The Apple AirTag is an ideal gadget to never lose your keys, bag, wallet or other stuff again. With an iPhone or iPad you can easily find the tracker, even if it is stolen. The AirTag is not really intended for Android phones and many functions do not work as well as on an Apple device. But it is indeed possible to read an AirTag with an Android device.
If you have an Android device, it is better to choose a tracker that is fully compatible with your phone or tablet. In this article we list some alternatives for you.
Thanks to the nfc chip in Android phones, you can recognize and read an AirTag. This is especially ideal if you see a lost AirTag and want to contact the person who lost the tracker. By holding your smartphone against the back of the AirTag, you will receive a notification on the screen. If you tap this, you will be led via your browser to a web page with information about this AirTag. You will then see, among other things, the serial number of the tracker.
By the way, you have to make sure that nfc is enabled on your android-phone. You do this in the settings, usually in the category Wireless and networks. Enable the nfc slider there. Android now shows the NFC icon at the top of the screen: a large N.
If the owner of the AirTag has indicated that he has lost his tracker, you will see the contact information of that owner. iPhone and iPad owners can do this by setting the AirTag to Lost Mode in the Find My app and entering their contact information.
Fighting Stalking
Apple has taken several measures to prevent AirTags from being used to stalk others. In principle, you can quite easily put a tracker in someone’s bag to follow them everywhere.
One of the measures taken is that an iPhone user will receive a signal if the AirTag has been in the vicinity for a long time. In principle, this function only works on a iPhone, but as an Android user you can also check if there is an AirTag near you. This is how you can get a bluetooth scannerapp to scan your surroundings for nearby Apple devices. But there is no doubt that the AirTag was mainly developed for iPhone and iPad users.
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