This article explains how to use AirTags with Android devices. AirTags are designed for use with Apple devices and only have full functionality with newer iPhones, but you can use them to a limited degree with Android.

How to Use AirTags With Android

Because the Find My app isn�t available for Android, your options for using AirTags with an Android phone are limited.

Apple released an Android app called Tracker Detect, which tracks item trackers and works with Apple’s Find My network. It won’t do so automatically; you have to prompt it to detect trackers. You can use it to scan for an AirTag; it will check for trackers that are outside the Bluetooth range of the owner’s device.

If the app detects an AirTag or another item tracker near you for at least 10 minutes, you can make it play a sound to help locate it. The app helps find AirTags you’ve misplaced and detects AirTags that might be used to track you.

Open the app and tap Scan—tap Stop Scanning to stop.

Previously, the only way to do that was to install a Bluetooth scanner on your Android phone.

Another way to use AirTags with Android is to scan a lost AirTag if you find one. It’s not as robust as using an iPhone, but it lets you see the phone number or message the AirTag owner input when they put it into Lost Mode. This may help you reunite the AirTag and its connected item with the owner.

How to Scan For AirTags on Android

The Find My app allows iPhones to scan for AirTags with high precision if the iPhone has the U1 chip, or with less accuracy if it doesn’t. To scan for AirTags using Android, install a Bluetooth scanner app. Then, look for an unnamed Bluetooth device made by Apple and use the signal strength to locate it.

Here’s how to scan for AirTags with Android:

1. Use the Find My app on your Mac to find the last known location of your lost AirTag, and go there.

   If you’re helping look for someone else’s AirTag, have them give you the location.

2. Install a Bluetooth scanner app on your phone.

3. Open the Bluetooth scanner and check the local devices.

   This will show you every nearby Bluetooth device, not just the AirTag.

4. Look for an unnamed device, and check its details.

5. Check the manufacturer-specific data of the unnamed device for an entry saying Apple, Inc. or displaying the Apple logo.

   If the entry doesn’t say Apple, Inc., move around the area and try to locate another unnamed entry. AirTags and other Bluetooth Apple devices all say Apple, Inc. in the manufacturer specific data.

6. Move around in the same general vicinity while observing the signal strength of the device that you suspect may be an AirTag.

   Some Bluetooth scanners include a radar or visualization mode that you can select to help find nearby devices.

7. The signal strength will increase as you get closer to the AirTag and decrease as you move further away.

   The scanner won’t be able to give you a direction, only a rough idea of how far away you are.

8. Once you locate the AirTag, scan it with the NFC reader in your phone to verify that it’s the one you’re looking for.

How to Scan an AirTag on Android

AirTags are designed to be scanned with any phone that has an NFC reader, so you can scan a lost AirTag with an Android phone.

Here’s how to scan an AirTag using an Android phone:

1. Tap the white side of the AirTag to your phone.

2. Place the AirTag against your phone’s NFC reader. If you can’t find the reader, contact your phone’s manufacturer for assistance.

   When the AirTag is successfully read, your phone will provide a popup prompt or just automatically launch a webpage.

3. If the AirTag has been marked as lost, you’ll be able to see the phone number the owner provided or the message they entered when they put the AirTag into Lost Mode.

AirTag Alternatives for Android Users

If you’re primarily an Android user or use a mix of Android and Apple devices, the fact AirTags don’t really work with Android can be an issue. While AirTags work great with Apple devices, functionality is severely limited with Android phones.

Other Bluetooth trackers, like Tile and Galaxy SmartTag, offer better Android integration than AirTags. These alternatives work equally well with Apple devices, though they lack the Precision Finding feature available with AirTags on iPhones with the U1 chip. If you don’t have a newer iPhone or you want to use Bluetooth trackers across multiple devices, platform-agnostic options like Tile and Galaxy SmartTag provide a better experience.

Do Apple AirTags Work With Android?

AirTags are different from other Bluetooth trackers like Tile because they rely on Apple’s U1 chip to provide complete functionality. Functionality is limited in iPhones that lack the U1 chip, and it’s even more limited in non-Apple devices. You need an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to set up AirTags because they require the Find My app that’s only available for Apple devices. You also need an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to put AirTags into Lost Mode or find your AirTags on a map because both of those functions require the Find My app.