Ability of Apple Airtags

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gnfb

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#301983 20-Oct-2022 11:37

My description as a lay person of air tags is a device that uses other iPhone's to enable to track location. Close enough?

Anyway my question, In New Zealand I imagine we have way less Iphone's that could relay the signal than say new York. Would that mean that the air tags are less effective here?

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#2985248 20-Oct-2022 11:46

Point 1 - yes, uses the mass of other iPhones locations to track the tag

Point 2- Not really, as long as you have a critical mass there will be enough iPhones nearby to locate a tag, - having more phones probably doesn't add much extra after a certain point

- The lack of a critical mass was what meant other trackers like "tile" never took off in NZ, I'm pretty sure there are enough iPhones around..

eugeneykc

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#2985249 20-Oct-2022 11:49

I was pondering the same recently and found the following videos on YouTube. I think they aren't built for live tracking, but they are good for locating something that you misplaced.

https://youtu.be/GmC05wOc5Dw

https://youtu.be/NuEgjAMfdIY

allan

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#2985251 20-Oct-2022 12:00

Check out this guy's (Kiwi living in Germany) experiences in using airtags to track stolen property and to prove he knows where a lost package is, even if DHL don't...

https://www.youtube.com/c/MegaLag

gnfb

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#2985254 20-Oct-2022 12:06

Thanks guys I just wanted to feel confident in suggesting them to a mate as he would need to change his phone as its a samsung a10 and I guess that wouldnt be able to track an air tag

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eracode

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#2985256 20-Oct-2022 12:12

I was reading something recently, maybe here on GZ, about people using AirTags to find luggage misplaced by airlines. It said that they’re fine for this so long as you and the tag are in the same country. Apparently they don’t really work if you’re here but your bag is in LA or London.

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freitasm

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#2985258 20-Oct-2022 12:15

gnfb:

Thanks guys I just wanted to feel confident in suggesting them to a mate as he would need to change his phone as its a samsung a10 and I guess that wouldnt be able to track an air tag

Why not Samsung Smarttags?

https://www.samsung.com/nz/mobile-accessories/galaxy-smarttag-plus-black-ei-t7300bbegau/

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MPPSAM90035620/Samsung-Galaxy-SmartTag

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allan

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#2985260 20-Oct-2022 12:28

eracode:

I was reading something recently, maybe here on GZ, about people using AirTags to find luggage misplaced by airlines. It said that they’re fine for this so long as you and the tag are in the same country. Apparently they don’t really work if you’re here but your bag is in LA or London.

Based on the megalag YouTube channel I posted above, can't see why this would be the case.

eracode

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#2985266 20-Oct-2022 12:45

allan:

eracode:

I was reading something recently, maybe here on GZ, about people using AirTags to find luggage misplaced by airlines. It said that they’re fine for this so long as you and the tag are in the same country. Apparently they don’t really work if you’re here but your bag is in LA or London.

Based on the megalag YouTube channel I posted above, can't see why this would be the case.

IIRC it was something to do with differing radio frequencies used in various countries.

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cshwone

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#2985268 20-Oct-2022 12:52

eracode:

I was reading something recently, maybe here on GZ, about people using AirTags to find luggage misplaced by airlines. It said that they’re fine for this so long as you and the tag are in the same country. Apparently they don’t really work if you’re here but your bag is in LA or London.

Not true. My wife recently went to the UK and I stuck an Airtag into her suitcase. Tracking worked throughout using my work iphone here in NZ

tchart

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#2985269 20-Oct-2022 12:59

I chuck an airtag in my luggage nowadays. Have recently done this on international and national flights. Works great, I can see where my bag is eg loaded onto the plane vs in terminal vs on the carousel

As others have said the location is crowd sourced by "being spotted" by an iPhone over bluetooth (BLE).

However newer iPhones can also determine the location more precisely if its within close distance (eg if you misplace your keys in your house). This is done using NFC so its much more accurate.

In terms of competition when AirTags launched there was some comparions with Tile. The problem with that is that it depends on other Tile app users (ie they have to have the tile app installed) compared to any iPhone user. So the pool of users is much much smaller. Im not sure about Samsung though.

tchart

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#2985270 20-Oct-2022 13:02

cshwone:

Not true. My wife recently went to the UK and I stuck an Airtag into her suitcase. Tracking worked throughout using my work iphone here in NZ

100% correct. My wife forgot her airtag in the USA (slipped out her bag in the airport hotel). We didnt realise till we got back to NZ - it was still at the hotel last time we checked.

Also there are many youtube videos of people putting them in packages to see the routes shipping companies take.

Edit: just to add the one thing I dont like about AirTags is that they are paired with one "account". So there is no family sharing eg I can see my kids airtags (unlike other devices which you can see). Probably a privacy thing.

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#2985271 20-Oct-2022 13:05

freitasm:
gnfb:

Thanks guys I just wanted to feel confident in suggesting them to a mate as he would need to change his phone as its a samsung a10 and I guess that wouldnt be able to track an air tag

Why not Samsung Smarttags?

https://www.samsung.com/nz/mobile-accessories/galaxy-smarttag-plus-black-ei-t7300bbegau/

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MPPSAM90035620/Samsung-Galaxy-SmartTag

Forwarded to my other half as a Christmas present idea..

ANglEAUT

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#2985285 20-Oct-2022 14:12

@gnfb:

Thanks guys I just wanted to feel confident in suggesting them to a mate as he would need to change his phone as its a samsung a10 and I guess that wouldnt be able to track an air tag

See Apple Tracker Detect: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect

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jonb

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#2985343 20-Oct-2022 14:52

ANglEAUT:

@gnfb:

Thanks guys I just wanted to feel confident in suggesting them to a mate as he would need to change his phone as its a samsung a10 and I guess that wouldnt be able to track an air tag

See Apple Tracker Detect: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect

I thought that just detects and warns if you are being stalked by someone putting an airtag in your car / bag. Doesn't actually tell you were a particular airtag is via Android.

wellygary

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#2985346 20-Oct-2022 15:04

jonb:

I thought that just detects and warns if you are being stalked by someone putting an airtag in your car / bag. Doesn't actually tell you were a particular airtag is via Android.

I think the "find my tag" is web accessible via apple's icloud... They will still require an AppleID but I think its pretty device agnostic...

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