Apple AirTags
 

I could only find one previous mention of AirTags on HUBB (which I've copied in below on a separate post) and thought the subject might be worth a revisit. The text I've included below was prepared for another site and was primarily about luggage tracking, but I've stuck AirTags on my vehicles as well.
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Arriving on holiday and finding your luggage didn't make it is a stressful situation. It's not the airlines fault, they don't actually touch your luggage, it's the fault of the baggage handling companies the airline contract with. But it IS the airline's responsibility to track down your luggage and reunite you with it. Some airlines are good at this, some are absolutely useless.

What initiated this thread for me was reading the Morocco World News report this morning where Morocco’s Minister of Transport, Mohamed Abdeljalil, acknowledged the persistence of services challenges at the Mohammed V airport, especially the loss of luggage.

The AirTags communicate using long range Bluetooth 5.0 to link with your smartphone and you can locate your tag if it's within say 20 metres, but clearly that won't help if you are in Marrakech and your bags are in Casablanca. This is where the clever stuff comes in.

Any iPhone that has 'Find My' activated is actively searching for signals from devices and it doesn't matter whether they are your devices, or someone else's, the device locations get passed to Apple servers. So if someone in baggage handling with an iPhone passes close to your bags, the location will be available to you through 'Find My' and will be displayed on a map that you can screen grab and send to the airline.

NO EXCUSES NOW !! AirTags cost £35 for 1 or £119 for 4 from Apple. You can also buy from Amazon at £29 and £99.
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So the problem with the example above is that whilst iPhones are commonplace in Europe, most Moroccans use less expensive Android devices. Nevertheless, if your baggage had been sitting on a luggage carousel in the arrival airport there will have been enough iPhone users around to record its last seen location which at least narrows down the airport it's at.

Air Tags are locatable from Android devices by using a Bluetooth scanner, but only in the immediate vicinity.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy phone running Android, you could purchase the Samsung SmartTag which is roughly comparable, however it only supports Galaxy phones rather than all Android phones, see comparison of devices.

The above link also mentions Tile as a tracker, and I use these to track my keys and wallet.

I've recently bought a four-pack of AirTags and now have one hidden in my campervan, one concealed on my KTM 790, another located in an innovative position on my electric Brompton folding bike, and the fourth on the collar of Rosie, my adorable Cockapoo. I've disassembled the first three AirTags mentioned and removed the speakers so that they doesn't alert thieves if I am tracking them.

I also use Vodafone Smart Curve Tracker as SIM driven tracker for my vehicle. This works under battery power or can be plugged in to USB supply. When my son-in-law borrowed the campervan to drive to Italy I was able to watch the journey real time as the Curve is plugged into a hidden USB port and sends constant signals. This isn't a universal solution, however, as the Curve Tracker only works in 100 or so countries.

So I would be really interested if anyone knows of a device that can track anywhere in the world and has a lengthy battery runtime.

Previous AirTag post from Jan 2022

Had an airtag on my bike as it was shipped from Tallinn to Milan and back. It's the next-gen version of watching your pizza arrive on a food delivery app. :)

Generally, they work more than well enough for the money.

There's any number of small trackers out there these days, and thieves are aware of this and will check all the usual places (on a motorbike that often means ripping the seat off to check for extra leads on the battery). It's the never-ending battle between sword and shield.

Personally I'm not a fan of skimping on security devices, though I also don't believe top dollar means everything. Tile and Airtag are fine for finding your keys in the house, but I wouldn't trust them with the security of my motorbike. For one thing they're reliant on other people's phones, and for another modern apps and modern phones warn you if there's one of these phone based trackers following you - so a thief knows straight away.

GPS/cellular ones don't warn the thief of their presence have the disadvantage that they only work within the cellular coverage area. I've had good experience with Monimoto and Pegase, and Invoxia have recently come up with a nice little gizmo that uses modern low-energy cellular networks to save cost and battery life. At the end of the day any tracker is better than none, and there's no law that says you can't double up.

Based on the above reply, if I were a bike thief I'd hide the stolen bike in a garage made exclusively of reinforced concrete, such as an underground carpark under a tower block built in the past few decades. Radio waves struggle to penetrate Faraday cages.

As an Apple iOS User you will get a warning about a foreign Airtag is travelling with you. You can switch to do a noise, find them and disable them.

Also if you disable the beep, if someone know there is an airtag, he will find it.

And there are jammers around: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804080800484.html

like for 3G/4G/LTE/5G too

Those Airtags are perfect to find stuff again, but nothing against theft!

Surfy

Thanks for the feedback.

@Surfy: Yes, the scumbutt will be warned that an AirTag is travelling with him but the warnings don't start for at least eight hours. And I've disabled the speakers in three of the AirTags 😇

What seemed to be a better solution was the Vodafone Smart Curve Tracker which gives me a notification when the campervan is moved out of its known zone, but as I wrote, this isn't a worldwide solution as 'only' 100 countries are supported.

@Tomkat: Both AirTags and Vodafone Curve are battery powered, so no tracing of wires from the battery.

As you say, multiple solutions are better than none. There have been many instances of £3,000 Brompton e-bikes being hijacked on London streets, but the thief won't have time to try to find an AirTag (hidden in a really innovative place) whilst riding away.

At the moment the AirTags can only be tracked from my iPhone, but from iOS 17 due in Sep/Oct 2023 I will be able to have multiple people watching my Tag movements.

With the advent of trackers, some thieves have taken to parking stolen vehicles up for a few days some distance from their homes, to see whether anyone collects them.

I'm traveling through the Americas and currently in Ecuador. I installed a Samsung SmartTag on my bike as a security feature.

I had to have the SmartTag brought in from the US by another traveler since none of the several Samsung stores I visited in Colombia nor Ecuador had them. In fact, the workers didn't even know what they were.

So... it's likely that thieves wouldn't be aware of trackers unless they're very savvy.

But I have no way to test the SmartTag. Wherever it is, I'm nearby. And if I'm not nearby, the bike isn't moving so I can't see if it's being tracked by other phones.

But it's fairly inexpensive and offers a bit more security than nothing. :thumbup1:

A friend who shipped his bike from Panama to Colombia with an AirTag installed told me he could track his bike through the cargo terminal and he saw when it landed in Colombia and was off-loaded from the plane.

I agree that AirTags are not a super efficient thief deterrent. However, in a world where the AirTag could be set to a fully "silent" mode, this comes down to what I've been saying about bike alarms in general, especially the two-way GPS/sim-equipped ones, on a modern immobiliser-equipped bike that can't just be hotwired and ridden away:

What exactly are you going to do with that information?

Let's say you are fast asleep in your South American hotel when your phone wakes you with an alarm that your bike is being tampered with. You grab your shorts, and run out to the bike, and find a small group of local machete-equipped gentlemen about to load your bike into a van.

What's your next move? Because more likely than not, it will be to help them load it into the van and forget what their faces looked like. :oops2:

From my personal experience and and others' anecdotes and the press, 10 x more likely to have your bike stolen in the UK than South America. Ergo: Go travel if you're UK based. Or don't visit the UK with your bike, if you're from elsewhere.

With a tracker you or the police have a 100 x better chance to retrieve it, than without one.

PS. A further cheap theft protection option is a modified "rape"/ screamer alarm that you connect to a wheel and a non moving part of your bike. A bit like a gyroscopic movement sensor, but more rustic.

@Tim yes to all points there bud. Monimoto and Invoxia are also self contained battery powered but more featured than the little gizmos as they are actual GPS trackers. Larger, so not so easy to hide on a bicycle, but no problem on a moto.

TBH I'm trying to find an inobtrusive place to hide a tile on my wife's ebike (after her first was stolen!) but can't find anywhere.

Lastly there is an app called AirGuard that will tell you if you are being tracked, IOS or Android.

A while ago I bought an AirTag and put it into the small end of a con rod. I then put the conrod back in its box and back onto the shelf in the storeroom. This was at the factory next to mine that had ceased trading but which I had the keys to and was allowed to enter as I saw fit. The trouble was that hey were getting broken into and the place was gradually being stripped of all light equipment. A couple of day later the conrod’s location changed so I told the police where it was. The next day I told them again. The next day I told them again. The next day I told them again. You get the idea. After about 5 WEEKS the Conroe moved again - this time to a scrap metal yard. I told the police and more time passed. They new from the start that the AirTag could be traced to within 500mm but they did nothing. The only went to get it back when I said that I wanted my AirTag back and I was going to get it. They didn’t arrest anyone but did return my AirTag and the dozen conrods that were with it. Don’t expect the police to bother- they have more to do than solve crimes, they have cars to drive around in, doughnuts to eat, coffee to drink etc.

If there are any police officers on here that are offended by this post, I am sorry, but do you prefer jam or plain doughnuts? For the sake of clarity this was a UK police force.

I dont drive far with the car of my brother, till I got this warning "a stranger airtag is travelling with you", he has the airtag attached to the car key.

Dunno, if the settings in switzerland are stronger, or if this happens because I drive his car from time to time.

Surfy

That the UK police has for decades been totally useless at solving or even attempting to solve vehicle theft crimes shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone from the UK. The police in Bulgaria where I live now has the reputation for not being too good either, but the private security companies that everyone employs have amazing powers of persuasion to assist recovery of removed items and more importantly, prevent it happening in the first place.

Thieves are employing the technology. At a recent bike meet people report getting home and finding a tag stuck to their bike. They now know where you live :(

It's the steal to order people of course, not the balaklava wearing chav scum who'll try bike jacking in most UK cities, but something to consider if you have anything high end and go to such places. A physical check is probably required to account for the different versions.

I like the sound of the private security companies. Unfortunately the UK plod views them as competition and would rather arrest the property owner or his hired help for hurting the feelings of Albanian Gangsters than do their job :(

Andy

The burglars who stole 2 bikes from my garage when I lived in the UK didn't need to track my bike. The MOT station where I had been the week before sent them. I told the police who had sent the 2 scroats, but they weren't interested.

The UK property owner is low hanging fruit and in my experience UK coppers are lazy "constables" (4 letter or 5 in the plural word substituted out).

An interesting recent Bulgarian anecdote from friends who had cash stolen from their house by a builder, previously working on the property: The police and private security turned up together to challenge said builder. In terms of correct division of labour, the police arrested the thief and recovered some of the stolen cash (the balance had been spent in a casino) and the private security firm assisted in the extraction of the confession and are now helping the thief in his attempt to sell his car, so that the balance can be reimbursed.

Air tags just helped Itcy Boots locate her stolen bike. Didn't stop the theft, but did help relocate.

Issue is with airtags is you need an apple phone near the tags to detect them to send the information back to you. In S. America, Apple phones are not that popular, so may never get a hit.

I think it's the same with TILE or Samsung tags as well. The general public need to also have TILE app on their phone and/or Samsung tag app on their phones for the tags to work.

Also, all modern phones now inform you if a bluetooth tracker that's not your own is travelling with you. It's a defence against stalkers or thieves tracking your bike to its home base, but it also warns thieves they're being tracked so they know to search for it.

Airtags and Tiles are fine within limits but you're better off with a well hidden proper tracker.

The police are very interested in stolen bikes I can assure you, but they require a little thing called evidence. A space in the road where a bike used to be doesn't give them much to go on, nor does an owner who tells them "It must have been the MoT shop, nobody else knows."

As we all know, a tracker won't prevent a theft but it gives you a much better chance of getting your bike back. In fact it's common for thieves to park the bike in a side street for a day or so to see if the owner has tracked it.

I'm glad you have faith in British police. My experience is that they often don't care about things when it's not convenient to them.

Thank you so much for your assurance. Hugely appreciated :D

There was evidence. At the very least to follow up the lead and investigate further, rather than not giving a flying fcuk.

Bradford, West Yorkshire police chose not to investigate. Possible reasons could include: Laziness, uselessness, motor vehicle theft not being on their target list or even the law itself (the garage was 7 feet from the house = not so serious a crime, apparently. Had the garage and the house shared a wall, it'd have been a much more serious crime of burglary).

Shane Cooper of the Buttershaw estate in Bradford, after DNA from a cigarette butt was found on our driveway, admitted the offence. He was let off by the magistrate's court.

The reason: As a 17 year old at the time, there was a 3 strikes rule, if you're under 18. This was his second offence (allegedly :D ). His first offense/ arrest was for affray. That's why the plod had his DNA on their database.

(The legal aspects were explained to me by 2 JPs who also worked in the MC as well as being work colleagues of mine).

In connection to the actual topic: I now use Chipolo trackers on my bikes. They were recently released and use the Android "Find My Device" system. So far, so good. They require Bluetooth to be activated on a nearby Android handset, including the thief's who is in the process checking for trackers on the bike :)

Android has a 71.5% worldwide market share Vs Apple iPhone iOS (28%), maker of the Airtag. Likely closer to 90 or 95% in countries outside the rich Europe and North America.


PS. A short while after my bikes were stolen, the MOT station that sent the thieves (Odsal MOTs, near the Bradford Bulls stadium) had their MOT issuing licence revoked by VOSA for issuing pass certificates, despite the bikes never appearing on their premises ;)

There is no one solution for all. Not all thieves are the same. Some steal a bike for a joyride. Some steal a bike because they need parts for similar bike. Some steal a bike to bring to a breaker to pay the rent, or get next dose.

First defence is good locks, connected to some ground anchor. Thieves tend to be lazy. Making the bikes difficult to remove from the premises reduces odds of theft. The third type of thieves often have solutions to quickly bypass locks.
Second defence is a loud alarm. Annoying the perps and drawing attention to what they are doing. False alarms have reduced the effectiveness of that solution.
Third defence is AirTags, their Android doubles and other locating devices. To try to recover bike once it's stolen. The first two types of thieves are not going to be looking for AirTag or two. The third type can scan for AirTags but might miss some other solutions.
Anything after AirTags tends to have monthly or yearly costs associated and require wiring to provide power.
Another solution could be be an old phone that you don't use anymore. That usually requires you to fork out for regular data plan and your data plan provider doesn't always work in the region you're in. Software could be as simple as being logged into Google Maps with location sharing turned on, or "find my phone" feature.
There are satellite based solutions, but these tend to be in a price range where it's not worth using unless your bike is the latest BMW GS.

In one of my bikes I installed a relay with GPS and SIM card installed. Then I stopped paying for the SIM card, and finally removed it. In my current bike I have simple motion alarm.

That's certainly not the opinion of most people who have had their bikes stolen.

I had a bike stolen some years ago. All on CCTV. Registration of the van. Faces of the perps clear as day. I was on the phone to the cops 30 seconds after the theft.

They didn't even show up. Not interested.

I think you'll find recovering stolen anything has absoltely no priority in the U.K.