Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/reddit user Nice-Ferret-3067
As a cat person, losing your cuddly friend is one of the worst things that could happen. Trackers have been around for as long as we can remember, but the debut of the AirTag made everything a lot more convenient.
Dedicated AirTag pet holders are already an established accessory category, so you can find hundreds of models online, from cheap $1 designs to leather-made fancy and more premium versions.
Putting an AirTag on your pet works like a charge in busy residential areas where the device can connect to a nearby iPhone to broadcast its location. AirTags don't have built-in Internet access, so they must find an iPhone in their proximity and use their data connection to transmit its coordinates to the master device.
Apple says AirTags have a 30-foot (approximately 9 meters) range, so the tracker cannot send its location unless an iPhone is very close.
It's one of the device's main shortcomings. Because it doesn't have built-in Internet access, AirTags can't work without a nearby iPhone. Redditor Nice-Ferret-3067 figured this out in the most horrible way, as they lost their cat in the country next to what looks to be a huge field.
The cat was wearing an AirTag, but considering no nearby iPhone existed, determining its location was impossible. The redditor came up with a brilliant idea: they attached their iPhone to a drone and used it to fly over the field, hoping the AirTag would detect the smartphone and ping its location. It didn't work on the first attempt, but the AirTag eventually connected to the iPhone on the second day.
The idea is brilliant, and while it's subject to regulations (such as operating drones with a certain weight), it could help find lost objects or pets in a way that no other device does.
On the other hand, I can't help but emphasize that GPS trackers are still better choices than an AirTag for monitoring pets. A GPS tracker offers permanent monitoring, and if you lose your pet in the countryside, you should be able to locate it quite easily. GPS is even more accurate in open fields without any surrounding buildings which could reduce the signal strength, so you can determine the pet's location much faster without the need for other devices.
It doesn't mean this method is flawless. I can think of a million things that could go wrong, such as the iPhone detaching from the drone and losing it in the field or the drone scaring the cat and making it run away from its current location, making the search even more difficult. Fortunately, it worked this time, so now you know what to do if you lose your AirTag-track furry friend in an open field.
Putting an AirTag on your pet works like a charge in busy residential areas where the device can connect to a nearby iPhone to broadcast its location. AirTags don't have built-in Internet access, so they must find an iPhone in their proximity and use their data connection to transmit its coordinates to the master device.
Apple says AirTags have a 30-foot (approximately 9 meters) range, so the tracker cannot send its location unless an iPhone is very close.
It's one of the device's main shortcomings. Because it doesn't have built-in Internet access, AirTags can't work without a nearby iPhone. Redditor Nice-Ferret-3067 figured this out in the most horrible way, as they lost their cat in the country next to what looks to be a huge field.
The cat was wearing an AirTag, but considering no nearby iPhone existed, determining its location was impossible. The redditor came up with a brilliant idea: they attached their iPhone to a drone and used it to fly over the field, hoping the AirTag would detect the smartphone and ping its location. It didn't work on the first attempt, but the AirTag eventually connected to the iPhone on the second day.
The idea is brilliant, and while it's subject to regulations (such as operating drones with a certain weight), it could help find lost objects or pets in a way that no other device does.
On the other hand, I can't help but emphasize that GPS trackers are still better choices than an AirTag for monitoring pets. A GPS tracker offers permanent monitoring, and if you lose your pet in the countryside, you should be able to locate it quite easily. GPS is even more accurate in open fields without any surrounding buildings which could reduce the signal strength, so you can determine the pet's location much faster without the need for other devices.
It doesn't mean this method is flawless. I can think of a million things that could go wrong, such as the iPhone detaching from the drone and losing it in the field or the drone scaring the cat and making it run away from its current location, making the search even more difficult. Fortunately, it worked this time, so now you know what to do if you lose your AirTag-track furry friend in an open field.
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