Apple's AirTag just got a very rare firmware update

AirTag on keychain
(Image credit: Future)

The Apple AirTag is among the best item trackers around, although there are AirTag alternatives if you want something different. But if there's one thing that they aren't that great at, it's getting new firmware updates.

While it's probably true that something as simple as a little coin-sized item tracker doesn't need all that many updates — they won't get new functionality very often, after all — it's perhaps notable that the last AirTag update was in December 2022.

However, there's new software on the way right now although you might not have it just yet. The AirTag firmware build number 2A61 is on its way out to users right now, but it's rolling out in a staggered way which means you might have to wait a little while before you'll see it.

Coming soon-ish

MacRumors reports that while we don't yet know what the new firmware has to offer, we do know that it's being rolled out slowly. "One percent of users will get the update today [November 1], and then it will expand to 10 percent of users on November 7. On November 14, an additional 25 percent of users will see the update, and then it will be available to all on November 28," the report notes.

There is of course no way to manually force an AirTag to update its firmware, which means that your only course of action is to kick back and wait for it to appear on your AirTag.

As for checking what version of AirTag firmware you're currently running, you can do that in the Find My app by choosing the item tracker and then tapping its name to reveal its firmware version and serial number.

Don't see your AirTag in the Find My app? It's probably time to install a new AirTag battery before you lose it.

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Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

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