Airtags

[Spare tyre]

I got one yesterday, so far I’m impressed.

I have a iPhone 10, so not the latest U1 chip inside, so the indoors directional finding thing is not going to work for me.

But where it is interesting is the Bluetooth based tracking


We have a long drive with a busy road at end. I placed the airtag on the fence near road.

I moved all of our iOS devices to back of house so out of range Bluetooth airtag

Waited a couple of minutes and it said, last seem 1 minute 2 minutes, then at 4 it updated to being on the road (where the passers by iPhones gps reported it)

So once everyone has updated to the latest iOS this will only become more accurate

I’m getting one for my expensive trailer, not expecting miracles, but might be useful.

More importantly, for the dog, for example if it gets out it’s 50:50 if it goes left or right along the road. If it runs past someone with an iPhone it will at least narrow it down.

Last time to dog escaped she was sat outside sainsburys by the benches getting attention 3 miles from home, I think in that instance it would have worked, we were in the woods behind the house looking for her

I’ve now asked my Android using parents to carry it in pocket on their dog walks to simulate escaped dog scenarios

[alorotom]

They do seem to be getting positive reviews for quite specific use cases ... I just can't think of anything that I would attach one to tbh - certainly not keys / wallet / cars / etc.

[Spare tyre]

alorotom said:

They do seem to be getting positive reviews for quite specific use cases ... I just can't think of anything that I would attach one to tbh - certainly not keys / wallet / cars / etc.

For us, we religiously hang keys up so never lost at home. However my wife is a nightmare for putting keys when out and about min a bag, a pocket a buggy, never the same place then there is a panic, is the coat bag buggy now in another car etc, so could eliminate the 5 minute flinging everything on the floor in the park routine

Add to the mix, having three cars, looking for a specific item, which could be hidden in our house, or my mums, her mums, one of the three cars, in the back garden, left in the park, it could help eliminate.


Will see how we go, certainly not fool proof and there is the separation/ stalking aspects which are due to be adjusted.

I’m interested in my expensive car trailer, it’s outside my office window, when it gets nicked, it’ll be interesting to see where it ends up, I have not expectation of me or the rozzers breaking down a garage door of some bandits and retrieving it. That said a friend has plant pinched all the time and it just ends up parked on a random street waiting to see if it’s tracked.

[Dracoro]

Not sure how useful these would be for me.

1. Key fob - OK, so if lost keys I could find them. Great, although I’ve never lost keys in my life.
2. Car tracker - I think you can turn off the beep? If no, then if thief has iPhone then he’d know about it and find/remove it from car.
3. Don’t have anything else that I could attach one to to help with theft, and if visible a thief would just remove/bin the tag and still take the item (bag/bike/whatever).

So, sounds like it’s only real use case is for finding something lost….

[Spare tyre]

Dracoro said:

Not sure how useful these would be for me.

1. Key fob - OK, so if lost keys I could find them. Great, although I’ve never lost keys in my life.
2. Car tracker - I think you can turn off the beep? If no, then if thief has iPhone then he’d know about it and find/remove it from car.
3. Don’t have anything else that I could attach one to to help with theft, and if visible a thief would just remove/bin the tag and still take the item (bag/bike/whatever).

So, sounds like it’s only real use case is for finding something lost….

It’s still coming out in the detail, but I believe the beeping doesn’t start straight away, time will tell.

My trailer will be interesting scenario when it gets nicked

[snuffy]

They seem to advertise them to track your case through an airport say.

But wouldn't that just make you worry all the time ? Where's my case ? Why's it not in the hold ? Why has it stopped moving ? and so on.

It's like when I fitted a tracker to my cat. It was great at first, seeing how far she'd go when she went out. But when she'd been out for several hours I'd start worrying and looking at my phone and if it was not tracking her I get even more worried.

So in the end I threw it away (the tracker, not the cat !)

You'd be a bag of nerves.

[Chozza]

snuffy said:

But wouldn't that just make you worry all the time ? Where's my case ? Why's it not in the hold ? Why has it stopped moving ? and so on.

Now I want one !

Having spent far too long at airports , i now need this to confirm the Priority Baggage theory - i.e. that they chuck the baggage into the plane in the order that it is checked in .. but that they hold onto everyone's luggage until they have all the priority bags when it reaches the destination.

[snuffy]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You have described how it works, so you will get updates once it's out of range of your phone - that's rather the point.

[Chozza]

It can be any iPhone ? so as long as the are enough scattered around to detect the tags - then i should be able to find where the bags are being held ?

( being iPhone specific also ruins my plan of spoofing GPS locations - so that any tag that gets near by phone relocated )

[snuffy]

Chozza said:

snuffy said:

But wouldn't that just make you worry all the time ? Where's my case ? Why's it not in the hold ? Why has it stopped moving ? and so on.

Now I want one !

Having spent far too long at airports , i now need this to confirm the Priority Baggage theory - i.e. that they chuck the baggage into the plane in the order that it is checked in .. but that they hold onto everyone's luggage until they have all the priority bags when it reaches the destination.

Last time we went on holiday we used AirPortr, which was brilliant and worrying at the same time. You get updates about your bags; collected from your house, arrived at the departure airport, cleared security, loaded onto plane, arrived at your destination, loaded on the barrage reclaim carousel and so on.

It's great but when nothing happens for a long period of time you start wondering why nothing is happening.

[shopper150]

snuffy said:

Last time we went on holiday we used AirPortr, which was brilliant and worrying at the same time. You get updates about your bags; collected from your house, arrived at the departure airport, cleared security, loaded onto plane, arrived at your destination, loaded on the barrage reclaim carousel and so on.

It's great but when nothing happens for a long period of time you start wondering why nothing is happening.

I’m not sure if I would trust such services. How to you answer the question, has the luggage been out of your sight etc? Could anything have been put into your bag?

[TheRainMaker]

I’m guessing these will be no good as a cheap car tracker then, if it beeps when travailing without the owner, bit of a shame 🙁

[bristolracer]

They sound like a stalkers dream
Stick one on your targets car, and see where they go

Whose data is used when the third party phone detects it?

[The_Jackal]

So does everyone else's bluetooth or this function need to be turned on?
Or do Apple just not let you turn it off.

[snuffy]

shopper150 said:

snuffy said:

Last time we went on holiday we used AirPortr, which was brilliant and worrying at the same time. You get updates about your bags; collected from your house, arrived at the departure airport, cleared security, loaded onto plane, arrived at your destination, loaded on the barrage reclaim carousel and so on.

It's great but when nothing happens for a long period of time you start wondering why nothing is happening.

I’m not sure if I would trust such services. How to you answer the question, has the luggage been out of your sight etc? Could anything have been put into your bag?

But that's the point. No one will ask you those questions because you don't check your bags in at the airport as they do it for you. They collect the bag from your house and the next time you see is when you collect it at your destination's airport.

[snuffy]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yes, that's the problem of course. You need loads of people to have a tag so they have the app on their phone. It's a self-fulfilling thing or, equally, a self-defeating thing.

[alorotom]

snuffy said:

Yes, that's the problem of course. You need loads of people to have a tag so they have the app on their phone. It's a self-fulfilling thing or, equally, a self-defeating thing.

No special app required - it uses the Find My feature that’s on all iPhones and non-removable

[RammyMP]

I’m planning on getting the wife one for her car keys. I’m sick of asking where’s your keys to get the response “in my handbag” to then ask where her fking handbag is!

[snuffy]

alorotom said:

snuffy said:

Yes, that's the problem of course. You need loads of people to have a tag so they have the app on their phone. It's a self-fulfilling thing or, equally, a self-defeating thing.

No special app required - it uses the Find My feature that’s on all iPhones and non-removable

You might be right, I've been looking at the Samsung version, so I may have confused the two in that the Samsung one only works with the latest Samsung phones, hence needs a certain app.

[Spare tyre]

So popped it in my wife’s car today, she doesn’t have an iPhone

Got updated on her way to work which is fast a roads

Got numerous updates from her works car park, she also parks at the far end away from people, so assume people turning round etc

Overall it’s incredible for the money, will definitely get a couple more, and one for my parents dog who does range wide when out on her walks. She’s a lovely dog, so will be worthwhile if it reduces the risk of getting splatted on a road.

Will probably put one in my trailer, but not until they are less than 20 quid

Will be interesting to see what the behaviour is when it’s been away from one of my devices for a couple of days (thinking the parents dog here)


The other thing to note is it only works with peoples devices who have the latest update, which people won’t have necessarily installed as it only came out last week.