Where to Put a Luggage Tracker in Your Bag

All major Bluetooth and GPS trackers are permitted in checked luggage by both the TSA and FAA. ^[3] Where you place the tracker inside your bag determines how quickly it pings and how reliably it reports location.

The best spot

Inside your bag, in an interior pocket near the top. A mesh or zippered pocket on the inside lid of a suitcase is ideal.

This placement gives the tracker the fewest physical barriers between it and nearby devices. Bluetooth signals weaken when they pass through dense materials, metal zippers, and liquids. A tracker near the top of your bag, surrounded by clothing rather than electronics or toiletry bottles, pings faster and more reliably.

Placement rules

Do:

• Use an interior pocket or sleeve, not buried at the bottom
• Place in the lid compartment if your suitcase has one
• Keep it away from large electronics (laptops, portable chargers)
• Keep it away from liquids and toiletry bags
• Wrap in a thin cloth or sock if there’s no pocket — this prevents it from shifting during handling

Don’t:

• Clip it to the outside of your bag (it can snag, tear off, or be removed)
• Put it inside a metal case or container
• Bury it under heavy items at the bottom of the bag
• Place it in an external pocket where it’s exposed to weather and rough handling

Tracker size and form factor

AirTags and SmartTags are small enough to fit in any suitcase pocket. The Pebblebee Clip’s carabiner design clips directly to an interior zipper pull without taking up pocket space.

TSA and FAA compliance

Bluetooth trackers are explicitly permitted in both checked and carry-on luggage. ^[3] They use small CR2032 coin cell batteries (or USB-rechargeable cells in the Pebblebee’s case) that fall well below FAA lithium battery hazmat thresholds. ^[4]

If TSA inspects your bag, they may move items during screening but won’t confiscate a compliant Bluetooth tracker. You’ll find a Notice of Baggage Inspection card inside the bag if it was opened.

GPS trackers like the Tracki also use small lithium batteries that comply with airline regulations.

One bag, one tracker

You only need one tracker per bag. Two trackers in the same bag provide no additional location accuracy — they both report from the same place. If you are checking multiple bags, put one tracker in each.

For families with mixed phone ecosystems, standardize on one tracker type per bag. An AirTag in one bag and a SmartTag in another works fine — just make sure the person monitoring each tracker has the right phone.