Apple’s AirTags work with just about any modern iPhone, most other third-party trackers on the market only work if you have the corresponding app installed on your device.
After extracting a new smart tag, you will first be prompted to associate it with your account. This is usually as simple as holding the tag close to your smartphone and following the on-screen prompts. Once you’ve linked a smart tag to your account, you should be able to track its location through the companion app. With UWB, as explained above, your phone should also be able to provide positional guidance for the tag.
If you are not within Bluetooth or UWB distance of a paired AirTag or Galaxy SmartTag, you may still be able to access the last known location. In fact, your chances of finding it improve if it’s in a crowded or populated area. This is because strangers walking past your tag will have their smartphones automatically detect your tag and upload its location to the Apple Find My and Samsung Galaxy Find networks.
Also see: How to find your Apple Watch when it’s lost or stolen