Originally Posted by
VSLover
i have been unimpressed with airtags--in my experience so far on four flights from LHR--the tag almost NEVER updates correctly. i was quite stressed on the first leg to ATH as it never updated and sat in the area around first wing (when i checked in) and never registered on the plane, nothing. not even once landing in ATH...sad despondency took hold as i waited in ATH and boom it updated. AS IT CAME OUT ON THE BELT
i've swapped tags, reset etc etc but i do not know if it is bc my aluminum case is so large and packed tight, ive tried moving it around etc etc...but at LHR especially, rarely get the updated. i decided i had to stop stressing because frankly having more data does not equate to less stress.
AirTags work by sending out a bluetooth signal that can be read by nearby devices. Those nearby devices know where they are so they can update the 'Find My' app with the location of your items. Therefore, you shouldn't ever expect it to work on an aircraft as it's unlikely that any nearby devices will communicate with it and even if they did, those nearby devices won't know where they are and won't be able to communicate with the cloud to update the item in your 'Find My' app. If the AirTag is siting in a luggage area with no nearby devices it won't communicate and update either. I think perhaps you're expecting a little too much from the lowly AirTag?
I don't think it's a problem with your AirTags not updating correctly. I suspect your AirTags are not moving past nearby devices that can geolocate it when you want it to. The nearby devices are the network in this case and if there aren't any, you won't receive any updates.