To Track or not to Track: AirTag on a Pet Collar
“Should I attach an AirTag to my dog’s collar?”
That’s a question that more and more people are asking since Apple launched its tracker.
To answer this, we need to understand how this technology works:
First, the AirTag is a Bluetooth tracker so the actual maximum distance, and in a straight line with no obstacles, is 30 meters (98 feet). This tracking is very precise and if you have an iPhone 11 or newer you will have an incredible to-the-cm location of your lost object. Wow!
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Apple's FindMy Tracking |
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Great for keys, wallets and maybe a backpack? But what if my dog runs away or gets lost?
If you live in a forest, mountain or isolated place, once the Tag is out of Bluetooth reach you won’t be able to track it. In this case you need a GPS system, with its pros and various cons.
If you live in the city or well-populated area everything changes. The AirTag will “use” any device within Apple’s FindMy network as a “repeater” to send a proximate location to your iPhone. That’s any Apple device with internet access within 20-30 meters of your tracker. And there are more than 1.6 billion of them worldwide! Pretty cool right?
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Harness with AirTag holder by Florenze Leather |
Moreover the “repeater” device owner will never know because everything happens in complete anonymity. You don’t know who they are and they don’t know they are helping you track your lost object, or pet!
What’s even cooler is that if you put your Tag in “Lost Mode” with a message, even Android users will be able to “read” the AirTag and contact you! This is possible because AirTags also have NFC, the technology also used to make contactless payments. So, if your phone (any phone) has NFC enabled, you can read a lost AirTag by simply getting your phone close to it.
Last but not least, AirTags are water (splash) resistant and the battery should last a year.
Therefore, “should I put an AirTag to my dog’s or cat’s collar?”
Even if the possibility of finding your tag is directly proportional to how populated your area is, we could answer this with a very simple question: Why not? It’s much better to have it than not to. It’s a simple matter of probability.
Check our new AirTag Edition collars and harnesses HERE
