We’ve all been there – leaving a precious AirPod or phone behind when leaving a space. The Airtag can help you locate keys after leaving the place, but what if there was a notification to alert you while you were leaving? If you have Airtags, your worry of losing your keys can be amplified even further, knowing it is easy to leave them behind when you leave.
Your Airtag suggests it is left behind when you go somewhere else, and a certain distance threshold is gone. If you see this error, it means you’ve left something behind! However, there are ways to manage these notifications because sometimes you mean to leave things behind. This unique feature comes with the new iPad and iOS 15 software update.
To learn more about this feature and its functions, keep reading our article. We will also show you how to turn it off for some locations and manage notifications so it doesn’t become irritating. So read till the end to learn how to maximize benefits from this fantastic feature!
What Does Left Behind Mean?
If you haven’t looked into it, the Left Behind notification can be confusing. Luckily, what it means is extremely simple. Let’s say you’re at a cafe, and you’re about to leave when the notification lets you know you left one of your Airtags behind, connected to a bag. The idea is that the Airtag gives you a clue that you are about to be away from your device.
That notification saves you a lot of time because it doesn’t have to wait until you realize that something is missing. There’s a greater chance you will find your Airtag and get your things again.
What Do I Need To Se Up Left Behind Notifications?
If you are looking to start using this notification service, you need to set up some things. The first thing on the list is that you must have the latest version of the operating system on your device. For the iPhone and iPad, this is iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, respectively. If you use an Apple Watch, make sure it has watchOS 8 available. You can update your software using the Settings App.
Next up, you also want to make sure Find My is ready and available on your device. You can check this using the following steps:
- Run the Settings App on your device.
- Select your name to open up your profile.
- Choose ‘Find My’, and then switch on ‘Find My Phone.’
Now you are ready to set up Left Behind notifications on your Apple device and Airtag.
Setting Up Left Behind Notifications
Now that you have fulfilled all of the requirements, it is time to switch on your Left Behind notifications. Here’s how you can set this up:
- On your iPhone, iPad, or Apple watch, select the Find My App.
- Here, select ‘Devices.’
- Next, select Items and add your Airtags.
- Tap the name of the Airtag, and choose the option ‘Notify When Left Behind.’
- In the next step, just switch on ‘Notify When Left Behind.’
If you have multiple Airtags, just repeat the process for each one of the devices. You can now know when you leave any space; if you didn’t pick up your Apple Airtags, they would alert you when you cross a certain distance.
Related: Could Not Complete Airtag Setup? 5 Causes and Fixes
Adding Location Exceptions
Sometimes, we leave things behind at home, for example, when necessary. For example, if you have a backpack, you might leave it home while doing something else. In that case, it can get pretty annoying seeing these notifications every time you try to leave the house without an Airtag.
However, there is a way to deal with this problem. You can just create some location exceptions for your Airtag. You can leave your Airtags behind in trusted and safe locations and only be notified when you are in an unknown space. The process to do this is to wait till you get a notification. Then, tap the notification, and select Continue, which takes you to the Find My App. Then, choose ‘Don’t Notify Me Here.’
Now, you will not get any notifications that there is an Airtag left behind at these locations. You can always edit these saved locations by going to the Find My App. Locations can be added and taken out with just a tap of a button. If you tap the red button next to a location, you will start getting notifications again.
Switching Off Left Behind Notifications
So far, we’ve covered how you can switch on this feature and even how to curate it so it works best for you. Now, for some people, the Left Behind notifications are more a nuisance than a benefit. If you do not want any notifications like this at all, you may be interested in learning how to switch them off completely.
So how do you get rid of these notifications? Just follow the steps we’ve explained below:
- On your iPhone, open up the Find My App.
- Next, go to ‘Devices/Items.’
- Select the name of the device on which you want to switch off notifications.
- Now, select the option ‘Notify When Left Behind.’
- Finally, switch off the ‘Notify When Left Behind.’ feature.
If you have multiple Airtags, you will have to repeat this process for each one of the Airtags. However, you might find yourself in some trouble if you lose your device. You can always use the Find My option for the rest of your devices, so not all issues are unsolvable now.
Related: 9 Best Uses for an AirTag
Conclusion
The Left Behind feature is one of the latest in Apple’s innovation regarding Precision Finding. This feature can be a gamechanger and improves the chances that people can recover their lost items sooner than ever before.
You can always keep an eye on your bags, keys, and more with these notifications. We hope this article helped you understand the actual benefits of the Airtag Left Behind notifications.