So, as I understood it (or maybe misunderstood it) with Tile, my phone could locate my tags via Bluetooth. If I left my wallet in a bar, it would be out of my Bluetooth range but yet anyone else having Bluetooth on and the Tile app that it would locate my tag and give me an approximate location.
Would the Apple Tags take advantage of this by either 1) the method I described for Tile, or 2) just show you the tags’ last known location. I know we can get alerts if get too for away from specific items but doesn’t really help.
I’m looking for a tag small enough to be a cat’s collar that can show me where in the neighborhood she might be (she’s an escape artist 😁).
I don't think you understand how it works. It's neither (1) nor (2) in your list of explanations. If your lost AirTag comes within range of any iOS device anywhere in the world, that iOS device will report the location of your lost item to Apple's servers and your iPhone can query the location. You don't need an app for this to work. And it doesn't just show you the "last" location, it shows you the location as reported by the most recent iOS device it came in touch with.
This is a huge difference from how Tile works. Mainly because there are probably only a million users who are running the Tile App, but there are about a billion users who are running iOS.
I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
Why would there be outrage? That location data is already being sent out to locate iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, AirPods, and every other Apple gadget. The "Find My" location system has been in operation for a long time. The only difference is that Apple will be adding a new type of device to it.
You can opt out of the "Find My" system, but most people keep it turned on because it's so useful. I doubt the data required to enable it is more than a drop in the bucket compared to the typical video and audio streaming that most people do with their portable devices.
So the rumored pricing isn’t $39 after all, and it’s somewhat smaller than thought. Both good.
but I’m not convinced it’s useful for most people. I suppose if you constantly misplace your keys, or something, it’s useful. But I don’t know get why it would notify people who may have stolen your item that it’s there.
I guess I’m going to have to read more about how it works.
Interesting the precision tracking feature requires iPhone 11 or newer. Guess that's an understandable technology limitation. My wife will be disappointed her new iPhone SE won't work for that.
I'll be getting a 4 pack; two of which are going on each of my dog's collars. Not sure yet - anyone say anything about the Find My app having geotagging? Can I be alerted if airbags stray from a given location?
Edit: and the lack of a required subscription for this is a very welcome feature.
So it is reasonable to think that I can put one of these in my checked luggage and see where it is when I land and turn on my phone? That’s the main reason I’ve been wanting there.
I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
Why would there be outrage? That location data is already being sent out to locate iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, AirPods, and every other Apple gadget. The "Find My" location system has been in operation for a long time. The only difference is that Apple will be adding a new type of device to it.
You can opt out of the "Find My" system, but most people keep it turned on because it's so useful. I doubt the data required to enable it is more than a drop in the bucket compared to the typical video and audio streaming that most people do with their portable devices.
What you don't understand is that iPhones, iPads, and Macs already have internet connections and therefore they do NOT request nearby bluetooth iOS devices to report their location. That's the difference. (I'm ignoring AirPods because they don't have U1 chips and I'm quite sure that they do NOT use the Find My network; they report directly and solely to your iOS devices.) AirTags are NOT connected to the Find My network so they must ALWAYS request to nearby iOS devices that their location be sent to the Find My network.
Also, it's worth noting that those devices you mentioned will NOT be able to send their location if they are fully powered off or if their bluetooth is disabled or if they are in AirPlane mode. These restrictions do not apply to AirTags. This is another reason why AirTags will be heavy data generators.
It gets even worse. Think about this: let's say you have an iPhone which has a working internet connection. Then you walk into a room with lots of people, like a theatre. Some of these people will be carrying AirTags, or will be carrying other Apple devices that do not have a current connection to the Internet but do have bluetooth enabled. Your iPhone has to report every single one of these devices' locations to the Apple Find My Network. That could be 10, 20 or even 100 data items. And this traffic will be charged to my ISP. So does everyone else's iPhone in that theatre with a data connection. How does Apple throttle all this traffic to prevent duplication? It hasn't said.
<snip> I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
That would be a typical complaint
In reality it shouldn't matter b/c iPhones use WiFi when possible and most people have been arm twisted into "unlimited" data plans.
<snip> I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
That would be a typical complaint
In reality it shouldn't matter b/c iPhones use WiFi when possible and most people have been arm twisted into "unlimited" data plans.
Fair points, but at the very least I think Apple owes us a feature in iOS that tells us what percent of our device's total monthly data is data being sent to the Find My network. And at the most, it should allow us to disable this crowd-sourcing feature if we are feeling cheap about helping other people find their devices. Maybe some of the idiot lawmakers will enforce this.
sounds like it wont be useful for tracking thefts as i think they said it alerts an iphone carrier of an unknown tag
shame i wanted to put one in my car
I was ready to head all in with the AirTags for the exact same reason. Knowing that any iPhone out there would relay back its location without having to install any app (like Tile) was no-brainer for me.
Stalkers abusing this is a valid concern. I'm hoping to see what the real-world issues are when it comes out. I live in San Francisco and garage break-in's are common here. AirTags would be perfect for tagging some of my high-priced items in case of theft. To think that a stranger's iPhone would get a prompt of an unknown AirTag would seem to me like message overkill has me thinking there's a practical solution to prevent stalking, yet give victims of theft a useful and accurate location for the police.
What if the poor criminals who took my stuff don’t have latest iPhone or use android?
also, I think there is another use for the airtag, an unfaithful husband put an airtag in lost mode beside the door. When his wife go home, the airtag will send alarm to the husband’s iPhone by the wife’s iPhone. So he can rush to send his side chick away. Yes their house is very big, so he won’t hear the door.
Same trick can be use by criminals too, as long as they know the victim has a newer iPhone.
Interesting the precision tracking feature requires iPhone 11 or newer. Guess that's an understandable technology limitation. My wife will be disappointed her new iPhone SE won't work for that.
I'll be getting a 4 pack; two of which are going on each of my dog's collars. Not sure yet - anyone say anything about the Find My app having geotagging? Can I be alerted if airbags stray from a given location?
Edit: and the lack of a required subscription for this is a very welcome feature.
Why does it say at the bottom on the Air Tag page on Apple.com that it requires iPhone SE, iPhone 6S or later or the 7th Generation iPod Touch then?
<snip> I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
That would be a typical complaint
In reality it shouldn't matter b/c iPhones use WiFi when possible and most people have been arm twisted into "unlimited" data plans.
Fair points, but at the very least I think Apple owes us a feature in iOS that tells us what percent of our device's total monthly data is data being sent to the Find My network. And at the most, it should allow us to disable this crowd-sourcing feature if we are feeling cheap about helping other people find their devices. Maybe some of the idiot lawmakers will enforce this.
It will be a fraction of a percent of the data you use. A tag id and a location even times several thousand a month is negligible data; a single web page load could easily be more.
What if the poor criminals who took my stuff don’t have latest iPhone or use android?
Are you just being silly? If they took your stuff, any iOS device that you pass by, within bluetooth range, will report your stuff's location to the Find My network.
Interesting the precision tracking feature requires iPhone 11 or newer. Guess that's an understandable technology limitation. My wife will be disappointed her new iPhone SE won't work for that.
I'll be getting a 4 pack; two of which are going on each of my dog's collars. Not sure yet - anyone say anything about the Find My app having geotagging? Can I be alerted if airbags stray from a given location?
Edit: and the lack of a required subscription for this is a very welcome feature.
Why does it say at the bottom on the Air Tag page on Apple.com that it requires iPhone SE, iPhone 6S or later or the 7th Generation iPod Touch then?
The Find My function is the current implementation. The Precision Tracking feature is a whole new thing that lets you find your thing locally using proximity. Older iOS devices can do the former but not the latter.
For those who don't know what "Lost Mode" means, which is everyone on Earth, I will explain it. Lost Mode does not change the behavior of the AirTag, it changes the behaviour of Apple's Find My servers. If you tell Apple's Find My servers that you want to put an item into "Lost Mode", what that will do is tell Apple's Find My servers that you are authorizing anyone who finds your lost device to be able to see your contact information on their screen so that the finder can call you to say that they found your item.
It's really a badly named feature. It should be called "Mutual Contact Mode." Because it tells the finder who the owner is, and it suggests to the finder that they call you. If you don't put the item into Lost Mode, you can still see the item in your Find My App, but you won't be able to receive a text or a phone call from anyone who finds it.
I just want to adhere one of these to my AirPod Pro case since the “find my AirPods” is completely worthless now. But no idea on how big they are and if that’s possible.
I just want to adhere one of these to my AirPod Pro case since the “find my AirPods” is completely worthless now. But no idea on how big they are and if that’s possible.
That's actually an interesting idea. AirPods do not have a U1 chip and do not contact the Find My servers: based on what I've read they contact only your iOS devices via bluetooth only. If I owned AIrPods I would definitely attach an AirTag. Especially because AirPods don't communicate when they are stored in an enclosed AirTag case/charger. I'm sure this will be one of the best use cases for AirTags. Unless someone comes up with a better idea, I would attach one via really ugly duct tape.
<snip> I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
That would be a typical complaint
In reality it shouldn't matter b/c iPhones use WiFi when possible and most people have been arm twisted into "unlimited" data plans.
Fair points, but at the very least I think Apple owes us a feature in iOS that tells us what percent of our device's total monthly data is data being sent to the Find My network. And at the most, it should allow us to disable this crowd-sourcing feature if we are feeling cheap about helping other people find their devices. Maybe some of the idiot lawmakers will enforce this.
They don’t owe you anything, they already have this feature in Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data > System Services > Find My.
Current usage for me is 5.3 MB out of several gigabytes of usage. Your FUD over the theater scenario or some massive server problems etc are ridiculous — you think Apple didn’t think of any of this shit? How big do you think location data is?
sounds like it wont be useful for tracking thefts as i think they said it alerts an iphone carrier of an unknown tag
shame i wanted to put one in my car
I was ready to head all in with the AirTags for the exact same reason. Knowing that any iPhone out there would relay back its location without having to install any app (like Tile) was no-brainer for me.
Stalkers abusing this is a valid concern. I'm hoping to see what the real-world issues are when it comes out. I live in San Francisco and garage break-in's are common here. AirTags would be perfect for tagging some of my high-priced items in case of theft. To think that a stranger's iPhone would get a prompt of an unknown AirTag would seem to me like message overkill has me thinking there's a practical solution to prevent stalking, yet give victims of theft a useful and accurate location for the police.
Oh.... so it won’t actually ping any iOS device near it automatically AND anonymously. Well that’s a bit crap and useless. It’s basically shouting steal me steal me!! Because I presume it’ll only do this when out of range of your own iOS devices.
Suddenly Tiles solution seems much better. This seems a very poorly thought out idea here by Apple.
sounds like it wont be useful for tracking thefts as i think they said it alerts an iphone carrier of an unknown tag
shame i wanted to put one in my car
Plus the website says the batteries are easily replaceable, meaning anyone who finds it can remove the batteries and it's game over.
Even without a battery, anyone who finds it can just crush the AirTag with a pair of pliers. Or put it into an EMR protective sleeve which costs about 10 cents.
Again, it’s designed to find objects, not people, and not to thwart people.
Comments
I don't think you understand how it works. It's neither (1) nor (2) in your list of explanations. If your lost AirTag comes within range of any iOS device anywhere in the world, that iOS device will report the location of your lost item to Apple's servers and your iPhone can query the location. You don't need an app for this to work. And it doesn't just show you the "last" location, it shows you the location as reported by the most recent iOS device it came in touch with.
This is a huge difference from how Tile works. Mainly because there are probably only a million users who are running the Tile App, but there are about a billion users who are running iOS.
I'm surprised there hasn't been outrage that people's iPhones are using their own data plans to transmit location data of other people's Tags. I think the reason there is no outrage is that people still haven't figured out what's actually happening.
You can opt out of the "Find My" system, but most people keep it turned on because it's so useful. I doubt the data required to enable it is more than a drop in the bucket compared to the typical video and audio streaming that most people do with their portable devices.
but I’m not convinced it’s useful for most people. I suppose if you constantly misplace your keys, or something, it’s useful. But I don’t know get why it would notify people who may have stolen your item that it’s there.
I guess I’m going to have to read more about how it works.
I'll be getting a 4 pack; two of which are going on each of my dog's collars. Not sure yet - anyone say anything about the Find My app having geotagging? Can I be alerted if airbags stray from a given location?
Edit: and the lack of a required subscription for this is a very welcome feature.
What you don't understand is that iPhones, iPads, and Macs already have internet connections and therefore they do NOT request nearby bluetooth iOS devices to report their location. That's the difference. (I'm ignoring AirPods because they don't have U1 chips and I'm quite sure that they do NOT use the Find My network; they report directly and solely to your iOS devices.) AirTags are NOT connected to the Find My network so they must ALWAYS request to nearby iOS devices that their location be sent to the Find My network.
Also, it's worth noting that those devices you mentioned will NOT be able to send their location if they are fully powered off or if their bluetooth is disabled or if they are in AirPlane mode. These restrictions do not apply to AirTags. This is another reason why AirTags will be heavy data generators.
It gets even worse. Think about this: let's say you have an iPhone which has a working internet connection. Then you walk into a room with lots of people, like a theatre. Some of these people will be carrying AirTags, or will be carrying other Apple devices that do not have a current connection to the Internet but do have bluetooth enabled. Your iPhone has to report every single one of these devices' locations to the Apple Find My Network. That could be 10, 20 or even 100 data items. And this traffic will be charged to my ISP. So does everyone else's iPhone in that theatre with a data connection. How does Apple throttle all this traffic to prevent duplication? It hasn't said.
If you don't believe me, go fix the websites on the internet that explain this, such as: https://tidbits.com/2019/06/21/how-apples-new-find-my-service-locates-missing-hardware-thats-offline/
also, I think there is another use for the airtag, an unfaithful husband put an airtag in lost mode beside the door. When his wife go home, the airtag will send alarm to the husband’s iPhone by the wife’s iPhone. So he can rush to send his side chick away. Yes their house is very big, so he won’t hear the door.
It's really a badly named feature. It should be called "Mutual Contact Mode." Because it tells the finder who the owner is, and it suggests to the finder that they call you. If you don't put the item into Lost Mode, you can still see the item in your Find My App, but you won't be able to receive a text or a phone call from anyone who finds it.
Suddenly Tiles solution seems much better. This seems a very poorly thought out idea here by Apple.