Airtag/iPad not exactly accurate

[usmaak]

So I got this airtag the other day and set it all up. Tonight I opened Find My on my iPad and looked at the airtag. It is showing that it is in my neighbor’s house. It’s not, though. I am sitting here looking at it on my table right next to me. Is there anything that I can do to make this more accurate? I thought that it would be more accurate than this. If I were looking for something, I wouldn’t find it.

 

[deeddawg]

What's your iphone say the location is?

If you don't have an iphone I'm wondering if perhaps the neighbor has an iphone which last "saw" the airtag?

System works by devices reporting in to Apple the airtags/devices they've seen and the phone's current location - but there can be a lag -- so your neighbor walks by, their phone picks up the airtag, but doesn't send the report until they're home, so the reported location is next door.

I'd think the ipad should work for this too, so I'd check ipad settings to ensure it's participating in the findmy network.

Add your iPad to Find My

Add your iPad to Find My so you can locate it if it’s lost.

support.apple.com

 

[usmaak]

What's your iphone say the location is?

If you don't have an iphone I'm wondering if perhaps the neighbor has an iphone which last "saw" the airtag?

System works by devices reporting in to Apple the airtags/devices they've seen and the phone's current location - but there can be a lag -- so your neighbor walks by, their phone picks up the airtag, but doesn't send the report until they're home, so the reported location is next door.

I'd think the ipad should work for this too, so I'd check ipad settings to ensure it's participating in the findmy network.

Add your iPad to Find My

Add your iPad to Find My so you can locate it if it’s lost.

support.apple.com

View attachment 2178050

The iPhone is a little better. It puts it in my house. By the circle on the map is circling the right side of my neighbors house and the left side of my house for some reason.

 

[usmaak]

This is from my MacBook. I have an AirTag, my iPhone, my iPad, and my MacBook. All four of these show up in my neighbor's house.

 

[deeddawg]

This is from my MacBook. I have an AirTag, my iPhone, my iPad, and my MacBook. All four of these show up in my neighbor's house.

View attachment 2178096

What do your phone, ipad, and macbook show as their map location? Also - what models phone and ipad?

Remember that the reported location of the AirTag is the location of whatever device last detected it, Airtags have no individual geolocation capability.

Point is to get you and your phone into the general vicinity of the AirTag, and then use the Precision Finding function to find your keys or purse or whatever. I suspect that if the device last seeing it doesn't have precision finding capability (ipads, macbooks, older model phones) you won't get a truly precise location. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210967

Here's what I see for an AirTag in my bicycle in the bottom level garage of my house. Pretty good on location. I have a recent model phone.

 

[usmaak]

My iPhone seems more accurate than my iPad or MacBook. It’s in my house, though in the wrong place. But on my iPad, when click Go, it even says that it is at my neighbor’s address. This screenshot is from my phone.

 

[usmaak]

I just looked at it on my old second gen iPad Pro and it is more accurate than my M2 iPad Pro.

 

[deeddawg]

I just looked at it on my old second gen iPad Pro and it is more accurate than my M2 iPad Pro.

Neither supports the precision finding AFAIK

 

[usmaak]

Neither supports the precision finding AFAIK

I think that the only ones that do are the Cellular models and both of mine are wifi only.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You really need an iphone with a U1 chip if you want really precise tracking.

 

[usmaak]

You really need an iphone with a U1 chip if you want really precise tracking.

I have one - 14 Pro Max.

 

[cynics]

Garbage in garbage out. The AirTags location is only as good as the devices its using to report its location. An iPhone using GPS and Wifi can still have a pretty wide margin for error if its indoors. Once you get to the location you can tap "Find" and walk around letting the phone point you at it.

 

[saltcityman11]

Make sure 'Precise Location' is enabled

If you're unable to connect to your AirTag, even when you have a compatible iPhone running the latest iOS update, make sure that the proper settings are enabled. To use this feature, Precise Location has to be enabled in your iPhone's settings.