Airtag Precision Finding stopped working

Set up 3 new Airtags on my iPhone 12 Pro. Working perfectly, precision finding working and guides me to each airtag as it's supposed to, and can also trigger them to play a sound. Also set up 3 different Airtags on my wife's iPhone 12 Pro and they're working perfectly too. Both phones are running iOS 14.5.1


The next day I'm demonstrating them to my sister and precision finding won't work. It just says 'Connected. signal is weak. Try moving to a different location'. It does this will all 3 of my Airtags even if I'm holding the phone right next to them. I've restarted the phone, deleted the Airtags from the phone and re-added them and taken the battery out of the Airtags and reinstalled but still the same message. I can play a sound on the Airtags though. My wife's are still working perfectly with precision finding.


I'm thinking it's a problem with my phone as it's the same with all 3 Airtags. Unlikely to be a hardware issue as it was working when I first got them. Don't really want the hassle of resetting the phone or the network settings but not sure what else to try. Disappointing to have this problem with a new device.


iPhone 12 Pro

Posted on May 8, 2021 4:10 AM

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18 replies

May 18, 2021 1:17 AM in response to Octahedron

When you're in the display where it's trying to locate the item, with dots circling the screen, tap the name of the item at the top of the screen 4 times. You tap it again 4 times to close the hidden menu.

Octavio76 posted that their hidden menu was set to 'Interactive' mode and changing it to 'Proximity' fixed the problem. But mine was already in 'Proximity' mode and I still have the problem.

May 8, 2021 6:19 AM in response to SimonL88

As a further test, removed one of the Airtags from my phone and added it to my wife's. Precision finding with her phone worked fine. Removed it from hers and added it back to mine and precision finding still says the signal is weak and precision finding won't work.


Checked in settings. Privacy - Location Services - Find My 'Precise Location' is enabled.


Turned the phone off for half an hour. Same problem when I turned it back on.

May 11, 2021 1:04 AM in response to gbippert

Checked the hidden menu and mine was already in proximity mode. I hadn't been messing with the hidden menu before the problem happened, so that wouldn't have been the cause for me. Also tried it outside, well away from any interference, and still not working. But it works for my wife's phone inside so didn't think that would be the cause. So still no further forward with finding a fix unfortunately.

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Airtag Precision Finding stopped working

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