If you cannot determine the exact location of your AirTag, AirPods case, or people sharing their location with you, take a look at these quick tips.

Using Precision Finding

Before getting started, here’s a quick reminder on how to use Precision Finding:

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone.
  2. Select an AirTag, AirPods Pro (2nd or 3rd generation), or a person with an iPhone 15 or newer who is sharing their location with you.
  3. Tap the Find button and follow the instructions to locate your item or friend. Note that if you are too far away, the Find button will be replaced with Directions.

Precision Finding provides an arrow and instructions indicating the direction you need to go to find the AirTag, AirPods, or iPhone user. It also shows how far away they are, allowing you to get an estimated distance and walk accordingly.

Generally, this process works reliably. However, in some cases, your iPhone may not be able to connect to the AirTag or AirPods. At other times, you may see a weak signal message on the screen even though you know you are close to the AirTag. In rare cases, the buttons on the Precision Finding screen (speaker, flash, message, and close X) may be unclickable.

Here are some quick tips to resolve these issues.

Basic Tips

  • Try walking towards the room or area where you think the lost item might be. Your iPhone can connect with the lost AirTag, AirPods case, or someone’s iPhone when you are approximately 30 to 50 feet (9-15 meters) away.
  • Go to iPhone Settings (not Control Center) and turn off Bluetooth. Then wait for 10 seconds and turn Bluetooth back on.
  • Toggle Airplane mode on and off from the iOS Control Center or Settings app.
  • Force close and reopen the Find My app.
  • Restart your iPhone.
  • Make sure the battery of your AirTag is not low.

Check Location Settings

Precision Finding works even when location services are completely turned off on your iPhone. However, for the best Find My app experience, ensure it is enabled by following Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Then tap on Find My and turn on Precise Location.

Restart the Other Device

If Precision Finding still isn’t working, restart the other device. Of course, you will only be able to do this after finding the item in another way.

  • AirTags: Remove and reinsert the battery.
  • AirPods: Keep both AirPods in their case and wait a few minutes. If the case battery is low, connect the case to a charger.
  • iPhone: Ensure reliable operation of Precision Finding by restarting the other phone.

Update Everything

Check and update whether your iPhone, AirPods, and AirTag have the latest software or hardware version.

Reset iPhone Settings

If you still cannot use Precision Finding, reset all settings by following Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone. This will not delete apps, photos, videos, or other personal data, but will restore all settings to factory defaults.

Factory Reset

Finally, if nothing works, consider factory resetting your AirTags or AirPods Pro. Then set them up again, and the tracking process should work properly now.

Precision Finding Works on These Devices

Apple's U1 or U2 Ultra Wideband chip provides spatial awareness for Precision Finding by allowing devices to determine their relative positions.

The Ultra Wideband chip is available on these devices.

U1 chip (first generation):

  • iPhone 11 to iPhone 14
  • iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation)
  • iPhone 16
  • iPhone 17
  • AirTag (1st generation)
  • MagSafe Charging Case for AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
  • Apple Watch Series 6, 7, and 8
  • Apple Watch Ultra

U2 chip (second generation):

  • iPhone 15 and newer
  • iPhone Air
  • AirTag (1st generation)
  • MagSafe Charging Case for AirPods Pro (3rd generation)
  • Apple Watch Series 9 and later
  • Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later

Note:

  • Finding people using Precision Finding is only available on iPhones with the U2 chip.
  • If you are in Japan, newer iPhones with the U2 chip will exhibit U1 chip performance due to the absence of certain Ultra Wideband frequencies.

Precision Finding Not Available in All Countries

If you are in one of these countries, you cannot use Precision Finding:

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belarus
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Russia
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • Uzbekistan

If you are in Indonesia or Nepal, you can only use Precision Finding on these new devices:

  • iPhone 17 models
  • iPhone Air
  • Apple Watch Series 11
  • Apple Watch Ultra 3
  • AirTag (2nd generation)
  • MagSafe Charging Case for AirPods Pro 3

What issue did you encounter? And were you able to resolve it?