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Apple's Find My has a hidden AirTag debug mode

Find My has a hidden AirTag developer mode

Last updated

When looking for an AirTag, users can call up hidden developer information listing technical details about how tracking is working.

It's a curiosity rather than anything immediately useful to most users, but it's possible to get the Find My app to display much more information as it tracks an AirTag. Tapping on the item's name five or so times, at any point during tracking, or even after it's been found, will turn on a kind of developer mode.

First spotted by Reddit user "cyem," the hidden mode contains readily understandable information about bearing and pitch. There's also a great deal of detail that's less obvious, plus the ability to alter seven settings.

Left: two shots showing the regular way to find an AirTag. Right: the same way but with the hidden mode on Left: two shots showing the regular way to find an AirTag. Right: the same way but with the hidden mode on

It's not advisable to use the sliders to alter those without knowing what they are, though. This hidden mode persists, it stays on whenever you use Find My to track an AirTag, until you switch it off. So it's likely that changed settings will stay changed.

To switch off this hidden mode, tap on the item name another five or so times and it disappears.

Note that while this is a feature of the Find My app, it is specific to AirTags. There's seemingly no equivalent for any other devices being tracked by the app.

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5 Comments

cornchip 11 Years · 1943 comments


It's not advisable to use the sliders to alter those without knowing what they are, though..


I guess an article detailing what they are is forthcoming?

mushmash 9 Years · 24 comments

Guesstimating the sliders are for manual calibration.

Also I can smell someone getting yelled at in Cupertino.

randominternetperson 8 Years · 3101 comments

mushmash said:
Guesstimating the sliders are for manual calibration.

Also I can smell someone getting yelled at in Cupertino.

This will be disappearing in ... 5, 4, 3 ...

22july2013 11 Years · 3736 comments

If Apple uses 5 taps as a debug indicator, I guess others may too. I'm going to have to try 5-tapping on every app I have.

sunman42 12 Years · 305 comments

cornchip said:

It's not advisable to use the sliders to alter those without knowing what they are, though..


I guess an article detailing what they are is forthcoming?

It goes to 11?