Thoughts on Usage of Apple Tags

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#2698913 27-Apr-2021 17:58

I’m interested in tagging my dog, but I live most of the time semi-rurally and I’d need to track her all the time she’s lost, not just when in range of an iPhone . I’d be interested in real-world dog tracking performance.

venomio

178 posts

Master Geek

#2698918 27-Apr-2021 18:05

BlinkyBill:

I’m interested in tagging my dog, but I live most of the time semi-rurally and I’d need to track her all the time she’s lost, not just when in range of an iPhone . I’d be interested in real-world dog tracking performance.

If you want real-time tracking, I don't think this will do the trick. Especially if it's out of range of yours or any other iPhones. Cellular/GPS trackers will be your only choice here.

ashtonaut

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2698956 27-Apr-2021 19:39

I think AirTags are great for keys, but perhaps we’ll have to wait for Gen 2 before we see something genuinely compatible with a wallet. Tile Slim is excellent in this regard, it’s the thickness of two credit cards and fits in my wallet perfectly. I accept the tracking ecosystem isn’t anywhere near as good with Tile (it’s fine for my basic needs), but the form factor for wallet tracking is superior.

davidcole

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#2702044 5-May-2021 07:26

Who was after giving one to their daughter or something: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/05/04/airtag-family-sharing-tracking/

Looks like they don't work for family sharing.

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tchart

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#2702047 5-May-2021 08:02

davidcole:

As the bigger the pool of people reporting your tags/tiles the more likely they are to be found.

+1 to this.

I forget which YouTuber I saw it on but they said for example in New York City there is approx 1 tile user per block but there are literally 100's of iOS users in that same block (something like that anyway).

So while Tile etc may have better specs for direct BLE connection, the Air Tags have a huge pool of other users who may pass by your tag.

jmosen

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#2702058 5-May-2021 08:25

The U1 chip AKA precision finding is remarkable for blind people. If you're interested in this use case, here's my podcast episode demonstrating AirTag setup and use with the VoiceOver screen reader built into all Apple products, and here's the transcript although the audio is much more compelling.

Jonathan

SheriffNZ

671 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2702076 5-May-2021 09:32

davidcole:

Who was after giving one to their daughter or something: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/05/04/airtag-family-sharing-tracking/

Looks like they don't work for family sharing.

Here's a youtube video from a cycling tech reviewer (GP Lama) I follow that has reviewed them and outlines some details about their use case and the limitations

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gnfb

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#2702079 5-May-2021 09:35

davidcole:

Who was after giving one to their daughter or something: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/05/04/airtag-family-sharing-tracking/

Looks like they don't work for family sharing.

If we put family sharing aside, for now, I do not really follow how they are linked to one phone or account. Does it not work that until you actually connect to a tag with an iphone the tag to say is "dumb"? or is it somehow linked to one's apple account? I must ask apple.

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dafman

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#2702101 5-May-2021 09:55

gnfb:

davidcole:

Who was after giving one to their daughter or something: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/05/04/airtag-family-sharing-tracking/

Looks like they don't work for family sharing.

If we put family sharing aside, for now, I do not really follow how they are linked to one phone or account. Does it not work that until you actually connect to a tag with an iphone the tag to say is "dumb"? or is it somehow linked to one's apple account? I must ask apple.

The Air Tag links to the Apple account of the phone it has been paired with.

wellygary

8323 posts

Uber Geek

#2702103 5-May-2021 10:05

dafman:

gnfb:

If we put family sharing aside, for now, I do not really follow how they are linked to one phone or account. Does it not work that until you actually connect to a tag with an iphone the tag to say is "dumb"? or is it somehow linked to one's apple account? I must ask apple.

The Air Tag links to the Apple account of the phone it has been paired with.

Yeah, you can track them by logging into "Find my" on icloud.com ... its not tied to any specific device...

eracode

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#2702119 5-May-2021 10:31

Concerned that one disadvantage is that for most use-cases you need to buy a holder to attach it to something? No - not necessarily:

https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-customizing-your-apple-air-tag-with-a-drill-113057763.html

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dafman

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#2702123 5-May-2021 10:45

eracode:

Concerned that one disadvantage is that for most use-cases you need to buy a holder to attach it to something? No - not necessarily:

https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-customizing-your-apple-air-tag-with-a-drill-113057763.html

Of course Apple could have provided this out of the box but, this is Apple, so why cannibalize the accessories cash cow.

I'm thinking of getting one for my car keys, but still balking at the $75 cost (AirTag and cheapest Belkin key ring).

ALTRON

577 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2702140 5-May-2021 11:31

I got one to replace my tile

SUCKED that I HAD to buy the ridiculously expensive leather key chain holder just to use it.

Works well. If I lose my keys and ANYONE with an IOS ( i think it has to be on 14.5?) device with Bluetooth on comes into the area of it, I'll be alerted.

There are so many IOS devices out and about that its bound to show up on the network sooner than later .

I put my keys in another building while im at work (far away from my phone) and they showed up on 'find my' all day

gnfb

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#2702161 5-May-2021 12:07

Check out Aliexpress if you are patient as they have tag holders keyring style starting at 3 or 4 bucks! Doubt they are leather :)

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Geektastic

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#2703373 7-May-2021 13:42

BlinkyBill:

I’m interested in tagging my dog, but I live most of the time semi-rurally and I’d need to track her all the time she’s lost, not just when in range of an iPhone . I’d be interested in real-world dog tracking performance.

1) Train your dog better...

2) Use a Garmin GPS tracking collar. A better solution I would think.

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