With the Find My network accessory platform, third-party accessary makers can add Find My integration to their devices, allowing products to be tracked in the Find My app right aboard Apple devices and AirTags .
This lead covers everything that you need to know about the accessary platform, from how it works to which devices offer Find My consolidation .
How Tracking Third-Party Accessories Works
accessory makers that join Apple ‘s Made for iPhone program and participate in the Find My network accessory program can add Find My consolidation into any Bluetooth device.
That means that a Bluetooth or WiFi device with Find My compatibility can be tracked right in the Find My app alongside your Apple products. In iOS 14.3 or later, there’s an “Items” tab available in Find My, which is where all third-party accessories can be located.
That means that a Bluetooth or WiFi device with Find My compatibility can be tracked right in the Find My app aboard your Apple products. In io 14.3 or late, there ‘s an “ Items ” yellow journalism available in Find My, which is where all third-party accessories can be located. Find My for third-party accessories works good like Find My for any of your Apple devices, with your accessories shown on a map. Third-party Find My accessories can take advantage of all of Apple ‘s Find My functionality .
then if a Bluetooth-equipped device is nearby, it will show up in the Find My app, but if it ‘s out of compass, the map will show the last know location. If you lose an detail and person else with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac comes close up to it, it can communicate with their device with the approximate placement of the detail relayed securely and privately back to you .
Setting Up Third-Party Find My Devices
The Find My app is the one-stop workshop for adding, controlling, and locating any Find My-compatible accessory, as third-party accessories designed to work with Find My ca n’t support other apps or token localization networks .
There ‘s an “ Items ” yellow journalism in the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and to add an item, you fair tap on the “ Add Item ” option. You will need to follow the instructions from the device manufacturer to put your Find My accessory into a coupling mode, and that will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer .
With VanMoof bikes, for example, you need to double press on the power button of the bike to put it into pairing mode to connect it to the Find My app.
With VanMoof bikes, for case, you need to double press on the world power push button of the bicycle to put it into pairing mood to connect it to the Find My app. You can give all of your items custom names and assign an emoji to them so you can identify each one at a glance on the Find My map. Adding an item to Find My does require your Apple ID, as it links that item to your ID .
Locating Lost Third-Party Devices With Find My
If you open up the Find My app and voyage to the Items pill, you can see all of your Find My-compatible accessories on a map. You ‘ll see current placement if the accessory is able to communicate with your iPhone, iPad, or Mac over Bluetooth, or the last know location if it is besides far away. It will besides tell you the death time that your device communicated with the accessory .
You can play sounds on Find My accessories, and if lost, place them into a Lost Mode. Putting a device into Lost Mode allows you to lock it down to prevent it from being paired with another Apple device, and it adds a phone number and message in case anyone comes across your lost item.
You can play sounds on Find My accessories, and if lost, place them into a Lost Mode. Putting a device into Lost Mode allows you to lock it down to prevent it from being paired with another Apple device, and it adds a phone number and message in sheath anyone comes across your lost token. If person who has an iPad, iPhone, or Mac comes across your lost Find My accessory, they can use the Find My app to see your message and get in touch. You ‘ll besides get a presentment when it ‘s located through another person ‘s device, and its localization will show up on the map .
The Find My network that allows lost devices to be found through crowdsourcing is anonymous and code, so while you will get information on where your lost item might be, you wo n’t see who discovered it unless they contact you after you ‘ve provided a message and a earphone number .
Putting an Item Into Lost Mode
You can put a lose detail into Lost Mode by tapping on its name in Find My and then tapping “ enable ” under Lost Mode. Apple prompts you to input a earphone number where you can be reached, and you can besides choose to get a notification when updated location information becomes available .
Lost Mode can be disabled by toggling off “Enabled” under the Lost Mode option.
Preventing Theft
Lost Mode can be disabled by toggling off “ enable ” under the Lost Mode option. Find My items are linked to your Apple ID much like iPhones, iPads, and Macs. If person steals an accessory with Find My build in, that person will not be able to link the item to their own Apple ID history.
Getting Directions to a Lost Item
Tapping on any of your third-party accessories in the Find My app will show its last localization. If it ‘s not near by, you can tap on “ Directions ” to open its location in the Apple Maps app to get directions from your current location to the localization of your item .
Separation Alerts
Apple in io 15 add separation Alerts to the Find My app, which are designed to let you know if you leave an Apple device, a device attached to an AirTag, or a determine My-enabled third-party device behind .
You can set up Separation Alerts in the Find My app, so if you want to make sure your iPhone is always with you or that you don’t leave the house without the keys, this is the feature to use.
You can set up Separation Alerts in the Find My app, indeed if you want to make surely your iPhone is constantly with you or that you do n’t leave the house without the key, this is the feature of speech to use .
Updating Items
Third-party accessories that connect to Find My can get firmware updates. To install an update, wiretap on the detail ‘s name in the Find My app and then tap on “ Update Available. ” If no Update Available button is listed, then the item is up to date .
Check an Item’s Serial Number
Tapping on an token in the Find My app and then tapping on “ Show Details ” will let you see information like consecutive number or model number, and it will let you know if the manufacturer has an app available for you to download to add extra features to the item .
How to Identify Someone’s Lost Item
If you come across a fall back item and you know that it has Find My integration, you can open up the Find My app and tap on the “ Identify Found Item ” option to see if the person who has lost it has left a message and a contact number so you can get in touch with them .
Scanning for lost items using the Find My app will take you to a web site to see a Lost Mode message .
Unknown Item Safety Alerts
If Apple detects a Find My accessary that is on your person or moving with you, it will send you a safety alert. This is thus you can make sure no one has planted a tracking device on you .
If you get one of these alerts, you can tap into it to see the nameless item on a map or play a sound. You can besides tap “ Learn More About This token ” to get details, such as consecutive number, and there is an option to disable the detail so that it stops sharing your localization. Tap on “ Instructions ” and then tap “ disable item ” to do this .
note that if you have an token belonging to another person and disable location alerts, the item will not be available to you because it is already linked to an Apple ID .
There are instances where safety alerts can be inconvenient, such as if a family penis nearby has a Find My detail that your device is picking up. In this situation, you can turn off condom alerts for people in your Family Sharing group or tap on “ Pause Safety Alerts ” to mute them for the day .
condom alerts can be turned off wholly adenine well if you ‘re getting an annoying number of notifications. Under the “ Me ” check, go to Notifications and then toggle off Item Safety Alerts. This needs to be done on a per-device footing .
Removing an Item From Find My
If you want to sell or give away a Find My accessory, you need to remove it from Find My. Bring it near your device, tap “ Remove Item, ” and follow the instructions .
You can besides remove an item from your account if it ‘s not nearby, but it will still be locked and wo n’t be able to be added to anyone ‘s history because of its link to your Apple ID .
Third-Party Accessories That Support Find My
There are a limited number of Find My accessories available at the current time, but Apple expects more manufacturers to add Find My hold in the future .
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Compatibility Requirements
Adding a compatible third-party accessory to the Find My app requires io 14.3 or late, iPadOS 14.3 or late, or macOS Big Sur 11.1 or late .
Apple in April 2021 introduced AirTags, which are humble, round, Bluetooth-enabled item trackers designed to be attached to items like keys and wallets to allow them to be tracked right aboard Apple devices and Find My Network accessories in the Find My app .
For everything you need to know about AirTags and how they work, we have a dedicated AirTags lead .