AirTag Tidbits: Maximum of 16 Per Apple ID, Low Battery Notifications on iPhone, and More

[w5jck]

Sorry, I haven't been following all of the AirTag threads. But, one thing I don't currently understand is how they deal with anti-stalking situations vs legitimate theft situations. If someone steals your keys or something, is this going to notify them that they're being tracked? And does that defeat the purpose?

Thieves will quickly catch on to AirTags, look for them, and immediately disable them. You can disable them by removing the battery, or wrapping them in aluminum foil to prevent BT radio waves from propagating, or flushing them down a toilet, or smashing them with a hammer, et cetera. It doesn’t take much imagination or knowledge to disable these things.

 

[_Spinn_]

Not sure why Apple placed an artificial limit of 16 trackers per Apple Id. Granted that seems like it should be enough for most people but they could sell more if there was no limit.

It's good you can disable alerts when sharing with members in your family but it feels like integration with Family Sharing could be fleshed out further in a future update.

 

[The Chosen One]

You really overestimate the general thief. ;p

Also they aren't even meant for that, you can still do it but you have to accept the downsides. I can easily put on on/in my electric bike without a thief finding it quickly.

 

[Alan Wynn]

If I turn off location tracking on my iPhone will that stop Apple from using my iPhone to find one of these tags?

It is under AppleID -> Find My.

Turning it off means you cannot find your lost iPhone if it goes off line either, but since I am pretty sure you have said you have never lost anything ever, that should not be a problem.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Yes, the battery is user replaceable. However it doesn’t say what type of battery it uses, where you buy the replacements and how much they cost. It might be a special battery only available from Apple for $10. Battery lasts up to 1 year.

It is a CR2032. Lasts around one year. Could be more or less depending on usage.

 

[Alan Wynn]

So if I have one in my carry-on luggage, on a flight, everyone in vicinity of my seat will get an alert?

No. If you are with it, no one will get an alert.

 

[macsound1]

No, that will only happen if you aren't there.

But aren't you not there after you drop it off at the counter, eat lunch, go through security, have a cocktail, buy a magazine and then get on the plane. During that time there are probably thousands of people who my airtag will be closer to than me and its moving the entire time.

 

[DotCom2]

delete

 

[The Chosen One]

It doesn't trigger instantly when you aren't around...

 

[macsound1]

And yet Dish Network has had remote finder for nearly 2 decades. Have had to use it many times.
Boo boo boop, bee bee beep, bah bah bop!

And cordless home phones. We'd lose the phone like every day!

 

[Apple_Robert]

I like what I have read thus far about AirTags. I am locked and loaded for my order tomorrow.

 

[KeithJenner]

But aren't you not there after you drop it off at the counter, eat lunch, go through security, have a cocktail, buy a magazine and then get on the plane. During that time there are probably thousands of people who my airtag will be closer to than me and its moving the entire time.

The question was about carry on luggage.

With your checked luggage, we will just have to wait for real life experiences I suppose. I don't think that most of the situations you describe would trigger the alert as it will require the tag to be moving with someone, not just it be moving and people be nearer than you. We don't know for sure, but I doubt whether many of these situations would trigger the anti-privacy alerts.

They may do with baggage handlers, especially the driver of the trolleys at big airports, but if so then I expect they will just get used to the alerts.

I'm waiting to hear real life experiences, as this would be my main usage for the airtag if it works.

 

[macsound1]

You really overestimate the general thief. ;p

Also they aren't even meant for that, you can still do it but you have to accept the downsides. I can easily put on on/in my electric bike without a thief finding it quickly.

I just hope the app gets faster.
When I'm not on my home wifi, getting my iPhone or mac takes many minutes just to show up on the list, then a minute or more to show the location.

 

[macsound1]

The question was about carry on luggage.

With your checked luggage, we will just have to wait for real life experiences I suppose. I don't think that most of the situations you describe would trigger the alert as it will require the tag to be moving with someone, not just it be moving and people be nearer than you. We don't know for sure, but I doubt whether many of these situations would trigger the anti-privacy alerts.

They may do with baggage handlers, especially the driver of the trolleys at big airports, but if so then I expect they will just get used to the alerts.

I'm waiting to hear real life experiences, as this would be my main usage for the airtag if it works.

Yea I hope there's a solution for checked luggage.

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

So how long does the battery last?

They say over a year but that's based on:

Testing conducted by Apple in March 2021 using preproduction AirTag units and software paired with iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max units running preproduction software. Battery life based on an everyday use of four play sound events and one Precision Finding event per day. Battery life varies with usage, environmental conditions, replacement battery manufacturer, and many other factors; actual results will vary.

So unless you're losing your item multiple times daily and need to beep it 4x a day and use Precision Finding once a day, every day, they'll likely last longer.

As they note environment will impact things. High heat or cold impact battery life.

 

[bobm3]

AirTag, announced this week and shipping on April 30, is Apple's long-rumored Tile-like tracker for locating and keeping a tab on items such as keys, wallets, and more. The iPhone accessory is a new product category for Apple, building on its Find My network. While AirTags won't be in the hands of customers until next week, we continue to learn more about Apple's latest gadget.

YouTuber Rene Ritchie had a chance to speak to Apple's VP of iPhone worldwide marketing, Kaiann Drance, and Apple's senior director of sensing and connectivity, Ron Huang, to discuss AirTags, its features, design, and privacy. The interview covers much of the same ground as another interview the executives gave to Fast Company, but it does include a few other notable tidbits.

Maximum of 16 AirTags Connected to A Single Apple ID

Apple will offer a single AirTag for $29 and a pack of four for $99. Most customers will want to track their keys, wallets, and backpack, not needing more than four. The maximum number of AirTags that can be connected to a single Apple ID is 16, according to Apple's Kaiann Drance.

Low Battery Notfication

AirTags feature a replaceable coin-cell battery that, according to Apple, can last as long as a year. AirTags don't have a screen, or a light, making it hard to understand if the battery is low and needs replacing. As revealed in Ritchie’s interview, iPhone will alert users once the AirTags battery is starting to run low. It's still not clear which specific threshold the battery must reach before an alert is sent. Still, it can reasonably be assumed the AirTag would have enough battery left to allow the owner to purchase and replace it before it completely dies.

Sharing AirTags With Friends and Family

In some instances, users may want to share their car key with a friend or family member, which happens to have an AirTag attached to it. In normal cases, the AirTags safety feature would kick in, alerting the person that an unknown tracking device is on them. Apple's way to prevent this is through Family Sharing.

As Kaiann Drance explains, if an AirTag is being shared with an Apple ID within Family Sharing, the owner of the AirTag can disable the safety alerts to prevent their family or friends iPhone from detecting it as unwanted tracking.

In cases where an AirTag is being borrowed by an individual not in Family Sharing, the borrower can choose to disable the safety alerts.

AirTags will be available for pre-order on Friday, April 23, and will begin shipping on April 30.

Article Link: AirTag Tidbits: Maximum of 16 Per Apple ID, Low Battery Notifications on iPhone, and More

 

[bobm3]

Can I track my cat?

 

[EvilHomer80]

"As Kaiann Drance explains, if an AirTag is being shared with an Apple ID within Family Sharing, the owner of the AirTag can disable the safety alerts to prevent their family or friends iPhone from detecting it as unwanted tracking."

This could be dangerous. Imagine I'm a controlling abusive husband (I'm not). My wife goes out but turns off tracking for her phone in Find My app. However I realise I can disable the "You have an unknown tracker on you" because we are family and slip a tag in her bag. It actually feels like a really stupid idea. Only the person receiving the alert, family or not should be able to disable the warning.

 

[TheOldChevy]

Why not using a long range modulation ?

 

[robjulo]

You really overestimate the general thief. ;p

Also they aren't even meant for that, you can still do it but you have to accept the downsides. I can easily put on on/in my electric bike without a thief finding it quickly.

Last week, before the information came out about the anti "stalking" feature, I would guarantee that one of the great benefits that 99% of the people who are now excusing anti-theft protection would have been beating their chest about, would be the ability to locate stolen items.

Now that we know they are essentially useless for that, it's excused as "that's not what they are for".

 

[Devnul0]

It doesn't have GPS, the tracking isn't that accurate.

Also, for pet owners there already is an excellent collar out there that has GPS, LTE, WiFi and Bluetooth that interacts with an iPhone and app: Fi from tryfi.com
When a pet leaves the home Wifi, it knows. If it has a bluetooth connection with the owner's phone, you get a notification they left home with the owner and it saves battery by just talking to the phone. The walk is tracked on a map, you can get step counts, etc.
If no bt connection, then you get a notification they left, the collar goes to LTE and GPS, and you get a notification that they're at such-and-such location without an owner.
Hit the lost dog button in the app and the collar starts flashing red and goes into more of a live tracking mode so you can wander through the woods following your dog looking at your phone.
We've gotten our escaped dogs (chasing deer or rabbits) back several times thanks to these collars, they work really well so long as you're in an area with cell service.
Airtags don't offer that kind of functionality, but there's at least one excellent product in the space (and probably more, I know Garmin has an expensive but powerful solution designed for tracking groups of hunting dogs).

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

Register hers under her Apple ID, not yours.

Although, I'm hoping that there is (or will be, eventually) a way for everyone in the family to track something, AND a way to invite non-family members to track specific tags. For instance, the living room TV remote. In our house, six people use the remote (and lose the remote) on a regular basis. Two of them are not part of my family sharing. We'd all like to be able to find the remote, regardless of who else happens to be around.

I have my family set up with the family sharing. The way it currently works is that all the devices owned by any member of my family show up in the devices tab in the Find My app on my phone. Would the tags not work the same way?

 

[seinman]

I have my family set up with the family sharing. The way it currently works is that all the devices owned by any member of my family show up in the devices tab in the Find My app on my phone. Would the tags not work the same way?

From the little information known so far, no, it doesn't seem like it works that way. Also, even if it did, since family sharing is limited to six people, that puts a dent into options for bigger families (I'm the oldest of seven, so there were nine people living in the same house, in the same immediate family) or families with, for instance in my situation, a caregiver who frequently spends time at the house alone. There's no way to share AirTags with everyone who could benefit from them in either of those situations. Hopefully these problems are solved with future software updates.

 

[kiensoy]

Keys have far more potential to get lost because they are in a move in all places you go! TV Remote? Misplaced -yes, lost - NO.

Yet Apple used a big remote lost in the dudes couch in their ad as an example. That remote looks much bigger than a small Siri Remote.

 

[Aathroser]

As Kaiann Drance explains, if an AirTag is being shared with an Apple ID within Family Sharing, the owner of the AirTag can disable the safety alerts to prevent their family or friends iPhone from detecting it as unwanted tracking.

I see some possible security problems here. Say someone wants to track their spouse, and they are in the family sharing group. The spouse would not even know they are being tracked.