A useful feature baked into iOS 26 is the ability to autofill credit cards stored in Apple Wallet across apps and browsers. If you don’t use a password manager (which you absolutely should), AutoFill via Apple Wallet saves you the trouble of having to manually enter your credit card information every time you want to make a purchase on your phone. Even if you have a password manager, though, not all plans allow payment card storage and autofilling, and the feature can be clunky on those that do.
As 9to5Mac points out, AutoFill for credit cards was already available in Safari and is now supported systemwide, managed through Apple Wallet.
How to set up and use AutoFill in Apple Wallet
First, you’ll need to add your payment cards to Apple Wallet’s autofill list (which is separate from your general wallet). Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner and select AutoFill. Tap Add Card to input card details manually or use the camera scan feature. The security code is optional, meaning you can add and store it in Apple Wallet AutoFill or enter it for each transaction.
To autofill saved credit cards, simply tap any form field to bring up the Paste/AutoFill option. Select AutoFill > Credit Card, authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, and tap the card you want to enter. You’ll have to repeat the process for each field, as Apple Wallet won’t autofill the whole form at once.
The PC memory market is in shambles thanks to unprecedented demand for chips in the AI sector, and so it was fair to wonder if this would impact the launch timing of Valve’s upcoming Steam Machine, due out this year, or next-generation game consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The answer for at least two of the three upcoming systems is a flat
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route
The Greatest London Loop is 26.2km long with 360m of elevation gain. Here’s the course profile:
Clearly, there’s one big feature on this route: Leith Hill! This is where the big selection will happen. Don’t be fooled by the KOM leaderboard segment highlighted above, since it’s just a portion of what you’ll be climbing, and this is a scratch race, not a points race.
The actual climb is 6km long, with 252m of elevation gain, and the final 2km is the steepest part. Click to see the Veloviewer profile below in 2D to get a really good picture of how this climb lays out:
First 1km: Quite flat and early, so I wouldn’t expect any big moves.
1-1.5km: Steep bit starts off the climbing in earnest. The pack will stretch here.
1.5-4.5km: Flatter, longer middle section. Sit in the wheels and draft here if you want to conserve energy for the final big kick.
4.5-6km: The pièce de résistance, averaging 8.3%. This is where the leading selection of riders will be finalized!
There are two small kickers on the circuit that deserve a mention as well. They may look small on the profile since they’re dwarfed by Leith Hill, but trust me – you’ll notice them in the race:
The first, Northumberland Avenue, comes early on as you turn right from the Thames and head up to Trafalgar Square. This is the first climb more than a few seconds long on the route, so expect the effort level to lift significantly for ~30 seconds, even though riders will be saving their big attack for Leith Hill up the road.
After the long descent from the top of Leith Hill (expect everyone to take a big rest here), you’ll enter the Underground tunnel and quickly hit the plywood-covered ramp back into the London sunshine. At 14%, this is the steepest climb of your race. But it’s short! You’ll want to enter it fast and keep your power high up and over the top.
From the top of the Underground ramp, you’ve got 1.6km to the finish line. Things often get cagey as riders cross Tower Bridge, and the final meters are slightly downhill and fast. It will take just the right mix of timing and strong legs to cross the line victorious. Good luck!
Specific powerups will be given at each arch: the feather at the lap banner, and the anvil at the Leith Hill KOM banner.
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. This is best saved for Leith Hill, particularly on the final section where the gradient is steepest and legs are burning.
Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use this when descending the backside of Leith Hill to make it even easier to sit in.
Bike Recommendations
This race’s decisive and long climb definitely makes me steer away from pure aero setups and look at climbing bikes and all-arounders instead. While a more aero setup has a pure time advantage on laps of the full course, that time advantage evaporates if you get dropped on Leith Hill!
Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision. A fully upgraded Aethos will outclimb the other four frames, but that’s not the case when comparing un-upgraded versions.
Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. Here are the recons I’ve found (comment if you find another!)
John Rice
J Dirom
Strategic Options
I predict riders will fall into three groups:
Climbers: Lighter riders who can sustain high W/kg will surf wheels on the flats, then light it up on Leith Hill. Your goal: drop puncheurs/sprinters who have the pure watts to beat you in a pack finish.
Puncheurs: You will struggle on Leith Hill thanks to the climb’s length, but if you can hold on, you’ll stand a good chance of finishing well. For you, surviving Leith Hill may require a combination of riding smart and praying the climbers don’t push the pace too high.
Everyone Else: If you’re a pure sprinter, or simply a rider with lower fitness than most in the category, you’re going to struggle in this race, particularly up Leith Hill. Your best bet is to pace yourself well on Leith Hill, ride smart to bridge up to riders ahead on flats and descents, and simply finish as high in the list as possible. Remember: every point counts!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
There’s much to discuss, including crucial course segments, powerup usage, bike decisions, and strategic options. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route
The London Loop is 14.9km long with 231m of elevation gained per lap. A and B teams will be racing two laps of the course for a total of 30.4km and 466m of elevation. Here’s the lap profile:
Clearly, there’s one big feature on this route: Box Hill! This is where the big selections will happen each lap.
Official stats for the leaderboard segment indicate it’s 3km long, with an average gradient of 4%, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, since the leaderboard segment doesn’t line up perfectly with the start and finish of the climb.
Box Hill is a fairly steady 2.7km grade, but the final 300-400 meters of the segment are flat or even slightly downhill, throwing off the stats. The steepest part of the climb, where the pack quickly stretches and elastic snaps, is on the early long stretch before the left hairpin. This section averages 7-8%, and most of the climbing apart from that is around 5%.
There are three kickers on the circuit that deserve a mention as well:
The first, Northumberland Avenue, comes early on as you turn right from the Thames and head up to Trafalgar Square. This is the first climb more than a few seconds long on the route, so expect the effort level to lift for ~30 seconds, even though big attacks probably won’t come in earnest.
The Box Hill Kicker comes just a few hundred meters after you ride through the Box Hill KOM banner. This one is short, but steep, and everyone’s legs are a big knackered. Pro tip: hit it hard and push across the top, and you can often close big gaps to riders ahead.
After the long descent (expect everyone to take a big rest here), you’ll enter the Underground tunnel and soon enough hit the plywood-covered ramp back into the London sunshine. At 14%, this is the steepest climb of your race. But it’s short! You’ll want to enter it fast, and keep your power high up and over the top.
From the top of the Underground ramp, you’ve got 1.6km to the finish line. Things often get cagey as riders cross Tower Bridge, and the final meters are slightly downhill and fast. It will take just the right mix of timing and strong legs to cross the line victorious. Good luck!
Specific powerups will be given at each arch: the feather at the lap banner, and the anvil at the Box Hill KOM banner. That means you’ll get two of each.
Lightweight (feather): reduces your weight by 10% for 30 seconds. Use on climbs, when weight matters the most. This is best saved for Box Hill, particularly on the lower slope where the pace will be high and the gradient is steepest.
Anvil: makes you heavier for up to 15 seconds, so you can descend faster. It won’t hurt you, as it only adds weight when the road is at a -1.5% decline or greater. Use this when descending the backside of Box Hill to make it even easier to sit in.
Bike Recommendations
This race’s big Box Hill climb definitely makes me steer away from pure aero setups and look at climbing bikes and all-arounders instead. Because while a more aero setup has a pure time advantage on laps of the full course, that time advantage evaporates if you get dropped on Box Hill!
Of course, your frame’s upgrade status should impact your decision. A fully upgraded Aethos will outclimb the other four frames, but that’s not the case when comparing un-upgraded versions.
Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
Additionally, riders in the Zwift community do a great job every week creating recon videos that preview the courses and offer tips to help you perform your best on the day. Here are the recons I’ve found (comment if you find another!)
John Rice
J Dirom
Strategic Options
I predict riders will fall into three groups:
Climbers: Lighter riders who can sustain high W/kg will surf wheels on the flats, then light it up on Box Hill. Your goal: drop puncheurs/sprinters who have the pure watts to beat you in a pack finish.
Puncheurs: If your VO2 power lets you compete on Box Hill-length climbs, but you’ve also got some pure sprint watts, you are in the sweet spot to win this race. Pure climbers may try to rip your legs off on the KOMs, but if you can survive, you can roll them in the end.
Everyone Else: If you’re a pure sprinter, or simply a rider with lower fitness than most in the category, you’re going to struggle in this race, particularly up Box Hill. Your best bet is to pace yourself well on Box Hill, ride smart to bridge up to riders ahead, and simply finish as high in the list as possible. Remember: every point counts!
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Adobe is no longer planning to discontinue Adobe Animate on March 1st. From a report: In an FAQ, the company now says that Animate will now be in maintenance mode and that it has “no plans toâdiscontinue or remove access” to the app.
Animate will still receive “ongoing security and bug fixes” and will still be available for “both new and existing users,” but it won’t get new features. Many creators expressed frustration after Adobe’s original discontinuation announcement from earlier this week, and the application is still used by creators like David Firth, the person behind the animated web series Salad Fingers. Now, Adobe says that “We are committed to ensuring Animate usersâalways have access to their content regardless of the state of development of the application.”
Gaijin Entertainment knew exactly what it was doing when it came up with the name Aces of Thunder.
Yes it very obviously references its own ubiquitous military mega-arena, but for flight sim fans of a certain vintage, there is a special reverence for what was later marketed as the Great Warplanes Series. These games, for those too young to have experienced them, were a DOS-era series that started with Red Baron and were quickly followed in the early 1990s by Aces of the Pacific and Aces Over Europe. My nostalgia goggles may be a little foggy, but I believe all three were exceptional. Of course, thirty years on, Aces of Thunder can never claim to be part of that great lineage, but just as Red Baron was arguably the greatest WWI flight sim of its day and its sequels were the twin masters of the WWII skies, I’m happy to report that Aces of Thunder continues in that same ancient tradition of being among the very best at what it sets out to do.
The Facts
What is it?: Solo and multiplayer combat flight sim from the makers of War Thunder Platforms: PS VR2, PC VR (Reviewed on Quest 3) Release Date: Out now Developer: Gaijin Entertainment Publisher: Gaijin Entertainment Price: $29.99
What Aces of Thunder is, very obviously, is a prop-era combat flight sim, designed for – but not exclusive to – VR. Where its sprawling stablemate War Thunder can reliably claim to feature every military fighting vehicle there has ever been (and quite a few that barely escaped the fevered imaginations of their inventors), Aces of Thunder focuses on bona fide World War classics; sadly just four from WWI – including the Fokker Dr.I, naturally – and 20 from the major powers of WWII, including the Mustang, Thunderbolt, Zero, Spitfire and Mosquito, plus equally iconic models from Germany, Japan and USSR that eschewed the enduringly cool naming convention of the western allies. Basically if you, like me, remember life before video games existed, these are all the planes you had dangling from your bedroom ceiling.
The cockpits are detailed and controls work well, if you avoid the virtual stick of course.
If you wanted to be cynical about Aces of Thunder, you could point out with some self-serving justification that the game is merely an abbreviated version of War Thunder, using more or less the same engine and considerably fewer assets. However, there are two very important distinctions between the two games. One is that while Aces of Thunder’s selection of aircraft is limited to a handful compared to War Thunder’s many hundreds, all of them are accessible from the get-go, with the cost of access being a very reasonable old school price of $30 (or $50 for the Deluxe Edition with five extra warbirds). There is no tedious grind to unlock obscure stopgap aircraft or unnecessary fittings, you simply pick a plane and take to the sky. As rudimentary as that sounds, it’s remarkably liberating and intuitive.
The other difference is just how integral VR is to Aces of Thunder. That may seem an obvious thing to point out, but with a flatscreen version that offers crossplay, Gaijin could so easily have undermined its own efforts by including a superfluous or seemingly harmless HUD element or camera view that favored one group of players over another. Take War Thunder; it has perfectly serviceable VR functionality, sure, but it’s not in the slightest bit necessary or helpful. Here though your only view is from the cockpit. There are no third-person views or chase cameras, no floating icons or voiceover cues to suggest your plane is about to spectacularly break apart, or indeed hardly anything that would constitute any element of a gaming HUD – aside from a map that sits on your lap and I really had to lean into to get anything from. In short, all your feedback about your mission, the state of your aircraft and any potential threats all must come from the timely and judicious use of your Mk 1 eyes and ears. The challenge of the game and why it is so compulsively immersive is because, yes, you have to master the controls, but simultaneous to that is the need to be as aware of what your cockpit instrumentation is telling you as much as the creaking of the airframe or a violently oscillating wing before it snaps off and sends you spinning into the briny below.
Whoops.
As well as multiplayer battles that are Gaijin’s stock-in-trade – and which we’ll get to shortly – Aces of Thunder offers a generous selection of solo encounters. There are 14 single-player missions and nine so-called War Stories. Functionally there’s no difference between the two, save the fact that the former can be attempted in any order and are not based on any particular historical encounter. War Stories meanwhile run through the truncated highlights of WWII, from patrolling the White Cliffs of Dover and the seas around Pearl Harbor, to supporting efforts over Normandy and Iwo Jima. There’s no real thread between the missions and many can be completed just by turning up and following the waypoints, which, contrary to what you might think, makes them more replayable than they have any right to be.
The Mission Editor is the real star of the single-player show, partly because it’s a proper throwback to the combat flight sims of old. Here you can select a theater relevant to the plane you have selected, a sector of the map where the action is to happen and how the front line is arranged, then pick the type of engagement you want, the weather, time of day and the skill level you wish to fly with. Admittedly there’s not the compulsion of a properly orchestrated narrative campaign, but if you just want a quick sortie over enemy skies, or to brush up on your ground attack skills against a competent and scalable AI, the options are plentiful.
As you might expect, multiplayer battles play out in much the same way as War Thunder, although with a naturally smaller player population your choice of engagement is much more limited. You pick the aircraft you want to fly and the game will seek out an appropriate battle for you to join, with bots filling the skies in the absence of human pilots. If you want a more tailored experience, Custom Battles can be created and joined with much the same parameters as the single-player Mission Builder, with the added benefit that you can go hog wild and have Sopwith Camels battling over the Strait of Saipan. Naturally I got most of my flying time in before the game went live, so I didn’t get to experience how well the matchmaking held up, but given the developer’s 15-year experience with War Thunder and the many thousands that play it every day, it’s hard to imagine the server architecture being anything other than reliable.
It’s the wurst.
I had only two issues with Aces of Thunder. The first is a natural consequence of enjoying what there is – which is to say I wanted more of everything – WWI planes and maps especially. But my main bugbear was the sparse and often unhelpful presentation away from the meat and potatoes of the main game. There really isn’t much assistance to speak of at all – no tooltips, no tutorial – and the game starts without fanfare and dumps you unceremoniously into the middle of a makeshift airfield, with only distant birdsong and some old gramophone dirge to stir you to action. That action in common with many VR games is to make your selections from an unconvincing clipboard that’s been surgically attached to your flying glove. The problem is that navigating the various menus with said glove is clumsy in the extreme. It’s like trying to operate a phone with a sausage. Sure you get used to it – because you have to – and if you just want to pick a plane and take to the skies you can just about accept the lack of a more precise pointer system, but for anything more than that – such as tweaking the graphical settings, or God forbid, reassigning controls to the various axes of your HOTAS and rudder setup, well, prepare yourself for an exercise in fist-shaking frustration. And don’t think it’s any easier reassigning controls in the flatscreen mode either, because it most definitely isn’t.
Comfort
I can’t claim to have played the majority of VR games and I’m a little behind on current releases, but I think Aces of Thunder may be the first modern virtual reality video game I’ve played that has zero comfort options. If you have a problem walking around in games that’s not a problem as you’re seated 99.9% of the time, but even I, a seasoned space dogfighter, can sometimes feel my lunch rising up when pulling tight turns to avoid ending up in someone else’s sights – especially when aboard the game’s magnificent WWI flying machines that can turn on a relative dime. Dear reader: you have been warned.
Thankfully, once you have the limited settings just how you like them and your controls have been similarly configured (which, by the way, work well if you avoid virtual stick options and go with your regular VR controllers or gamepad), Aces of Thunder becomes a consistently visceral and thrilling experience, where the term ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ has probably never felt more apt. On my modest PC that just about ticks all the boxes for the recommended spec, I found the visual fidelity and graphical performance to be excellent throughout, with the obvious caveats of pop-up at manageable distances and the odd realignment of foliage as you pass over treetops, but not enough to detract from the game in any meaningful way. I thought the Eastern Front maps to be rather drab, with textures that look like they’ve been extracted from a ’90s Quake mod, and many of the buildings leave a lot to be desired, but that’s as much a feature of them being shipped in from War Thunder. The proper detail is in the aircraft and how they handle and this is where the game shines, especially when tracers are flying and parts of someone’s wing are pinging past your cockpit. It serves to highlight how wonderfully immersive the game is once you’ve acclimatized to the bare bones presentation and the curtailed features necessary to maintain a level VR playing field.
Put simply, despite lacking in approachability and customization features, Aces of Thunder offers one of the most thrilling venues for combat VR gaming has to offer and is a fitting callback to the classic flight sims of yesteryear.
UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.
Meta released a new update for Quest that brings a host of new features, including a new ‘Surface Keyboard’ that lets you type on any flat surface.
Meta has already started rolling out Quest’s v85 update on the public test channel (PTC), making it the first major update since the company revealed it was shaking up Reality Labs in a bid to shift focus to AI and smart glasses.
According to the v85 patch notes, the update is set to retire ‘Horizon Feed’, which released with v57 in late 2023, bringing a mishmash of user-created Worlds, apps, games, and Reels.
The update is also set to make Navigator the default UI, which overhauls the platform’s dock-based UI for a more mobile-style launcher overlay.
Image courtesy Meta
For years now, if you wanted to type something on Quest you had three main methods: use the floating keyboard, pair a physical keyboard which the headset can actually track, or use voice for text input.
Now, Meta is rolling out ‘Surface Keyboard and Touchpad’ as an experimental feature on Quest 3, which allows users to input text and control a mouse by simply mapping them to a desk or table.
Meta says the new Surface Keyboard is ideal for “casual productivity, browsing, messaging, and 2D applications,” as it includes a basic key set.
Meanwhile, the virtual touchpad supports index-finger actions like move, click (tap), drag (double tap and move) and two-finger scrolling with your index and middle finger. Meta says however that a physical keyboard “is still advised for high-volume writing.”
Quest 3 users who are enrolled in the PTC can opt into the feature from the ‘Experimental’ section of ‘Settings’. If you’re not already, here’s how to enroll in PTC:
Open the mobile app, tap Menu in the bottom-right corner, then tap Devices.
Tap Headset settings, then tap Advanced settings.
Tap the toggle next to Public Test Channel to try to join Quest PTC.
If the toggle doesn’t work, Quest PTC is currently full and not available.
Another feature is the newly redesigned activity bar, which is said to allow for quicker and easier access to controls like recording, calls, and media.
Other updates include the ability to temporarily hide virtual hands via quick actions, customize the Quest 3S’ action button to trigger preferred system actions with short or long presses, and scan for malware. You can check out the full v85 (PTC) release notes here.
AMD released their financial report this week and they blew the doors off with a surprise bump from China (though they would have still surprised even without that bump). However, the Q4 2025 earnings calls for AMD and Intel felt like reports from two different centuries. AMD, led by Dr. Lisa Su, reported record revenue of $10.27 billion for the quarter, driven by a massive 39% year-over-year surge in data center revenue. Their MI300 and the newer Instinct MI325X accelerators aren’t just “alternatives” to NVIDIA anymore; they are becoming staples for hyperscalers who are tired of being beholden to a single supplier.
Conversely, Intel’s Q4 2025 was a exercise in “managed disappointment.” Revenue slid to $13.7 billion, down 4% year-over-year, and the company posted a net loss of nearly $600 million. While Intel’s Data Center and AI (DCAI) group saw a modest 9% bump, the company is bleeding cash to fund its foundry ambitions. The departure of Pat Gelsinger earlier in 2025 and the subsequent focus under Lip-Bu Tan has stabilized the ship, but Intel is currently a company undergoing open-heart surgery while trying to run a marathon.
The Elephant in the Room: NVIDIA’s 2026 Dominance
Comparing AMD and Intel to NVIDIA at this point feels less like a market analysis and more like comparing local weather patterns to a supernova. NVIDIA’s Q4 2026 results (ending January 2026 and reporting on February 25th, 2026) are expected to hit a jaw-dropping $65 billion for the single quarter. To put that in perspective, NVIDIA is now generating more revenue in three months than Intel earns in an entire year.
The driver here is the Blackwell architecture and the rapid ramp-up of Vera Rubin systems. While AMD is fighting for a 10-15% slice of the AI accelerator pie, NVIDIA has effectively become the “OS” of the AI world through CUDA. They aren’t just selling chips; they are selling entire AI factories.
The Trade War Wildcard and Geopolitical Turmoil
As we move into 2026, the “Silicon Shield” is under pressure. The recent executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on advanced chips (like NVIDIA’s H200 and AMD’s MI325X) have sent shockwaves through the supply chain.
AMD is nimble, but heavily reliant on TSMC. Any escalation in the Taiwan Strait or further trade restrictions on China (which still accounts for a significant portion of their “embedded” and “gaming” revenue) could cap their upside. It is interesting to note that even without the surprise revenue and profit gain from China sales, AMD would have still beat the street with this revenue report.
Intel, ironically, might be the best positioned for “National Security” play. With their 18A process node finally reaching high-volume manufacturing in Arizona, they are the only player that can offer a “Made in America” cutting-edge silicon solution. If the trade war turns into a full-scale blockade of Asian-made chips, Intel becomes the only game in town.
NVIDIA has the most to lose in raw dollars but the most “moat” to protect them. They’ve already started paying “volition” fees to the U.S. government (AMD is negotiating with the US Government for the same fees) to keep shipping to China, essentially treating tariffs as a cost of doing business.
Projecting the 2026 Competitive Landscape
Looking forward, I expect AMD to continue eating Intel’s lunch in the server CPU space. Their EPYC processors are simply more efficient, and with Intel’s 18A yields still hovering in the 55-65% range, AMD has at least another year of clear runway.
Intel’s survival depends entirely on external customers like Microsoft and Amazon actually using their foundry. If Intel can get their yields above 70% by mid-2026, they might actually survive as a split company—Fab and Fabless. If not, we might be looking at the eventual breakup of the greatest silicon icon in American history.
NVIDIA will continue to grow, but the “Law of Large Numbers” will eventually catch up. You cannot grow at 60% YoY forever when you are already a $4 trillion company. The risk for NVIDIA isn’t competition from AMD; it’s the risk that the AI ROI (Return on Investment) doesn’t materialize for their customers fast enough to justify the next $100 billion in GPU orders and companies like Microsoft have complained they can’t deploy the part (Blackwell) because it is too power intensive.
Wrapping Up
The semiconductor market in 2026 is no longer about who has the fastest clock speed; it’s about who has the most resilient supply chain and the best AI software stack. AMD is the execution king, Intel is the geopolitical phoenix (trying to rise from the ashes), and NVIDIA is the sun around which everything else orbits.
The coming year will be defined by how these giants navigate the “Trump Tariffs” and whether the AI revolution stays in the data center or successfully migrates to the “AI PC” and robotics—areas where Intel and AMD still have a fighting chance to reclaim ground.
I know, I know—these days, that sounds like an excuse. Anyone can code, right?! Grab some tutorials, maybe an O’Reilly book, download an example project, and jump in. It’s just a matter of learning how to break your project into small steps that you can make the computer do, then memorizing a bit of syntax. Nothing about that is hard!
Perhaps you can sense my sarcasm (and sympathize with my lack of time to learn one more technical skill).
Apple’s AirTag makes it easy to keep tabs on everyday items like keys, bags and luggage using the Find My network. Setup is quick, requires no tools and takes just a minute or two as long as you have a compatible iPhone or iPad. Once paired, your AirTag quietly works in the background to help you locate misplaced belongings. This guide walks through how to set up an AirTag, how to name it so you can easily identify what it’s attached to and what to do if setup doesn’t go as planned.
What you need before setting up an AirTag
Before you begin, make sure you have the following:
An iPhone or iPad signed in to your Apple Account
Bluetooth enabled on that device
Location Services enabled
iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later (AirTag 2nd generation requires iOS or iPadOS 26.2.1 or later)
A stable Wi-Fi or cellular connection
You’ll also want to ensure iCloud Keychain is enabled and that your Apple Account setup is fully completed in Settings.
How to set up an AirTag using your iPhone or iPad
The easiest way to set up an AirTag is directly through the on-screen setup prompt.
Remove the plastic tab from your AirTag to activate the battery.
Hold the AirTag near your unlocked iPhone or iPad.
When the setup animation appears, tap Connect.
Choose a category for your AirTag, such as Keys, Backpack or Luggage. If you select Custom Name, you can type your own label and choose an emoji.
Tap Continue to link the AirTag to your Apple Account.
Tap Done to finish setup.
Once completed, the AirTag will appear under the Items tab in the Find My app. If you’re setting up multiple AirTags, make sure only one is near your device at a time. If more than one is detected, a notification will appear saying “More than one AirTag detected”. If this happens, move the others farther away and try again.
How to add an AirTag using the Find My app
If the setup animation doesn’t appear automatically, you can add an AirTag manually through Find My.
Open the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the Items tab.
Tap the Add button.
Select Add AirTag or Other Item (if you’re adding a compatible FindMy Network accessory).
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete setup.
You can add up to 32 items in Find My, including AirTags, shared items and compatible accessories. If you’ve reached the limit, you’ll need to remove an item before adding a new one.
What to do if your AirTag won’t connect
If setup fails or the pairing animation disappears, try the following steps:
Lock your iPhone or iPad, unlock it again and wait about 15 seconds for the animation to reappear.
Make sure Bluetooth and Location Services are turned on in Settings.
Check that Find My has permission to use Precise Location.
Ensure you’re signed in to your Apple Account and iCloud Keychain is enabled.
Verify your device is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS (iOS or iPadOS 26.2.1 or later).
If the AirTag still won’t connect, the battery may need replacing. AirTags use a standard CR2032 coin cell battery, and swapping it only takes a minute. If issues persist after replacing the battery, you may need to reset the AirTag and try setup again.
How to name and label your AirTag
Naming your AirTag makes it much easier to identify when you’re tracking multiple items. During setup, Apple offers preset labels like Keys or Backpack, but you can customize these at any time.
To rename an AirTag after setup:
Open the Find My app.
Tap Items and select your AirTag.
Tap Add Name or Rename Item.
Choose a preset label or select Custom Name.
Optionally add an emoji for quick visual identification.
Clear labels are especially helpful if you use AirTags for travel, work gear or shared household items.
Apple AirTag
Engadget
Attaching your AirTag to everyday items
AirTags don’t have built-in clips or adhesive, so you’ll usually need an accessory to attach one securely. Depending on how you plan to use it, that could mean a key ring, luggage tag, wallet insert or bike mount.
If you’re unsure which style works best, Engadget has rounded up the best Apple AirTag accessories, covering options for keys, bags, wallets and more. Choosing the right accessory helps ensure your AirTag stays attached and works the way you expect.
Wrap-up
After setup, your AirTag will automatically update its location using Apple’s Find My network. You can view its last known location, play a sound to help locate it nearby or use Precision Finding on supported iPhones to guide you directly to it. With just a few minutes of setup and a clear label, an AirTag can become a reliable way to keep track of important belongings, whether you’re at home or on the move.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/how-to-set-up-an-airtag-120000789.html?src=rss
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