How do I tell my Android that it’s my air tag following me?

If you’ve recently started getting notifications on your Android device about an “Unknown Tag” or “Unknown Tracker” following you, it can be confusing and concerning.

However, if you happen to have an AirTag or other Bluetooth tracker of your own, chances are it’s causing those notifications to pop up.

Since mid-2022, Android has included improved capability to detect unfamiliar AirTags and other Find My-enabled trackers nearby.

This is meant as an anti-stalking feature to alert you of potential unknown tracking. But it can also be triggered by your own trackers if your device doesn’t recognize them.

So how do you get your Android phone to stop warning you about your own AirTag or Tile tracker that it now sees as an “Unknown Tag”? Here are some tips on how to identify the tag and mark it as safe within your device settings.

Confirm It’s Your AirTag

First things first – you’ll want to confirm that the “Unknown Tag” or “Unknown Tracker” your phone is alerting you about is in fact your own tracker. Here are some ways to do that:

• Check the alert details – does the first part of the tracker’s serial number match one of your AirTag or Tile trackers? This can help confirm it’s yours.
• Physically locate the tracker – can you find the tracker that’s triggering the alert, and confirm it’s one you own?
• Tap the notification – on Android, tapping the alert pops up more details and options for you to temporarily mute alerts if it seems to be your tracker.

If you cannot confirm that the tag triggering the alerts is yours, or the serial number doesn’t match any tracker you own, you may want to take precautions in case it is an unknown tracker. But in most cases, it will likely be your own tracker causing the warnings.

Unpair and Re-Pair Your AirTag

Once you’ve confirmed the “Unknown Tracker” is your own AirTag, try unpairing the AirTag from your Apple ID and then pairing it again. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Find My app on an iPhone or iPad signed into your Apple ID.
2. Go to the “Items” tab and select your AirTag.
3. Tap “Remove Item” and confirm to unpair the AirTag from your Apple account.
4. Now pair the AirTag again like new by bringing it near the iPhone/iPad and following the setup prompts.

This unpairing and re-pairing process might help your Android device recognize the AirTag as a trusted tracker associated with your identity. Some users have reported this stopping the “Unknown AirTag” warnings.

Rename Your AirTag

Along with unpairing and repairing, try giving your AirTag a descriptive name within the Find My app. For example, name it “John’s AirTag” or “Emily’s Keys”.

Some people have found that renaming their AirTags to include their name or reference to it being theirs (like “My Bag AirTag”) helps their Android device recognize the tracker as safe and stop warning about it.

Share Your AirTag’s Location

You can proactively share the location of your AirTag with another iOS device, which seems to help register it as a recognized tracker. To do this:

1. Open the Find My app and select your AirTag.
2. Tap the “Share My Location” button.
3. Select the contact you want to share with and choose 1 day, 1 week, or indefinitely.

Even just temporarily sharing the AirTag location with a trusted iOS contact seems to allow Android devices to identify it as an authorized tracker after scanning for it nearby, avoiding the “Unknown AirTag” warnings.

Mute Notifications Temporarily

If you continue getting alerts about your own AirTag, you can mute the notifications temporarily right from the alert itself:

1. When you receive the “Unknown Tracker Detected” notification, tap it.
2. Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner.
3. Select “Mute for 8 hrs” or “Mute for 24 hrs”.

This keeps the alerts quiet while you try some of the other troubleshooting tips. You can unmute early by going into Settings > Notifications.

Disable Nearby Device Scanning

Some Android users have reported that completely disabling the nearby device scanning stops alerts about their own AirTags. Here is how to toggle this setting off:

1. Open the Settings app and go to the Connected Devices section.
2. Tap Connection Preferences > Nearby device scanning.
3. Toggle off the “Allow scanning” switch.

Keep in mind this prevents your device from detecting ANY nearby tags, so it removes the benefits of scanning. But if you cannot resolve your AirTag alerts any other way, it’s an option.

Check Android App Permissions

It’s worth double-checking that your Android apps have permission to detect nearby tags in Settings. To verify app permissions:

1. Go to Settings > Apps.
2. Select the app triggering AirTag alerts (e.g. Google Play Services).
3. Tap Permissions and make sure Location is enabled.

Granting location access allows apps to scan for nearby tags. You may need to toggle permission off and on again if it was already enabled.

Update Google Play Services

Updating Google Play Services ensures your Android device has the latest frameworks to properly detect AirTags and other trackers. To update:

1. Open the Play Store app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the upper right.
3. Go to Manage Apps & Devices > Updates available.
4. Check for Google Play Services update and install it.

Having the newest version of Play Services helps your device recognize authorized tags like your AirTag more reliably.

As you try various troubleshooting steps, remember to be patient. This is a very new tracking alert feature on Android, so there may still be bugs as Google refines it. Your system may just need some time to properly learn to recognize your AirTag.

Over a few weeks, as long as your tracker serial number is clearly visible to your phone during scans, your Android should gradually start identifying your AirTag as an authorized tracker. The alerts should become less frequent over time as detection improves.

Following some of these troubleshooting tips can help train your device more quickly. But don’t hesitate to continue reporting any ongoing issues to Google so they can make enhancements.