User level: Level 1 (4 points)Since that latest I phone update my AirTags have trouble connecting so they ring. Also they don’t show moving on the map. It’s hard to find my cat.
Posted on Nov 7, 2026 4:41 AM
User level: Level 2 (354 points)Nov 7, 2026 10:39 AM in response to dj1indy100
After an update, the setting that most often breaks this is Find My network getting turned off. Check these in order:
1. Settings > [your name] > Find My: Find My iPhone must be ON, and the Find My network toggle just below it must be ON too. Without that, your AirTags only update when your own phone is close, and they look frozen on the map.
2. Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Find My: set to While Using the App or Always, with Precise Location on. Bluetooth must be on as well, Play Sound only works when the AirTag is within Bluetooth range of your phone.
3. Restart the iPhone, then stand near the AirTag and try Play Sound again.
4. Check the batteries. An AirTag battery lasts about a year, and a low CR2032 makes connecting flaky exactly like this. Find My shows a low battery warning on the item when it gets low.
One expectation to set for the cat: an AirTag has no GPS of its own. Its map position updates whenever it passes within Bluetooth range of any Apple device on the Find My network, so in a quiet neighborhood it moves in jumps rather than smoothly. With Find My network back on it should start updating regularly again.
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256390257