AirTags = Not an antitheft device

[ajaan]

We've put one in our car. If you're worried about it chirping and alerting a thief with sound, then you can take part of the speaker out and it won't make a sound anymore. iFixit has a tear down, although they don't mention it for this purpose, you can figure out which part to take out. We've already done it, and all the chirping as gone. I guess the same could be done with hiding one on a bike too.

For $29 it's kind of a bit of fun, and not in place of a real tracker for cars, but it still works pretty good.

 

[Oatmaster]

We've put one in our car. If you're worried about it chirping and alerting a thief with sound, then you can take part of the speaker out and it won't make a sound anymore.

Ok my question is if you lend your car to a friend with an iPhone, or maybe your wife/husband takes the car, does their iphone notify them as soon as they start driving? So just because you don't have beeping would it still be annoying on their iPhone?

 

[KeithJenner]

Ok my question is if you lend your car to a friend with an iPhone, or maybe your wife/husband takes the car, does their iphone notify them as soon as they start driving? So just because you don't have beeping would it still be annoying on their iPhone?

It certainly won't notify them as soon as they start driving. It takes a while before the notification happens.

When the notification does happen your friend will have the option to stop such notifications for the day. If the person is in your family sharing group then they can disable the notifications permanently.

 

[Braileo]

Hi - just wanted to post to this forum as I thought it might be of interest. Tonight I recovered my stolen bike using the airtag that I had glued to the underside of the saddle. It was stolen two nights ago and I have been watching the location of where it ended up. The person who had it was happy enough to hand it over once they realised it had a tracker attached to it. Seems like they never received an alert in the more than 48 hour period that they had the bike - so I am assuming they weren’t an iPhone user. Was interested to know if you had heard any other stories of people recovering stolen items with an airtag?

 

[matrix07]

Hi - just wanted to post to this forum as I thought it might be of interest. Tonight I recovered my stolen bike using the airtag that I had glued to the underside of the saddle. It was stolen two nights ago and I have been watching the location of where it ended up. The person who had it was happy enough to hand it over once they realised it had a tracker attached to it. Seems like they never received an alert in the more than 48 hour period that they had the bike - so I am assuming they weren’t an iPhone user. Was interested to know if you had heard any other stories of people recovering stolen items with an airtag?

Wow. It’s good that you got your bike back but be careful though…

 

[fischersd]

Activation Lock prevents the erasure/re-use of the device. What mechanism could be built into a bike that would prevent its use (and could not be easily bypassed/removed)?

Simple. It can't be paired with another iPhone until it's unpaired from the current "master".

You have it inside the frame with a strong antennae just underneath the paint.

Edit: Yep - you'll need somewhere on the frame that you can swap out the battery. It'll need to have a keyed lock on it to thwart thieves. (something like a PC/vending machine lock would be best).

By that token - will also be good to have branding on the paint, indicating the the bike is protected by "Find My" - so thieves don't take it in the first place.

 

[fischersd]

We've put one in our car. If you're worried about it chirping and alerting a thief with sound, then you can take part of the speaker out and it won't make a sound anymore. iFixit has a tear down, although they don't mention it for this purpose, you can figure out which part to take out. We've already done it, and all the chirping as gone. I guess the same could be done with hiding one on a bike too.

For $29 it's kind of a bit of fun, and not in place of a real tracker for cars, but it still works pretty good.

I'd either use duct tape or one of these https://www.amazon.ca/Miimall-Compatible-Anti-Scratch-Anti-Lost-Protective/dp/B093Q7KF3M/
..and put it under the hood somewhere. (likely better range for the bluetooth radio without that pesky glass to go through). And being outside of the passenger cabin, when it does start randomly chirping after 3 days, they're unlikely to hear it.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Simple. It can't be paired with another iPhone until it's unpaired from the current "master".

You have it inside the frame with a strong antennae just underneath the paint.

Edit: Yep - you'll need somewhere on the frame that you can swap out the battery. It'll need to have a keyed lock on it to thwart thieves. (something like a PC/vending machine lock would be best).

By that token - will also be good to have branding on the paint, indicating the the bike is protected by "Find My" - so thieves don't take it in the first place.

The key sentence here is "It'll need to have a keyed lock on it to thwart thieves."

Maybe I'm just too old, but to me, a bicycle is a human-powered transportation device. The ability to pair it with an iPhone? Nice when it comes to getting workout data or if you do want loss/theft tracking, but to the thief? As long as the crank and wheels turn, the thing is useful despite the inability to pair. If it's being used as a getaway vehicle then it'll be abandoned before any tracking efforts bear fruit.

 

[fischersd]

The key sentence here is "It'll need to have a keyed lock on it to thwart thieves."

Maybe I'm just too old, but to me, a bicycle is a human-powered transportation device. The ability to pair it with an iPhone? Nice when it comes to getting workout data or if you do want loss/theft tracking, but to the thief? As long as the crank and wheels turn, the thing is useful despite the inability to pair. If it's being used as a getaway vehicle then it'll be abandoned before any tracking efforts bear fruit.

Apple’s Find My network now offers new third-party finding experiences

The Find My network accessory program enables users to keep track of their belongings in the new Items tab within the Find My app

www.apple.com

 

[pmiles]

Hi - just wanted to post to this forum as I thought it might be of interest. Tonight I recovered my stolen bike using the airtag that I had glued to the underside of the saddle. It was stolen two nights ago and I have been watching the location of where it ended up. The person who had it was happy enough to hand it over once they realised it had a tracker attached to it. Seems like they never received an alert in the more than 48 hour period that they had the bike - so I am assuming they weren’t an iPhone user. Was interested to know if you had heard any other stories of people recovering stolen items with an airtag?

So you got the bike back but basically shrugged off the fact that they had taken it in the first place?

Next time they will just chuck the seat.

 

[HiVolt]

I also wonder what happens if you're travelling on public transit for example, and the person sitting next to you or in the vicinity (not sure what the range of the anti stalking feature is), and everyone's iPhones are gonna be going off, because someone has attached an AirTag to something they are carrying.

Perhaps there is a timer feature where it only reports it after a certain time, maybe 1hr+ where you are likely not in the vicinity of the same person travelling along with you on public transit.

 

[usagora]

I also wonder what happens if you're travelling on public transit for example, and the person sitting next to you or in the vicinity (not sure what the range of the anti stalking feature is), and everyone's iPhones are gonna be going off, because someone has attached an AirTag to something they are carrying.

Perhaps there is a timer feature where it only reports it after a certain time, maybe 1hr+ where you are likely not in the vicinity of the same person travelling along with you on public transit.

My understanding is that the AirTag knows your phone is nearby and thus will not alert others. If you're trying to remotely stalk somebody, the AirTag will not be in the vicinity of your phone.

 

[HiVolt]

My understanding is that the AirTag knows your phone is nearby and thus will not alert others. If you're trying to remotely stalk somebody, the AirTag will not be in the vicinity of your phone.

Ah, yeah, that would make sense.

Didn't think of that. Good thing I'm not an engineer, LOL.