Has anyone been able to successfully AirTag their car?

[rijc99]

I have an Airtag on my wife’s keys paired with MY account.
She NEVER received any kind of alert on her iPhone 12 Max (iOS updated).
Not even when I had to travel out of state for 3 days.

So (I’m assuming), if someone is within your family members on icloud, it won’t notify them (?)

My wife is a member on my icloud and I'm able to see her devices on Find My app. She received the notification when she got home from a trip to the market. 45 minutes round trip.

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

Was able to pop open my headrest and put the AirTag in there. I’m a good 12 feet from my car inside the house and it picks up the signal perfectly. It’s just a bit of fun of course might leave it in for a few months just out of curiosity and see if passing iPhones could pick it up when I go somewhere! 😄

 

[Tumbleweed666]

I recent went on holiday and an airtag I left behind reported its location as across the street aftera day or three. I'm presuming this is because neighbours phones across the road were picking it up.

 

[bushman4]

If you park in an area where people aren’t walking or driving by the tracker will not immediately find your car
In other words you need iPhones to transmit the signal

 

[Ifti]

In a huge parking lot, it can be hard for some people to remember where they parked, especially if there are no lot or section labels. Using the AirTag option may be easier for them, than manually setting a parking location in Apple Maps.

This is the only scenario I would think of using an AirTag in a vehicle for. I wouldn't rely upon it as a tracking device after theft, and it certainly wouldn't replace a 'proper' vehicle tracker.

 

[Scott-n-Houston]

I put one in my car when I traded it in on a new car. It actually worked well for a few days. I could see it move from one dealer to the next. After 3 days, I went to the dealership that had it in the back lot and asked if I could retrieve it, and they took me back to it and I got it out of the door pocket I hid it in. It was a good experiment worth possibly losing the $30 I paid for it. 🙂

 

[fischersd]

This arrived today. Going under the hood. The adhesive on the back is next to nothing (think it was designed to maybe be stuck to a binder or something?) Anywho - I'll put some gorilla glue on it, so it doesn't drop off. 🙂

I'm sure there's lots of these out there.

Miimall Compatible with Apple Airtags Case, Soft Silicone Back Adhesive Anti-Scratch Lightweight Protective Skin Case Cover for Apple AirTags Location Tracker(Black)

Miimall Compatible with Apple Airtags Case, Soft Silicone Back Adhesive Anti-Scratch Lightweight Protective Skin Case Cover for Apple AirTags Location Tracker(Black)

www.amazon.ca

Edit: Oh...and, just to be extra, extra safe - I'll put duct tape over the open end. 😀. (can't have vibrations wiggling the airtag out of there). 🙂

 

[applesque]

I’m going to test this today. If I understand the wording right, the AirTag actually has to be in Lost mode to utilize other iOS devices, but I’ll find out today if that’s the case or not.

That i not correct. When the Airtag is in lost mode it will alert other iPhone users. However even when not in lost mode it will till relay it's position by pinging off other iPhone.

 

[MrTSolar]

That i not correct. When the Airtag is in lost mode it will alert other iPhone users. However even when not in lost mode it will till relay it's position by pinging off other iPhone.

Yes, I found that out shortly after posting (I believe my next post after that one clarifies this).

That said, I have successfully AirTagged my car and bike, but not telling where the AirTags are. They work well enough that the bike was picked up multiple times on a ride through the city, and the car can be followed on a map with an update about every 2 miles (mostly depends on which stoplights the car stops at and/or how dense traffic is in the same direction). Cars passing the other direction go by too fast to get a lock.

Will this prevent theft? Heck no, but for the rounding error's percent chance that YOUR car is stolen, these provide a "better than nothing" level of tracking with no subscription cost. At least you know which direction to start looking for your ride.

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

So that was interesting during the week, I had an emergency and had to leave my car behind and go somewhere else, I left my car with my wallet on show and my backpack in the passenger seat. I didn’t get back to the car for about 6 hours. I was able to see it on my find my app! It was seriously impressive. About every 30-40 mins it picked up someone’s iPhone and sent the location back to me (last seen 30 mins ago)! I could see that my car, wallet and backpack were safe in the car all day! I love these things!!

 

[iGobbleoff]

I've got two airtags, one in each car and it finds them all the time. Plus on each set of keys, and on spare keys. I have 12 Tags so they're going on everything

 

[iLikePizzas]

Anyone experimented with range and car location? I put mine underneath the roof (on the inside). It was picked up just a few times that day. While I'm sure its had iOS passerbies every few minutes (within 10m). I want it to be hidden, easily removable but most importantly I want the best range. What are the best spots inside a car?

 

[WolfSnap]

I gave my daughter an AirTag to put in her car. She put it in where the spare tire is -- literally two days later she came out to find the car missing!

The AirTag helped her locate the car (it had been towed) and retrieve it within minutes of her discovering it was missing.

Her friend wasn't as clever -- his car just got stolen a day or so ago.. He never got around to putting an AirTag in the car -- so, no way to track it now. Oops!

 

[Arty Tales]

Anyone experimented with range and car location? I put mine underneath the roof (on the inside). It was picked up just a few times that day. While I'm sure its had iOS passerbies every few minutes (within 10m). I want it to be hidden, easily removable but most importantly I want the best range. What are the best spots inside a car?

I have been planning to investigate that. I was thinking inside the rear light cluster might be a place to try, assuming it can be installed without interfering with the rear brake/indicator lights.

 

[RodThePlod]

So I’m taking my car in to be ‘detailed’ tomorrow (Weds). The car will be at the detailers until Saturday morning when I collect.

I’ve had an AirTag in the car for the last month or so, and I have one on my car keys, too.

As I’ll be away from the car for four days, will the AirTags start beeping or anything like that? I hope they don’t as it’ll be kinda annoying for the guys working on my car. Does anyone know?

I can easily remove the one on my keys, but the one in the car is stuck down with pretty strong double-sided tape and I’d prefer not to take it off if I don’t need to.

I do kinda like the idea of having it in there so I can see if anyone takes my car for a joyride 🙂

 

[fischersd]

So I’m taking my car in to be ‘detailed’ tomorrow (Weds). The car will be at the detailers until Saturday morning when I collect.

I’ve had an AirTag in the car for the last month or so, and I have one on my car keys, too.

As I’ll be away from the car for four days, will the AirTags start beeping or anything like that? I hope they don’t as it’ll be kinda annoying for the guys working on my car. Does anyone know?

I can easily remove the one on my keys, but the one in the car is stuck down with pretty strong double-sided tape and I’d prefer not to take it off if I don’t need to.

I do kinda like the idea of having it in there so I can see if anyone takes my car for a joyride 🙂

The speaker isn't very loud, so if you cover it with some tape it could muffle it enough that they don't hear it.

(also, obviously, depends where you put it).

Yes, last we heard was 3 days, separated from its owner, it will start to chirp whenever it's moved.

(I have a silicon holder and duct tape over mine, under my hood - nobody's going to hear s**t out of that one) 🙂

 

[RodThePlod]

The speaker isn't very loud, so if you cover it with some tape it could muffle it enough that they don't hear it.

(also, obviously, depends where you put it).

Yes, last we heard was 3 days, separated from its owner, it will start to chirp whenever it's moved.

(I have a silicon holder and duct tape over mine, under my hood - nobody's going to hear s**t out of that one) 🙂

Good plan. My AirTag is actually inside the driver's door pocket, at the bottom towards the rear. You can't see it - if you look in the door pocket, it looks empty. But if you feel around you might feel it stuck to the inside of the pocket.

But this is good, because I'll put one of my woolly hats down the pocket and over the AirTag. Hopefully that'll muffle any sounds.

I'm in two minds whether or not to tell them it's there when I drop it off!

 

[fischersd]

Good plan. My AirTag is actually inside the driver's door pocket, at the bottom towards the rear. You can't see it - if you look in the door pocket, it looks empty. But if you feel around you might feel it stuck to the inside of the pocket.

But this is good, because I'll put one of my woolly hats down the pocket and over the AirTag. Hopefully that'll muffle any sounds.

I'm in two minds whether or not to tell them it's there when I drop it off!

I wouldn't mention it. 🙂

You could also just put it in a sandwich bag. 🙂

 

[boswald]

I can’t wait to try this with mine. I’ve lived at this house for about 7 months, and my car was vandalized 2 months in. Obviously not stolen, but could be at any time out here in the woods. There’s also a bad side of town not far from me, so I always feel like it could be taken at any moment when I go to the store (yeah, I know I gotta move).

 

[RodThePlod]

I wouldn't mention it. 🙂

You could also just put it in a sandwich bag. 🙂

Well I picked up the car on Saturday, and I asked the detailers if they'd heard any weird beeps but they said "no" hahaha.

I told them I'd forgotten to mention that the car had an AirTag in it. But they said that if it did go off, they just didn't hear it as the workshop can get pretty noisy.

Anyhow, it was good that I could see where the car was at all times through the Find My app - and that they didn't take it for any joyrides while it was in their possession! Whenever I checked the app, I would always see that the car's location was 'last seen' five or so minutes ago - so I assume there were employees with iPhones working there.

 

[radiologyman]

I sometimes forget where in my work garage I left car that morning, I can park between floors 4 to 8. If I stand on 5th floor, how likely it will connect to my iphone 12 and tell me if car is above or below me?

 

[fischersd]

I sometimes forget where in my work garage I left car that morning, I can park between floors 4 to 8. If I stand on 5th floor, how likely it will connect to my iphone 12 and tell me if car is above or below me?

This is certainly something Apple is capable of doing, but likely haven't done as it's not the best user experience. (to be effective - you would want turn by turn walking directions to your car. They can't do that as the parking garages won't be mapped.)
Just for fun, I'll test this later today and update here when I do. My parking spot is 2 floors above the ground level - so we'll see what Find My says for walking directions / proximity (it doesn't have a clue from my condo on the 34'th floor - it gives walking directions to the vehicle solely on a 2-dimensional plane) - but I'm well out of bluetooth range up here.

iPhones do have barometers, so the bookmarking of the tags should, in theory, include the elevation component.

Edit: Oh - and as others have observed - having iPhones with UWB (U1) capability really won't make any difference in this scenario - the range of UWB is very short.

 

[Jony Five]

Apple AirTag: A Brilliant Car Tracker, As This Road Test Proves

Could an Apple AirTag help you track down a lost or stolen car? Read the results of this week-long road test

www.forbes.com

This writer said it worked surprisingly well as a vehicle tracking device. I’ll be hiding one in my vehicle stat. Yes, it’s not the intended use and an actual GPS tracker is leagues better, but what the hell.

 

[fischersd]

Finally got to testing this, this morning. Confirmed that Apple only uses 2D mapping for Find My - they're not using elevation (the fact that it suggested a 2D route to my car from my condo many stories up was a hint).

This won't help you to find what elevation your vehicle is at - at least not yet. (you could put in a feature request via the feedback app so they consider it for a future release) 🙂

Edit: I sent this to them (but you should too!) - the more people that request a feature, the more likely they are to give it a higher priority for when it's implemented. (well, that and if it hits home with one of the product guys inside Apple) 🙂

Edit2: And, yes, before someone comments on how much I'm simplifying the triaging of feature vs fix for release prioritization - there are many other factors that determine timing 😛

 

[smirking]

In a huge parking lot, it can be hard for some people to remember where they parked, especially if there are no lot or section labels. Using the AirTag option may be easier for them, than manually setting a parking location in Apple Maps.

Even better is when you have a neutral colored car in a huge lot under yellow lights. I was late for a flight once and I ditched my car as fast as I could in the long term parking lot at the airport. I was close to missing my flight so remembering where I parked was the last thing on my mind.

A week later, I returned, stepped off the shuttle bus and went "Oh F---!!!"

It was day when I left. I returned at night and the yellow lights were on. Every color looked the same so I not only couldn't remember where I parked, I couldn't recognize my car unless I was standing right next to it.

It was a ginormous lot so I walked around for almost 30 minutes dragging a heavy suitcase before I found my ride.