With AirTag now finally released after years worth of rumors and speculation over the Tile-like item tracker, a user on Reddit has inadvertently stumbled on Apple’s secret AirTag debug mode in the Find My app on iPhone.
Reddit user “cyem” found that by tapping on the item’s name repeatedly in the Find My app, the developer mode used by Apple engineers while working on AirTag appears, showing information about the distances the user’s device is away from the detected AirTag. The debug mode also includes several sliders which allow for settings to be altered.
The debug mode was found in frustration, according to “cyem,” who was facing issues with Precision Finding.
My experience of AirTags thus far has been underwhelming – the first one out of the box failed to pair four times in a row when it was sitting on top of the phone. Now that it is finally connected, anything outside of 0.8m/2.6ft away shows as a weak signal and when I can get a signal, there is never an arrow. Funnily enough, I tapped on my name about five times in frustration, and found what appears to be a hidden developer mode. Even more interesting, the arrow appears to actually be working underneath – just not in the normal mode.
AirTag: Everything you need to know about Apple’s new $29 device
Apple will likely block access to this hidden mode within the next iOS update.
Image: Reddit user “cyem”