How to Add Third-Party Accessories to Find My on iPhone & iPad
Did you know that you can use Apple’s Find My service with third-party accessories? That’s right, you don’t have to own Apple’s AirTags accessory. Although the list of supported devices is somewhat limited right now, it’s certainly a feature that you may want to keep your eye on.
The Find My service that’s baked into Apple devices allows its users to easily locate their devices in case they go missing or get stolen. It’s extremely helpful in a lot of different scenarios. For example, let’s say you cannot find your AirPods in your house, you can head over to iCloud.com/find, select it on the map and make it play a sound. This handy tool has made its way to non-Apple devices too since Apple’s Find My Network is now available to third-party developers.
Are you reading this because you already own a compatible accessory? Then read on to learn how to add third-party accessories to Find My on your iPhone and iPad.
How to Add Third-Party Accessories to Find My on iPhone & iPad
This feature is very new and requires you to at least have iOS 14.3/iPadOS 14.3 or later installed on your iPhone or iPad. Once you’ve updated your device to a modern version, just follow these steps:
- First of all, launch the built-in Find My app on your iPhone or iPad.
- You might be taken to the Devices section of the app upon launch to quickly locate all your Apple devices. To set up third-party accessories, tap on “Items” from the bottom menu.
- Now, you’ll find the option to configure an accessory. Just tap on “Add Item” to get started.
- Make sure your accessory is discoverable by following the instructions given by the manufacturer. Now, wait for a few seconds until your iPhone or iPad searches and finds your accessory.
- Once connected, the accessory will be marked on the map and you should be able to find options similar to what’s shown below when you tap on it.
That’s all you need to do to configure a supported accessory with Apple’s Find My network. You can follow these steps to add Apple’s new AirTags too.
At the time of this writing, there are only a few Find My-enabled products apart from the AirTags, including VanMoof’s S3 and X3 e-bikes, Belkin’s SOUNFORM Freedom True Wireless Earbuds, and Chipolo ONE Spot item finder, though undoubtedly more will arrive.
It’s likely that a lot of people who read this article don’t own a compatible accessory just yet. But, make no mistake, Apple’s Find My Network Accessory program is very similar to the Made for iPhone (MFi) program, so you can expect a lot more compatible accessories to be made available over the coming months.
If you’re a developer yourself, you can enroll in the MFi program to access the technical specifications and resources needed to create your first Find My-enabled product. Also, if you’re a privacy buff, rest assured that the entire process where you locate your device with Find My is end-to-end encrypted, so neither Apple nor the third-party manufacturer can view your device’s location and related information.
We hope you managed to set up your first non-Apple device in the Find My app without any issues. Which third-party Find My-enabled product do you own? What are your first impressions on this functionality? Feel free to share your experiences and don’t forget to leave your valuable feedback in the comments section down below.
