Movement of item notification

[HiVolt]

I bought an airtag to put on a small tractor/loader that I have at a property that I own outside of the city.

I want to create a notification to my phone that will let me know if this tractor moves beyond this location, like a location perimeter, basically to let me know if its stolen.

I've been looking thru the airtag settings after I've paired it, and all I see is notifications of items left behind, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I also poked around in shortcuts, but I can't seem to find a way to make it work.

I realize that the airtag is not a live tracker, but I think it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect to be notify of something that moved from a desired location even if you're not there, whenever it does finally acquire a signal to transmit the location.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[BigBlur]

It's just not possible. Apple didn't design these to track stolen items, nor do they want people to use them for stalking. Imagine if you could plant an AirTag on someone's car or bike so that you can get a notification when they leave somewhere. That's really not any different than what you're trying to do, except you have good intentions.

The only thing you can do is to open up the Find My app periodically to check that it's still there. It may not show up in real time...it could show you the location where it was at 15 minutes ago. Also, AirTags depend on the other Apple devices being nearby to detect and report its location. If it's somewhere out in a remote area, it may not even work at all.

 

[HiVolt]

They are used for stalking anyway, so limiting a legitimate feature kind of sucks.

I should have done more research, I never had a need for one.

Yeah I do realize it requires other devices to communicate, which is why I said that it would be nice if it could notify when it would eventually acquire connection, people have iphones everywhere.

It's not a super expensive piece of equipment, so I'll leave it on it and maybe set a reminder to check it once in a while.

 

[erihp]

They are used for stalking anyway, so limiting a legitimate feature kind of sucks.

I should have done more research, I never had a need for one.

Yeah I do realize it requires other devices to communicate, which is why I said that it would be nice if it could notify when it would eventually acquire connection, people have iphones everywhere.

It's not a super expensive piece of equipment, so I'll leave it on it and maybe set a reminder to check it once in a while.

'not possible'
*scoff*
while technically true it cannot notify you when it moves, it CAN notify you when it -doesnt- move!

you just gotta think inside the box a bit!

how can it notify you when it doesnt move? enable and leave it in lost mode! then it should notify you when its detected by another user. being a tractor in what presume is a remote area, this may just work for you...

if i were you, id also buy a seperate third party findmy device ($3-15) that you can open up and disable its internal speaker. the other airtag will be extremely easy for a thief to locate, via its speaker, or precision finding.

plus if there is something nefarious going on, they will think they found the tracker and stop looking for your neutered, non-precision finding secondary findmy tag.

happy tractoring!

 

[HiVolt]

Is putting it in lost mode emit any noise? Also when you mean it should notify when it's detected by another user, that just means its within the proximity of a compatible find my device, or someone actually have to interact with it?

 

[erihp]

It's just not possible.

Is putting it in lost mode emit any noise? Also when you mean it should notify when it's detected by another user, that just means its within the proximity of a compatible find my device, or someone actually have to interact with it?

No, lost mode does not change the behavior of the AirTag.

Correct, when an iPhone reports back to FindMy that it detects your AirTag in its proximity, the iCloud backend will correlate this to your device, and the fact that it is in lost mode. If enabled FindMy will notify you that someone has found your device. They do not need to interact with the AirTag.

You would want to enable 'Notify when found': https://support.apple.com/en-bw/guide/watch/apdc6e9ac73a/watchos

 

[HiVolt]

Thanks, this is how I will set it up then.

 

[erihp]

Thanks, this is how I will set it up then.

Take my advice on the second, neutered tag.

If/when something happens, you will be grateful you did. If you don't put a backup in place you'll be kicking yourself, and a new tractor's tires instead.

If it you never have an incident, youll only be out a couple of bucks for the backup tag and peace of mind.

 

[HiVolt]

Take my advice on the second, neutered tag.

If/when something happens, you will be grateful you did. If you don't put a backup in place you'll be kicking yourself, and a new tractor's tires instead.

If it you never have an incident, youll only be out a couple of bucks for the backup tag and peace of mind.

Are those 3rd party tags that say they work with FindMy any good? I saw them on amazon but i have no idea of their quality.

 

[erihp]

Are those 3rd party tags that say they work with FindMy any good? I saw them on amazon but i have no idea of their quality.

Yes those are the ones I'm talking about.

They are 'inferior' to AirTags from a technical perspective but they perform the exact same function.

The fact that they are easy to break open (to disable the speaker), generally lower build quality (cheap), non-standard form factors (some dont look like airtags), some are rechargable, and none support precision finding (which makes normal AirTags easier for a thief to locate) are all actually beneficial for the use case I've described.

One thing to consider is replacing the CR2032 with a brand name cell. The cheapies that ship with third party tags dont last nearly as long as Panasonic or Energizer cells.

And while we're on the topic of prolonged battery life. Considering this tractor is in a remote location, you might consider this product from elevation labs for the main Airtag:

10-Year Battery™

Over 14x more battery capacity than AirTag's CR2032 coin cell. Uses two AA batteries (Not Included). We recommend Energizer Ultimate Lithium for longest life (25yr life, no leaking, flat voltage). We do not recommend alkaline batteries. Easy assembly: Discard AirTag's battery and door, place on...

www.elevationlab.com

 

[cynics]

I bought an airtag to put on a small tractor/loader that I have at a property that I own outside of the city.

I want to create a notification to my phone that will let me know if this tractor moves beyond this location, like a location perimeter, basically to let me know if its stolen.

I've been looking thru the airtag settings after I've paired it, and all I see is notifications of items left behind, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I also poked around in shortcuts, but I can't seem to find a way to make it work.

I realize that the airtag is not a live tracker, but I think it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect to be notify of something that moved from a desired location even if you're not there, whenever it does finally acquire a signal to transmit the location.

Any help would be appreciated.

Yes, in a very limited capacity. Set the AirTag location exception, and if it leaves AND you leave you'll eventually get an alert.

I was on vacation and let a friend borrow some of my tools. I got an alert that I left the tools behind after he picked up my tool bag I use for work. However when I checked it he was already at his house and I'm not sure how long he had been there. I don't think I would rely on an AirTag for this applications. You'd want something with GPS imo.