Rossen Reports: Can Apple AirTags really find your lost items?

Hey. Yeah. This could be the solution to the most annoying problem. I can't find my keys. I can't find my wallet. I can't find my bag. Anything you know Apple has had to find my iphone app for years. But that doesn't help when you lose your other stuff aside from your phone. Until now they've come out with this little thing. Let me come up close and show you what's called an air tag. Yeah. Look how little that is. It's supposed to help you find all the other things that mysteriously go missing. So how does it work? And doesn't really work? I'm testing this bad boy out. Mhm. This is the Apple air tag a little bigger than a quarter water resistant. The cost $29. They use bluetooth to pair with your phone, attach the tag to anything, your keys, your wallet. And if you lose it you can use your phone to find it but doesn't really work. So what happens is you get the air tag, You open up the find my app. It's on every iphone, every ipad comes standard. You open it up, you basically program and you match this air tag and call it whatever you want. Right? I'm gonna call this one jeffs wallet. This actually is my real wallet. And let's say I lost this thing all the time. By the way, this is my producer kelli helping in the experiment. So you can confirm this is my real wallet. Yeah, it's disgusting. It's like gross. All right. So let's say, you know you I lost this thing a lot. I popped the air tag and they're just like that. And I'm gonna ask you to hide this. Okay, first we're gonna start in this building. I want to see if I can find it in this building and then we'll have to go further and further and further away with other stuff to see what the range is. Okay. All right, so I'm gonna go hide. Well, I'm not gonna hide. I'm just gonna go around the corner. You hide it. Okay? All right, kelly tosses it where a lot of us tend to forget things while I wait outside. Okay? You hit it. I'm gonna try to find it. Here we go. I open the app and it's showing me right over here and it's showing that little money thing. That's the that's the wallet. Apple says when you get close enough, the air tag should find your phone and lead you right there with arrows. But I'm having a hard time. Okay? It says connected, But it's as signal as weak. Try moving to a different location. So if I come here, since we know the wallet is in this building, it feels like this should be easier, but I still can't get a signal. Finally it clicks in. 16 ft, 17 ft. Wait, I went too far. Oh, now it's giving me a little arrow. Okay, okay, 10 ft ahead. nine ft ahead. I'm gonna walk into a wall. Can I assume it's is the men's room? Hold on. Stay here, creep. Stay there. Okay. It's giving me arrows and here it is. Okay. Got it. But now comes the real test. What happens when you lose your stuff in a completely different location? Kelly is hiding my stuff miles away. All right, So now I have Jeff's headphones and I have his His real house keys. And Apple comes with these little key chains that you can put on your keys or really anything you need. So we're gonna hide his house keys about three miles away and it's headphones about 10 miles away. Let's see if you can find out. Okay, kelly just told me that they hit everything. So now I'm gonna come onto the app here to find my app and I see Jeff's keys. This is the three mile away one and already look at this. Can you zoom in there? Can you see it? I can already zoom in and look at the picture of a key. It looks like it's at a a service area behind the Mcdonald's. So that's kind of cool. And look here's the other really cool thing. There's a little thing here that says directions so you can actually click directions and go to the keys. So that's really cool. I start following to find my keys. Following the directions. Take the right Bacon Street and now I want Bacon. Remember I have no idea where these keys are hidden when I arrive. I can see I'm close. That's me. But I'm still having signal problems. Signal is still weak, but it looks like I'm right on top of it. After several minutes of searching 3ft to my left the keys and it just turned green. All right. Mhm. All right. Took a minute, but I got my keys back and trust me if you've lost your keys and you get them best feeling. But then kelly kicks it up a notch hiding my headphones 10 miles away. I'm back behind the wheel following those directions again on the app. All right. Let's give this a shot. See what we got. I walk and walk this fine. But my phone has trouble connecting to the air tag again, even though it's showing them right here kelly. Where'd you put my headphones? So, I hit a feature we haven't tested yet. I can ping the air tag and it will sound an alarm, Check this out. All right. Mhm. She hung them in a tray so she actually did not want me to find these. The legs are headphones in a tree. Okay. We got him. Yeah, boom. By the way, there's another feature you can choose to, let's say someone else finds your keys laying around before you get to them. You can remotely put the air tag into something called lost mode on your phone and whoever finds it can contact you. It'll give them your contact information. I'll put all of the information about these air tags on my website. Rossen reports dot com. So little and cute back to you.

Lost your keys? Your wallet? Apple is making it easier to find anything with its new AirTags. Watch the video above: Our Chief National Consumer Correspondent Jeff Rossen is putting his own personal items on the line to really find out if they work. What to know about AirTagsThey cost $29 a piece or you can get a pack of 4 for $99. The size of one is a bit larger than a quarter. You can slip these AirTags in your purse or bag �� or you can purchase a keychain or holder that can be attached to almost anything.You don’t have to worry if you drop something outside in rain or in a puddle because AirTags are water resistant. These tags have coin-cell batteries inside that last just over a year. Battery life can be monitored on your phone.Using the app to track your items The AirTags connect to the Find My app on your phone. AirTags send out secure Bluetooth signals that can be detected by nearby devices in the Find My network.This means they don’t drain your phone’s battery. These devices send the location of your AirTag that can be seen on a map in the app. The tags also used something called "Ultra Wideband Technology." It’s a spatial awareness technology that searches for directional awareness. When you go searching for it and are in range, you can hit the "Find" button on the app. The app will pop up arrows, pointing you in the direction the AirTag is. Plus, it will let you know how many feet away you are from the missing item. You can also ping the AirTag. It will give off an alarm sound to help guide you to the missing item.If you get a message on the phone saying the signal is weak, it’s just your phone trying to communicate with the tag. Lost ModeLet’s say you’ve searched for your missing item and you just can’t seem to find it. AirTags can be put into "Lost Mode." Then, when it’s detected by another device (maybe someone walking by), it automatically sends a notification. You can set it up so that if someone does find it, they can contact you to return the lost item. What about your privacy?Because you connect the AirTag to your phone’s Find My App, only you can see where your AirTag is. The location data is never stored on the tag itself.Apple says the whole process is anonymous and encrypted. Apple doesn’t even know where your AirTag is! Interested in trying out some AirTags for yourself? Click here to purchase some. Here’s a link to the attachment loop as well.

Lost your keys? Your wallet? Apple is making it easier to find anything with its new AirTags.

Watch the video above: Our Chief National Consumer Correspondent Jeff Rossen is putting his own personal items on the line to really find out if they work.

What to know about AirTags

They cost $29 a piece or you can get a pack of 4 for $99. The size of one is a bit larger than a quarter. You can slip these AirTags in your purse or bag �� or you can purchase a keychain or holder that can be attached to almost anything.

You don’t have to worry if you drop something outside in rain or in a puddle because AirTags are water resistant. These tags have coin-cell batteries inside that last just over a year. Battery life can be monitored on your phone.

Using the app to track your items

The AirTags connect to the Find My app on your phone. AirTags send out secure Bluetooth signals that can be detected by nearby devices in the Find My network.

This means they don’t drain your phone’s battery. These devices send the location of your AirTag that can be seen on a map in the app.

The tags also used something called "Ultra Wideband Technology." It’s a spatial awareness technology that searches for directional awareness. When you go searching for it and are in range, you can hit the "Find" button on the app. The app will pop up arrows, pointing you in the direction the AirTag is. Plus, it will let you know how many feet away you are from the missing item. You can also ping the AirTag. It will give off an alarm sound to help guide you to the missing item.

If you get a message on the phone saying the signal is weak, it’s just your phone trying to communicate with the tag.

Lost Mode

Let’s say you’ve searched for your missing item and you just can’t seem to find it. AirTags can be put into "Lost Mode." Then, when it’s detected by another device (maybe someone walking by), it automatically sends a notification. You can set it up so that if someone does find it, they can contact you to return the lost item.

What about your privacy?

Because you connect the AirTag to your phone’s Find My App, only you can see where your AirTag is. The location data is never stored on the tag itself.

Apple says the whole process is anonymous and encrypted. Apple doesn’t even know where your AirTag is!

Interested in trying out some AirTags for yourself?

to purchase some. Here’s a as well.

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