AirTags in locations with limited connectivity

[j-a-x]

I've got an AirTags question that I have not seen the answer to. I understand how AirTags work and that they rely on other peoples iPhones to relay information about them including their location to a central server which requires internet connectivity.
I am wondering about a scenario in a location with no connectivity .

Let's say I go hiking with an AirTag in my wallet and I drop my wallet in the mountains at a location with no cell service, but it's a heavily trafficked trail and lots of people with iPhones walk by that location on a given day. Since there is no connectivity, would the hikers walking past my wallet pick up the info about my AirTrag and then post it to the server in a few days when they return to civilization? In this case, my wallets location would eventually show in FindMy, it would however be delayed because none of the users who encounter it would have connectivity for a few days. Or would it never show up in FindMy because each phone that encounters it only pings the server in real time as they walk by and therefore it would never updated because there is no service at that location?

Has anybody tested the functionality in a situation such as this?

 

[waw74]

“Since the Finding devices cache received broadcasts until they have an internet connection, the sensors can even send out data from areas without mobile coverage as long as people pass the area,” Bräunlein explained.

https://threatpost.com/apple-find-my-exploited-bluetooth/166121/

 

[j-a-x]

https://threatpost.com/apple-find-my-exploited-bluetooth/166121/

Thank you. It was so hard to find that info on my own.

 

[michaelb5000]

I can't quite tell how that security article relates to your question. But I did test this when I first got the airtag. I have a path that goes through my woods in a loop. I left the airtag on a log along the path and walked away. I then put the airtag in a lost mode and walked the loop several times, so that I walked by it again several times. In most of those tests, it did not alert and it did not update its location even though I was passing by 10 feet away. I sometimes stopped at that location and it did not alert. But a few times it did, so this is a bit hit or miss and I didn't do this enough to really know for sure. So for losing your keys on a hiking trail, the airtag may or may not work, it may depend on luck and it may depend on how many folks pass by that stop.

Another key point is that the airtag does not record where it was lost, so it does not keep track of when and where it was separated from your phone. So in my tests above, it generally showed as lost at my house, and the airtag had not updated to the location of the walk.

But: I have my airtag on my kayak trailer. This is parked in my yard 50-100 feet from the road. the airtag regularly updates its location from people that run or walk by (I assume not driving by). It updated this morning for example. It does not show the street address accurately for the most part, so it often misses the address by a few hundred feet, probably a delay for when the info gets relayed while the phone is moving by.

 

[waw74]

I can't quite tell how that security article relates to your question.

The quote that answers the question, that's posted with the link, came from the article that's linked.

put the airtag in a lost mode and walked the loop several times, so that I walked by it again several times. In most of those tests, it did not alert, and it did not update its location even though I was passing by 10 feet away.

all lost mode does is change the website that shows up when someone scans the tag using NFC. The NFC tag just sends a web URL. That URL has the tag's ID encoded in it, and a server at apple decides what to show on the page.
using NFC can be done on any type of phone with NFC (including androids), but the tag and the phone must be almost touching.
You can try this out, hold a tag against the center of the top back edge of your phone, (right behind where the front facing camera is.) you should get a message on your phone that wants to open a web page.

if an item is not marked as lost, and someone scans the tag (holds it against the NFC reader in their phone), they get a webpage that has your phone number, but most of it is hidden, they only see the last 4 digits, its enough for someone you know to figure out it belongs to you, but not enough for a stranger to be able to get your number by quickly scanning one of your tags.

if the item is marked as lost, then the owner of the tag can add a message that is displayed on that web page with more detailed contact info.

lost mode will also send you an alert the next time someone's device picks up a ping from your tag.

But, if a tag doesn't ping while a device is close, nothing will happen.
The tags don't transmit constantly, they send out pings every now and then, the exact timing of the pings is known only to apple. It's possible the tags know if their ping gets heard, the phone could send a "got it" message back to the tag. and if the tag hasn't received a "got it" message in a while, it could ping more frequently. Or it's also possible that phones send out a "Marco" ping occasionally to see if they get a "Polo" ping back from any tags that might be around. The tags also have a motion sensor, so it might send pings less often when it hasn't moved in a while.

being 10 feet away from a tag doesn't mean much, unless you are in precision finding mode.

if the trail is on private property, and no devices pass by, then it can't update it's location. On a public hiking trail with moderate traffic, it should be found.
Some of the blogs tested this out, they sent one of their co-workers out into the wild, but made them leave all their devices back in the office. The person went to a coffee shop on a side street with not a lot of traffic, and their location showed up within 10-15 minutes. This was in the first couple days of the tags being on sale, so only phones that had updated iOS in the last day or 2 would have known what to do with the ping. Now a much larger percentage of phones will receive the ping so it should be faster.


In iOS 15, this should get a bit better, as you can set "left behind" notifications, so if your keys fall out of your pocket on a trail, your phone should alert you fairly quickly.

 

[Marli]

It takes a long time to get a separation alert…. That long the features is basically useless.

 

[fischersd]

It takes a long time to get a separation alert…. That long the features is basically useless.

You mean the time to receive a "You've left this item behind" alert? I received one for my phone (on the 34th floor) as I walked out the front lobby door. That works for me.

Heh - in case it wasn't obvious - received the alert on my Watch. (both are running beta software).