Since November, Apple has released two firmware updates for AirTag trackers, but at the time the company didn’t provide information on what had changed. Earlier this week, Apple finally updated a support document explaining what’s new.

AitTag New Firmware
According to Apple, software update 2.0.24 allows AirTag owners to use Precision Finding to help locate an unknown AirTag with an iPhone.

Also introduced in the 2.0.24 update, if a user’s iPhone is awake, a new notification alerts them when an AirTag assigned to the owner is nearby and emits a sound to indicate that it has been moved. It can then be tracked by voice or exact search if the feature is available. Apple says this change will also help if the AirTag sound is hard to hear or if the speaker is damaged.

Two features were promised by Apple earlier this year to prevent AirTag from being used for tracking purposes.

In addition, Apple says the latest software update, 2.0.36, fixes an issue with the AirTag accelerator not activating in certain scenarios. All features listed above require iOS 16.2 or later, and features that use Precision Finding require iPhone 11 or later models with the U1 Ultra Wideband chip.

It’s not possible to force an AirTag update because that’s something that’s done over the air with a connected iPhone. To make sure the update happens, you can place your AirTag within range of your iPhone, but you’ll have to wait for the software to roll out to your device. You can check your current AirTag firmware version through the Find My app with instructions available in our How-to.

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