Just bought an airtag assuming it did something it doesn't do. Alternatives?

[nathansz]

So this is completely on me being an idiot.

I bought an AirTag thinking it was fit for a purpose which it is not.

I thought I could put it on my bike and get notified if my bike moved from where it was locked up. Turns out airtags don't do anything like this.

Wondering if anyone had any suggestions pf products for this use case.

Or, before I return the airtag, if there is any convoluted way to achieve what I'm after?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

A device to do what you want to do, would need built-in location recognition (i.e. a GPS receiver) and built-in data connection (i.e. a cellular plan). There are devices out there that do that.

AirTag only knows it location by the location of iOS devices near it, and that's also how it communicates that location to you. While YOUR iPhone doesn't necessarily need to be near it, something does. That's why it's best for "I've misplaced something and need to find it" rather than "Let's continuously track & update the position of this item."

 

[nathansz]

A device to do what you want to do, would need built-in location recognition (i.e. a GPS receiver) and built-in data connection (i.e. a cellular plan). There are devices out there that do that.

AirTag only knows it location by the location of iOS devices near it, and that's also how it communicates that location to you. While YOUR iPhone doesn't necessarily need to be near it, something does. That's why it's best for "I've misplaced something and need to find it" rather than "Let's continuously track & update the position of this item."

No I wasn't expecting constant gps location and data connection.

What I was looking for is simply to be informed if it leaves my proximity, like the opposite of it telling me ive left it behind.

Incidentally I found what I was looking for:

Scout Bike Alarm & Finder

The future of bike security has arrived. Scout is a bicycle locator and alarm, designed to seamlessly integrate into Apple’s Find My network of products, allowing you to keep track of your beloved bikes whereabouts, even when you’re not riding.

www.knog.com

 

[seggy]

It's just an Airtag with an alarm. The motion detection trigger notification will only happen if your phone is within Bluetooth range, in which case it should be possible to actually see your bike being taken and also be close enough to hear the alarm. If you're in the toilet for example at the back if your office or whatever, you're SOL.

Real bike trackers like Cyloop and Invoxia actually have LTE radios (and an annual sub plan to be able to use it) for both motion notifications and tracking (tho most of them have no on-device alarm). There are also similar VIP / child protection GPS pucks that you can repurpose that you could hide on/in the frame (especially if it's carbon), but if anything they'd probably be more expensive than the bike-orientated GPS trackers.

 

[EllaWilson3]

That's odd. Because I use an airbag when the nanny takes my toddler to the playground or for a walk. It gives me peace of mind knowing where they are.

 

[seggy]

That's odd. Because I use an airbag when the nanny takes my toddler to the playground or for a walk. It gives me peace of mind knowing where they are.

Maybe it's not clear that an Airtag relies on the network of iPhones to detect it via Bluetooth. That works for plenty of situations, but not all.

 

[JPack]

No I wasn't expecting constant gps location and data connection.

What I was looking for is simply to be informed if it leaves my proximity, like the opposite of it telling me ive left it behind.

Incidentally I found what I was looking for:

Scout Bike Alarm & Finder

The future of bike security has arrived. Scout is a bicycle locator and alarm, designed to seamlessly integrate into Apple’s Find My network of products, allowing you to keep track of your beloved bikes whereabouts, even when you’re not riding.

www.knog.com

How do you expect a tracking device to do that without GPS and data connection?

The "left behind" feature works because you're holding the GPS and data connection in your hand, i.e your iPhone.

 

[nathansz]

How do you expect a tracking device to do that without GPS and data connection?

The "left behind" feature works because you're holding the GPS and data connection in your hand, i.e your iPhone.

So why can’t it do the opposite and inform me when the tag has left just as it would when I left the tag?

 

[drumcat]

There's no reason it shouldn't.

You should be able to define a geofence, and get an alert if it's violated.

That's a feature not yet developed, but would be very helpful for when my cats decide to wander off too far.

I agree it sucks that you have to wait to notice something is missing. It's a simple thing, too.

[send alert if moved more than 300m] or whatever.

 

[seggy]

There's no reason it shouldn't.

You should be able to define a geofence, and get an alert if it's violated.

That's a feature not yet developed, but would be very helpful for when my cats decide to wander off too far.

I agree it sucks that you have to wait to notice something is missing. It's a simple thing, too.

[send alert if moved more than 300m] or whatever.

It'd only work at the point that the tag can talk to another couple of iPhones with all other parameters being met. It's not actually that simple.

 

[JPack]

So why can’t it do the opposite and inform me when the tag has left just as it would when I left the tag?

Because your iPhone, when it loses the Bluetooth connection with the AirTag, knows you've left the AirTag behind.

When you park your bike, you'll move out of Bluetooth range after walking away for 30 seconds. After that, the AirTag on the bike can no longer talk to a data network and send notifications.

In short, any tracker placed on a bike needs a cellular data connection to reliably notify the owner.

 

[nathansz]

Because your iPhone, when it loses the Bluetooth connection with the AirTag, knows you've left the AirTag behind.

When you park your bike, you'll move out of Bluetooth range after walking away for 30 seconds. After that, the AirTag on the bike can no longer talk to a data network and send notifications.

In short, any tracker placed on a bike needs a cellular data connection to reliably notify the owner.

you've completely misunderstood what I'm asking

if I can be notified when I and my phone walk away and leave the bluetooth range of an AirTag, why can I not be notified if the AirTag walks away and leaves the bluetooth range of myself and my phone?

 

[JPack]

you've completely misunderstood what I'm asking

if I can be notified when I and my phone walk away and leave the bluetooth range of an AirTag, why can I not be notified if the AirTag walks away and leaves the bluetooth range of myself and my phone?

Because AirTag doesn't have enough sensors to know if it's moving or if the signal is poor.

If the Bluetooth signal is lost, AirTag doesn't know if it's because garage door closed, someone covered it with a Faraday shield, or simply because of wireless interference.

iPhone has an IMU to determine if it's being moved, how far, and how fast. That data combined with a lost Bluetooth signal tells iPhone you're moving and left an AirTag behind.

 

[nathansz]

Because AirTag doesn't have enough sensors to know if it's moving or if the signal is poor.

If the Bluetooth signal is lost, AirTag doesn't know if it's because garage door closed, someone covered it with a Faraday shield, or simply because of wireless interference.

iPhone has an IMU to determine if it's being moved, how far, and how fast. That data combined with a lost Bluetooth signal tells iPhone you're moving and left an AirTag behind.

That still doesn’t explain why the iPhone can’t report that it has lost contact with the AirTag regardless of whether it’s the iPhone or the AirTag that has moved

It doesn’t matter which item is in motion

The knog does just that. It tells you when they leave the range of each other regardless of which item has moved, the phone, or the tag

Also, if the iPhone knows when it has moved, it also knows if it hasn’t moved, so if it loses contact while stationary, that’s a pretty good bet the item has moved

 

[JPack]

That still doesn’t explain why the iPhone can’t report that it has lost contact with the AirTag regardless of whether it’s the iPhone or the AirTag that has moved

It doesn’t matter which item is in motion

The knog does just that. It tells you when they leave the range of each other regardless of which item has moved, the phone, or the tag

Because Apple doesn't want it that way. They want a smooth, easy to understand experience. Lost contact means what? Low battery? Interference? Too many false positives.

Also, if the iPhone knows when it has moved, it also knows if it hasn’t moved, so if it loses contact while stationary, that’s a pretty good bet the item has moved

No, because there can be interference in between. Someone closes a solid metal door in the room where AirTag is located and the signal is lost. Neither the item nor iPhone have moved. What then?

 

[nathansz]

Because Apple doesn't want it that way

This seems like the actual answer and I’m not sure why you kept trying to explain around it

No, because there can be interference in between. Someone closes a solid metal door in the room where AirTag is located and the signal is lost. Neither the item nor iPhone have moved. What then?

Then you go investigate

Although presumably you are already aware of the conditions where you are using it

It’s silly not have the option

 

[yudilks]

Delete all the posts and leave the one you like. "Apple does not want it that way"

 

[drumcat]

It'd only work at the point that the tag can talk to another couple of iPhones with all other parameters being met. It's not actually that simple.

It's entirely simple.

AirTags will check in with any iOS BT, and they report back a GPS location.

It's a really simple condition:

If the AirTag is reported being x metres away from its original location, when that location is relayed to your phone, it should trigger an alert.

Your statement of "talk to another iPhone"… like that's literally how it works all the time. If you lose your luggage in a random city, it's going to be some baggage handler's iPhone that first catches the AirTag's location and sends it to you.

The only other "complexity" is a continued if:

If AirTag is > x metres from location, and
If AirTag is > x metres from [my] iPhone
Then trigger an Alert on your iPhone

Other products do it, but Apple doesn't seem to want to enable it because it could be misused.

For example, if you were tracking someone, this feature would allow you to know when they leave a location. Right now, that's not the case.

But let's clear it up. It's a choice, not a limitation of the system hardware and software.

 

[seggy]

Well there is the misuse element, but it's entirely dependent on where you are. In a major city you could get a reasonably timely alert. Elsewhere, who knows. One of the practical reasons could be that Apple wants to be on the hook for that variability given the Karen-nicity of almost it's entire user base.

 

[WB2Colorado]

AirTags will send you a notification when you move out of range of their signal so theoretically if you were close enough to your bike to maintain a Bluetooth connection you would get notified if someone were to steal it. But AirTags themselves don’t have a data connection and can’t send you a notification if they’ve moved unless it just so happened to connect to your iPhone while it was being moved

 

[nathansz]

AirTags will send you a notification when you move out of range of their signal so theoretically if you were close enough to your bike to maintain a Bluetooth connection you would get notified if someone were to steal it. But AirTags themselves don’t have a data connection and can’t send you a notification if they’ve moved unless it just so happened to connect to your iPhone while it was being moved

Actually no

This is the thing.

The phone will notify you if you move out of range of the tag, but it won’t notify you if the tag goes out of range without the phone moving.

No one has been able to explain an actual technical reason for this so it seems to be a choice Apple made

The knog scout, however, does just this

 

[EllaWilson3]

Maybe it's not clear that an Airtag relies on the network of iPhones to detect it via Bluetooth. That works for plenty of situations, but not all.

Well, I can't even imagine my life now without airtags. I need a lot of them. My nanny taking out my toddler is not the only case when I need it.
About a year ago, I saw a life hack on YouTube about placing an airtag in your suitcase to prevent losing it in the airport. Well, I'm glad that I did it, because when my suitcase was lost, I found it in another city. I showed this to the airport security staff, and they helped me get it back quickly.

 

[arc of the universe]

So this is completely on me being an idiot.

I bought an AirTag thinking it was fit for a purpose which it is not.

I thought I could put it on my bike and get notified if my bike moved from where it was locked up. Turns out airtags don't do anything like this.

Wondering if anyone had any suggestions pf products for this use case.

Or, before I return the airtag, if there is any convoluted way to achieve what I'm after?

i think you are not alone in having thought this.

i thought, that since if you leave your air tagged keys in a restaurant, and you are usually informed that your air tagged keys are not with you anymore, that if the air tagged keys themselves "moved" (meaning: taken by somebody else) that it would have triggered an alert on your iPhone.
its useful to learn it doesn't.

so, the only thing that i can think of is:
on your iPhone, make a widget of your air tagged device, and whenever you look at your iPhone, it will show on the map the actual location of your air tagged device.
unfortunately it not an alarm to let you know its moving, though.

 

[EllaWilson3]

Maybe the developers should think about how to turn airtags into "alarms" and add more functions to it. I don't think that it's something super challenging for them.
Personally, I still double-check if my keys, wallet, and phone are still with me. I could even stop in the middle of the street to make sure that I didn't drop anything.

 

[arc of the universe]

Actually no

This is the thing.

The phone will notify you if you move out of range of the tag, but it won’t notify you if the tag goes out of range without the phone moving.

No one has been able to explain an actual technical reason for this so it seems to be a choice Apple made

The knog scout, however, does just this

hi

thanks for the info about Knog.

i actually had never heard of that company until you mentioned them,
so i went to their site. and like wow. totally a company that has taken the Air Tag to a new level.

i have purchased one on line, and will get it next week.

to be fair to this thread's discussion however, it appears to me that the Scout Travel by Knog is almost a completely different device than apple's Air Tag. it is very specifically built for the scenario you put forth - meaning: to specifically warn you immediately if that thing (device or luggage or whatever) moves from the exact location you left it at. it even has an 85 dB alert at the tagged item location (!). its not surprising that Knog (basically a bike products company) commissioned this.

thanks for the info about this company.

here are links (in japanese, sorry...) for this product.

SCOUT TRAVEL | KNOG ノグ 日本公式サイト

www.cog.inc

Knog 日本公式サイト | Scoutの使い方 よくある質問

Knog 日本公式サイト 自転車用アラート＆ファインダー「Scout」のペアリング方法やご使用方法とよくある質問について

www.cog.inc