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monstermash

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 21, 2020
974
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I've been using Tile for years and years. But of course when AirTags came out, I couldn't help but get some. How little did I know they would totally suck and be useless.

1). They are not loud enough to hear. I mean, damn. Even when right in front of me, I can barely hear the thing beeping. In contrast, a tile is VERY loud.

2). They don't keep beeping!! They beep a few times and turn off. Then you have to hit "play sound" again. Between this and not being able to hear it anyway, I have to hit "play sound" 20 or 30 times before finding it. Tile on the other hand will just keep playing a sound continuously until you turn it off.

For these two reasons, I am totally sorry I spent $100 or whatever on 4 Apple AirTags. I mean, christ, what a waste of money!! I didn't even bother to deploy two of them.

Why do people like these things so much? I mean, I get they may be great for getting a ROUGH location for something (i.e. it's at the airport somewhere, or in my house somewhere), but when you're actually trying to find your keys or your wallet, which you know is in your house somewhere, AirTags just don't seem to be any help at all.
 
If you get a newer iPhone, you can use precision finding to locate your AirTags when they're nearby. I'm sure Apple had a number of reasons for not making them louder - battery life likely being one of them - possibly not wanting to startle people (especially if they may be driving) may be another.

I've had my first 5 since launch (about 17+ months) - they're working as I would expect them to.

Also have a couple Chipolo Card Spots that we have for our wallets (one of them the battery died about a month in) - they seem to update with the same frequency as the AirTags.
 
If you get a newer iPhone, you can use precision finding to locate your AirTags when they're nearby. I'm sure Apple had a number of reasons for not making them louder - battery life likely being one of them - possibly not wanting to startle people (especially if they may be driving) may be another.
They could have just left the speaker out entirely and it would be great for battery life without really diminishing the usefulness much at all.
 
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They can use use Tiles if it is a concern for them.
People who get stalked with smart tags don't usually get to choose which brand they are going to get stalked with.

Why do people like these things so much? I mean, I get they may be great for getting a ROUGH location for something (i.e. it's at the airport somewhere, or in my house somewhere), but when you're actually trying to find your keys or your wallet, which you know is in your house somewhere, AirTags just don't seem to be any help at all.
On iPhones with the U1 chip, you get very precise 3D directions to the AirTags.
 
Doesn't help me.
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This thread is a literal waste of space and time.

Generally, there is a 14 to 30 buyers remorse and return policy at most Apple stores and retailers. If you’re not happy just return them to the store you got them from or just sell them privately.

This whole thread would have been avoided if the correct research was done to understand minimum hardware requirements and limitations.
 
This thread is a literal waste of space and time.

Generally, there is a 14 to 30 buyers remorse and return policy at most Apple stores and retailers. If you’re not happy just return them to the store you got them from or just sell them privately.

This whole thread would have been avoided if the correct research was done to understand minimum hardware requirements and limitations.
Right? Like dude made a rage thread about spending $100 on something he claimed to have read rave reviews on but didn’t even do basic research on the feature requirements.
 
...which would leave most Android users completely oblivious if one of these was dropped in their pocket for stalking purposes.
It’s fairly easy to disable the speaker on an AirTag, so that’s not really an argument.
 
Buying a $1000+ device to make your $30+ device functional is hardly a solution.
Usually people go at it the other way around, buying a $29 device to complement their *already bought* $1000+ device.

Also AirTags are great to locate where you parked your car. No need for a U1 chip for that either, so you can keep your borderline medieval iPhone Xs if you want to.
 
It’s fairly easy to disable the speaker on an AirTag, so that’s not really an argument.
His point was - why include it at all.

Most people don't have the wherewithal to disassemble an airtag and remove the speaker. (despite how well the YouTube videos are done).

Also, the OP is going on about Tile - nothing I've seen suggests Tile is doing anything to protect people against stalkers.
 
Most people don't have the wherewithal to disassemble an airtag and remove the speaker. (despite how well the YouTube videos are done).
Yeah, I disagree. If that was effective against stalking, Apple wouldn’t have had to implement the stalking detection on iPhone and Android. I have no opinion about Tile.
 
Buying a $1000+ device to make your $30+ device functional is hardly a solution.

The real solution is don't buy a $30 device expecting it to do stuff they tell you on the product page that it doesn't do with your phone model...

Not sure why you can't hear the one's you're using - mine (those I've not silenced) are plenty loud. Tile is a bit louder, sure, but no Precision Finding to find get in the general area. Plus the ones my wife's tried simply don't work reliably.
 
I do two things… I have a hook where I always hang my keys, I also have a dedicated spot for my wallet. I therefore never lose them.

I have an AirTag on an Apple AirTag key ring. Attached to the key ring is another Apple key ring with an AirTag. That way if I miss place my AirTag, I can use the other AirTag to help me find it…
 
Well, I tried using an iPhone 14 Pro Max. It couldn't locate my AirTag unless I was in the same room as the AirTag. That's not very helpful.

The rest of the time, it said it couldn't find a signal and to try another room. Well holy Moses, what good is that?

What WOULD be good is if the AirTag would beep loud enough that you could figure out what room to go to.

Oh well. That was my last hope. Back to Tile!
 
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His point was - why include it at all.

Most people don't have the wherewithal to disassemble an airtag and remove the speaker. (despite how well the YouTube videos are done).

Also, the OP is going on about Tile - nothing I've seen suggests Tile is doing anything to protect people against stalkers.

I don't care about "protection from stalkers". Especially when it comes at the expense of limiting the product for its intended purpose. I certainly don't want my keychain beeping at me because I left my phone at home.

I bought a locator product to LOCATE STUFF. If someone else uses it to locate people who don't want to be located, it's not my problem nor my concern.

There are plenty of other ways for people to locate other people surreptitiously without an AirTag anyway.

It's in incredible to me that people actually argue that a product that beeps so that you can find it doesn't need to beep loud enough to hear well, not beep continuously or until you tell it to stop beeping. Then again, with this crowd, I guess it isn't that shocking.
 
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Well, I tried using an iPhone 14 Pro Max. It couldn't locate my AirTag unless I was in the same room as the AirTag. That's not very helpful.

The rest of the time, it said it couldn't find a signal and to try another room. Well holy Moses, what good is that?

What WOULD be good is if the AirTag would beep loud enough that you could figure out what room to go to.

Oh well. That was my last hope. Back to Tile!

You can't walk into each room? You make it sound like it's a trek to the other side of the country. If it's in my house I walk around until it's close enough for the detailed tracking. If it's not in my house there's a great chance it will be near someone with an iPhone so I can get an idea of where my tag is.
 
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