AirTag Cat Collar: InTheWild
...what's the range???
Precision Finding (PF) is an AirTag feature for iPhone 11 and later (excluding SE), that uses Ultra Wideband (U1/U2 chip) to show precise distance and direction to a lost item when nearby.
It works in the Find My app under “Items” > “Find Nearby”. For PF to work, it requires Bluetooth and Location Services on the iPhone to be activated. Environmental factors, including wall materials or objects between the iPhone and the AirTag, might impact performance, but it’s still nifty regardless.
Find Nearby
We know how well the AirTag works in locating a cat inside the house using Precision Finding. Now, we’ll show our experiences using PF in tracking our intern, Reese, when he’s outside. (Yes, he is also the cat.)
Visually locating Reese is difficult under the best of conditions. Since he is a feline, he loves to hide, and is almost impossible to spot when not moving.
We were only able to locate and get a pic of him because we saw him walking into the patch of bamboo.
A non-moving cat is pretty difficult to see, even when completely out in the open. Reese can hear us calling him, but most of the time he will sit in his spot and wait to see if we have him spotted…not that he cares…LOL! The photo below is a high-resolution pic…pan around and see if you can locate him in the image. It is not that easy 🙂
Precision Finding
The AirTag’s PF mode uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to provide precise, on-screen direction arrows and distance cues to locate Reese. Its range is only about ~100 feet, which is a pretty short distance inside, and especially so when trying to locate a cat outside.
Where the arrow is pointing and where the cat actually is are close, provided that we didn’t move while using PF.
Surprisingly, when the cat was moving, the PF feature was very effective in helping us locate and track it out in the open. The tracking is updated in real time with direction and distance, and with good accuracy!
FinalThoughts
Our RainyDayIntern has been helping us test the AirTag for almost a month. The tracking has proven to be extremely reliable and effective. When Reese is inside, we can locate him easily with the app. When outside and in range, his general location can be quickly determined. With the help of Precision Finding, his exact position can be pinpointed.
A recent “situation” convinced us that fitting Reese with the AirTag collar was absolutely worth it:
It was a normal Saturday morning when we let Reese out to make his perimeter check around the RainyDayGarden. After about 30 minutes, we called him to come inside for his snack. He didn’t show, so we fired up the app to see where he was. We tracked him to somewhere inside the house, but it was pointing to a location 3′ away behind a wall…he had somehow got himself inside the unit next door!
We knew that the unit was empty, but the realtor was having an open house and had left the front door open while they were getting things ready that morning…and Reese had somehow gotten himself locked inside. Once we realized where he was, we went over and retrieved him 🙂
Without the AirTag on his collar, he probably would have been trapped there all day, and who knows how long it would have taken before we would have figured that out. AirTag FTW!!!
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