MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I got brought an Apple Airtag and tried it out as a tracking device installed on my MTB, not in the frame, but concealed on the outside. It perform well? Not bad, it depends, but I am keeping it does give me a chance of finding the bike I did not have before. This video is my review.
I forgot to mention in the video, the one thing that could make this Airtag/Find My App better in a tangible way would to have a geofence feature - even if that was at the cost of some battery life.
In iOS 15, Apple has added separation alerts to the Find My app, which let you know when you leave an AirTag or other Apple device behind. Separation alerts also support Find My-enabled third-party accessories. I will follow this in a feature review.
How does the airtag connect? Is it just a gps tag or does it need some kind of mobile device to link to? What's the battery life like on them?
I'm assuuming they need to link to some kind of other Apple device to transmit? Does placement on the bike matter (would it fit inside a seat tube and still connect / transmit?)
Curious. Guess a Tile would do a similar job?
It's Bluetooth so potentially not that useful. That's the same thing that makes a tile useless for theft tracking. Main difference seems to be the use of all/any iPhone as a sensor grid, though the it's not exactly clear what models can act as sensors as clearly the more version the better the coverage.
Thread on airtags as bike tracker already.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/apple-airtag-bike-theft-tracker/
Bought not brought.
DC Rainmaker currently tracking his missing luggage around Europe using them.
@aphex_2k I'll explain :-). The Airtag does not connect to an iPhone, it continuously transmits a very low power signal - a Bluetooth signal. The whole 'locate your lost/stolen thing' relies on an iPhone/Mac/iPad wandering into the area AirTag and picking up the signal. Once a device has picked up a signal the device anonymously sends a communication on the Find My network. In turn you get notified of your Airtag's location.
Worked for this guy and his stolen scooter...
https://interestingengineering.com/cybersecurity-expert-finds-stolen-scooter-with-apple-airtags
this is great news, and actually one the main features (besides the obvious) that I was interested in from the start as it'll be really handy for home automation.In iOS 15, Apple has added separation alerts to the Find My app, which let you know when you leave an AirTag or other Apple device behind.
that difference is massive though! Worked reasonably well when I (with consent!) used it to track the GF doing a 10k run. Doubt a Tile would've picked up anything.Main difference seems to be the use of all/any iPhone as a sensor grid, though the it’s not exactly clear what models can act as sensors as clearly the more version the better the coverage.
They do start alerting you to their presence after only 8hrs now (as I noticed when camping recently - took me a while to figure out what the hell the noise was 🤣)