ok, that sounds like a reasonable system. sometimes i don't use my car for 3 days, but if it doesn't move — this won't be an issue. and i assume there is a way to disable this feature, for instance if i haven't used it, but my wife is going to?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AirTags Separated From Owners for Three Days or More Play Audible Sound When Moved
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm excited for AirTags, but we're still missing the most important information... what is the range? 100m, 200m, 400m?
Is Tile angry? I must have missed that story.
EDIT: Found it... WOW. Ok, I'm done with Tile. Ordering a 4-pack of AirTags on Friday.
Last edited:
I think people are missing the point of why the sounds plays. Apple does not want these to be used as surveillance devices to track other people if you can slip one in someone's bag or something like that. The sound will let people know they are being tracked!
That won't prevent them from being used for Stalking !
Apple R&D needs to do a much better job !!!
Apple R&D needs to do a much better job !!!
If Find My directs you to the lost device why would you need someone else to find it and report it?
yes, I m thinking of placing one in my car and one hidden on my bike.
I wonder if the "separation alert" can be silenced? I'd like to hide one on my bike so if its stolen it can be tracked it without the perp knowing (and removing it) before I can rescue it. (like the old LoJack idea)
Hmmm, after seeing this https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/disable-an-airtag-found-moving-with-you/
Someone stealing a bike might know right away that the bike is 'tagged'. Maybe thats a deterrent, or maybe thats their cue to stop and look for the tag?
I wonder if the "separation alert" can be silenced? I'd like to hide one on my bike so if its stolen it can be tracked it without the perp knowing (and removing it) before I can rescue it. (like the old LoJack idea)
Hmmm, after seeing this https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/disable-an-airtag-found-moving-with-you/
Someone stealing a bike might know right away that the bike is 'tagged'. Maybe thats a deterrent, or maybe thats their cue to stop and look for the tag?
Last edited:
The more details that come out about these things the more disappointed I am. Totally useless for what I wanted.
I was planning on getting these as trackers in the event of theft but as I'm getting more information I'm thinking they're not meant to be used for that?
1. Other people (and the theives) will see the tracker on their iPhone when they get close to my lost item?
2. It will make noises and the theives will find them?
I thought IPhones would pick up the signal in the background and silently and anonymously send the approximate position to my iPhone, but that feature is not available?
The use case for these seem to be based on people being honest and returning lost items and not keeping them for themselves?
Edit: what is the actual purpose of these and what benefit do they offer over just writing down my phone number on a note or sticker and attach/put inside my items?
1. Other people (and the theives) will see the tracker on their iPhone when they get close to my lost item?
2. It will make noises and the theives will find them?
I thought IPhones would pick up the signal in the background and silently and anonymously send the approximate position to my iPhone, but that feature is not available?
The use case for these seem to be based on people being honest and returning lost items and not keeping them for themselves?
Edit: what is the actual purpose of these and what benefit do they offer over just writing down my phone number on a note or sticker and attach/put inside my items?
Last edited:
People are going to be putting these on their pets' collars. If an owner goes on vacation and these things start beeping after a few days...
Unless it is a self-driving car (that can do so without you even being in it), this wouldn't be an issue.
As if such trackers hadn't existed before. If you only need 3 days of battery life, there are plenty of options. You can start with something like Tile or just look at the wide field of dog trackers that use various kind of wireless connectivity with some having their own cellular 4G modem.
From what I can see right now the AirTag need some kind of holder to attach it to the device that you want to tag. You mean to tell me that someone who has your device won't just cut the damn thing off? I don't see the usefulness of it.
If we are paying premium dollar for apple devices and each device is tag with your own Apple ID, isn't it better to provide a service where your devices will be completely disabled from a distance? That way you will deter people from trying to steal your device. They have no use for a device that does not work.
If we are paying premium dollar for apple devices and each device is tag with your own Apple ID, isn't it better to provide a service where your devices will be completely disabled from a distance? That way you will deter people from trying to steal your device. They have no use for a device that does not work.
This isn't the only mechanism for preventing unwanted trackers. In fact, this feature is more suited to retrieving lost items found by strangers and preventing "finders keepers."
You can disable any of your AirTags at any time. The question of using them in items (my fingers just typed iTems
) that multiple people use (like a car) is certainly a relevant one. Most likely initially those are just things for which AirTags well-suited for (though in future those could be solved by some kind of family ownership of specific AirTags).Those services are already built-in into all Macs and iOS devices for probably over a decade.
AirTags primarily serve as a way to find things you have lost (or simply don't remember where you put them). As a protection against theft, they naturally would need to be hidden (or one would rely on thieves not recognising them as tracking devices).
Guess what, maybe those simply aren't a suitable use cases for AirTags (yet). Apart from the fact that modern cars have their own locating systems.
Congratulation, you have identified use cases for which AirTags aren't really suited for. Can we move on and rather look at the use cases for a given products instead of trying to list all the things they are not suited for?
And btw, merely bumping the AirTags won't trigger it. They would have to leave the house.