Does anyone use AIR TAGS? Do they work well on the Ships?

[Surfguyxxx]

3 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I have an Android and purchased Tile Pro's for our luggage. 

On the flight over, I was able to detect our luggage as being in range from my airplane seat, so I knew they were on board.

On the flight back, I was not, but at some point, after using the restroom mid flight, I did see that I did finally get a ping from them, yea!

In the baggage claim, they were only good for knowing that they were coming very, very soon (like already on the belt).

So, essentially, you couldn't see if your bag was in Dallas and you were in NYC?

[RobInMN]

Just now, Surfguyxxx said:

So, essentially, you couldn't see if your bag was in Dallas and you were in NYC?

I've only used them the 1 trip so far. So that's just using the bluetooth range (claims 400ft). But if I understand correctly, I can use the "Notify when found" to find if it's in range of other Tile users if it's not near me. Hope I won't have to use that. Tile's user network is no where near as large as Apple's.

 

[BND]

41 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Few yrs back that happened at a Florida Cruise Port also, Oops!

I'd heard it happens but this is the first time I know someone it happened to.  Just always hope it's the bag with clothes and not the one with makeup, hairdryer or anything else electronic.

[topnole]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The Disney case you cite was foiled when her iPhone notified her that a tracking device unassociated with her account had been near her for a while.

 

Cell phones are themselves tracking devices and cell phone companies routinely sell anonymous data including locations data.  If you know where someone lives it doesn't take long for the anonymous part to be no so anonymous and now you can track someone.  Our government does this all day long with the "anonymous" location data they buy from all the cell phone companies.    

 

if you don't want to be tracked, lose all technology and stop carrying a phone.  

I agree.  But the prevalence of the cheap knock off air tags are an easy tool for anyone with bad intentions to pretty easily track someone. It used to be a bit more difficult and expensive.  Not tech skills needed.  Now an average teenager could do it and not blink an eye at the cost.  

[pcur]

I bought a 2-pack of airtags, and keep one in my car.  I have a smaller SUV, and just yesterday it wasn't where I parked it.  Seems it actually was 2 spaces down with a large delivery van blocking it.  The "find my" feature on my iphone helped a lot.

 

I use the other one for checked luggage, but I'm thinking I will zip it into my carry-on suitcase, too, in case I get separated from it.

[barbeyg]

We have a 4 pack that we share for our checked and carryon luggage (never know when you will need to hand over carryon due to packed flights).  We enjoy them.

 

This thread made me think of another use. I’m usually up and about before my husband. I can stick one of his in my pocket, and I don’t need to check on him. He can just find me. 😁

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, BND said:

I'd heard it happens but this is the first time I know someone it happened to.  Just always hope it's the bag with clothes and not the one with makeup, hairdryer or anything else electronic.

True, was my sailing but fortunately wasnt my Luggage. Might been Miami but think happened at Port Everglades where most my Cruises back then were out of

[Ret MP]

5 hours ago, BND said:

Google knows where I travel via my Pixel 6 phone.  I get a "report" every month about where I've been, usually including restaurants, wineries, cities, etc.

Google Maps has been doing that for years with me.  I'm constantly asked to write reviews of businesses I have visited.  Some I do, some I don't.  And yes, I get a, I believe, a monthly report of where I've been.  I just usually delete it.  I know where I've been. LOL

Edited August 4, 2022 by Ret MP

[John&LaLa]

Big difference between lost luggage, and luggage being 50 paces down the hall in a large bunch.

 

In 120+ cruises, only had my bag placed on the other side of ship once.

 

Just curious, will a tile show what deck your bag is on?

Edited August 5, 2022 by John&LaLa

[RobInMN]

29 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Just curious, will a tile show what deck your bag is on?

Tiles will not. They won't even show a direction, just a proximity.

[BND]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Google Maps has been doing that for years with me.  I'm constantly asked to write reviews of businesses I have visited.  Some I do, some I don't.  And yes, I get a, I believe, a monthly report of where I've been.  I just usually delete it.  I know where I've been. LOL

Sometimes it thinks I've been to businesses I haven't.  They just happen to be close to somewhere I was at.  I've been driving to Newport News to visit my elderly parents every 5 or so weeks this year and it shows businesses I've never been to lol.  It did pick up our cruise to Bermuda and lunch at Frog and Onion even though we had our phones in airplane mode and didn't use them in Bermuda.

[Ret MP]

4 minutes ago, BND said:

Sometimes it thinks I've been to businesses I haven't.  They just happen to be close to somewhere I was at.  I've been driving to Newport News to visit my elderly parents every 5 or so weeks this year and it shows businesses I've never been to lol.  It did pick up our cruise to Bermuda and lunch at Frog and Onion even though we had our phones in airplane mode and didn't use them in Bermuda.

Yep, same with me.  I'm just glad I haven't visited places that were close to known houses of ill repute.  My wife would be pissed!

[John&LaLa]

34 minutes ago, BND said:

Sometimes it thinks I've been to businesses I haven't.  They just happen to be close to somewhere I was at.  I've been driving to Newport News to visit my elderly parents every 5 or so weeks this year and it shows businesses I've never been to lol.  It did pick up our cruise to Bermuda and lunch at Frog and Onion even though we had our phones in airplane mode and didn't use them in Bermuda.

 

When I turn airplane mode off in port, i get a text from T-Mobile welcoming me to the country. Then I see the country in pink on a world map in my history. 

 

Unfortunately it resets every year😪

 

Should be fun for World Cruise 😁

[twangster]

Here are some more Airtags example from a couple of cruises.  

 

Spoiler alert - the technology isn't perfect.

 

1.  Delta is pretty good about notifying me when my bag is loaded on the plane but in this example I had just boarded the plane before the cabin door was closed so I was still on cellular.  Delta claimed my bag was loaded on the plane about 15 minutes before this.

 

Apple determined both my backpack under the seat in front of me and my luggage in the belly of the plane where both "With Me".  

 

 

2.  I was connecting in Seattle on my way to Vancouver.  On my connecting flight I had just boarded moments before they closed the boarding door.  Delta again claimed my luggage was loaded on the plane.  Once again my backpack and my luggage are shown "with me" approximately where I was sitting on the plane just outside the terminal building.   

 

An Airtag in my car back home was 2,594 miles away from Seattle, not shown on this map.  My car Airtag was last seen 31 minutes before this so someone with an iPhone walked near my car and it reported my car's airtag location 31 minutes before this.

 

 

 

3. At Canada Place in Vancouver on boarding day having made it through to the waiting area with my backpack with me getting ready to board the ship.  My luggage appeared to be on the dock near the ship at this point.  The red backpack is with me inside the terminal waiting to board.  

 

 

4. Fast forward to my Seattle based cruise on boarding day where Apple was convinced my luggage was on a sailboat in the marina near the cruise terminal.  

 

 

 

5.  Mid cruise while we were in Juneau.  My red backpack at the top of the frame is the ship in Juneau where we were when I opened the "Find My" app.  My luggage was actually under my bed in the cabin where I always store my empty suitcase during a cruise.  

 

For whatever reason Apple reported that my suitcase was last seen the night before just before we entered the Inside passage on our way to Juneau.  Despite my luggage being under the bed within mere feet of my backpack (and me) Apple recorded my suitcase's last known position out in the Pacific Ocean 152 miles away around 11pm the night before.

 

I had a paid Voom plan and was frequently going on my balcony to take pictures and such so I don't doubt that is where the ship was at 11pm the night before, it's just curious that in the 15 hours since it never updated the location again despite my iPhone being near my suitcase a number of times since then, including all night long with my iPhone on the nightstand beside the bed as I slept.

 

 

In summary at times the Airtags work as desired with location tracking being pretty much spot on yet at other times the location data is either just wrong or several hours old.

 

YMMV.

[A&L_Ont]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

Here are some more Airtags example from a couple of cruises.  

 

Spoiler alert - the technology isn't perfect.

 

 

Thanks Twangster for sharing this. Very interesting. 

[billslowsky]

On 8/4/2022 at 1:31 PM, twangster said:

if you don't want to be tracked, lose all technology and stop carrying a phone.  

And take the license plate off your car.

[publicpersona]

On 8/4/2022 at 2:22 PM, BND said:

Google knows

 

It is scary what Google knows. They do (ostensibly) make available all the data they collect on you, and pulling this data is quite interesting. I have a Nest smoke alarm that lights up when I go down the hall in the middle of the night. I can't remember if I got up in the middle of the night to pee on February 20, 2021. But Google can tell you.

[pasodancer]

Air Tags work great on significant others - we always attach to something each other is wearing - makes it so easy to find each other in very large areas (Just saying).  We also have them on our cars, my handbag and my tote bag!

[Ret MP]

So, are there any tags out there that actually have GPS in them?  Sorry, I'm a little uninformed with this subject.  I won't get any that don't use actual GPS and don't rely on other phones, doesn't matter what manufacturer of phone either.  I'm not a fan of iPhones or Apple in general.  

[Ret MP]

9 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

So, are there any tags out there that actually have GPS in them?  Sorry, I'm a little uninformed with this subject.  I won't get any that don't use actual GPS and don't rely on other phones, doesn't matter what manufacturer of phone either.  I'm not a fan of iPhones or Apple in general.  

Well, I think I found exactly what I want.  Real GPS tracking, sets boundaries, works with Google Maps, and so on.  BUT/EXCEPT, it carries with it a minimum $20.00 monthly fee for the cheapest tracking frequency.  No thanks.  I'm cheap and I don't pay a dime for any of my GPS devices.  

 

landairsea.com

[Charles4515]

16 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

So, are there any tags out there that actually have GPS in them?  Sorry, I'm a little uninformed with this subject.  I won't get any that don't use actual GPS and don't rely on other phones, doesn't matter what manufacturer of phone either.  I'm not a fan of iPhones or Apple in general.  

There are trackers that have GPS. I believe they would  use cell service and have a monthly fee. Apple rules but Samsung has trackers an Tile can be used on Android or iPhones. I would not use Tile because they send data to Amazon. The Airtag process is end to end encypted to even Apple does  not know current or past location. 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Well, I think I found exactly what I want.  Real GPS tracking, sets boundaries, works with Google Maps, and so on.  BUT/EXCEPT, it carries with it a minimum $20.00 monthly fee for the cheapest tracking frequency.  No thanks.  I'm cheap and I don't pay a dime for any of my GPS devices.  

 

landairsea.com

The fees for those are  because they have a sim card and have to connect to cell service.

[twangster]

Samsung has their SmartThings trackers but I have no experience with these.

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/smart-home/smartthings-tracker/tracker/smartthings-tracker-sm-v110azwaatt/

 

This version appears to be LTE based but that begs the question how do you put it in airplane mode for a flight.  Service included for first year, after that it's $5 per month or $50 annually.  Battery life of one week but chargeable.  AT&T domestic national coverage raises a lot of questions.

 

Way different from Airtag approach.  

 

[Ret MP]

10 minutes ago, twangster said:

Samsung has their SmartThings trackers but I have no experience with these.

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/smart-home/smartthings-tracker/tracker/smartthings-tracker-sm-v110azwaatt/

 

This version appears to be LTE based but that begs the question how do you put it in airplane mode for a flight.  Service included for first year, after that it's $5 per month or $50 annually.  Battery life of one week but chargeable.  AT&T domestic national coverage raises a lot of questions.

 

Way different from Airtag approach.  

 

Sorry.  But, I'm still cornfused.  Do I, with my phone, have to be within a certain range to track?   If I'm in Alabama and my baggage is on the way to Seattle, will it track it in real time?  Does it work off of other phones and their WiFi?  It definitely doesn't seem to be an actual GPS tracker.  

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Sorry.  But, I'm still cornfused.  Do I, with my phone, have to be within a certain range to track?   If I'm in Alabama and my baggage is on the way to Seattle, will it track it in real time?  Does it work off of other phones and their WiFi?  It definitely doesn't seem to be an actual GPS tracker.  

 

The Tile, AirTag and Samsung tags all use Bluetooth.  But it does not have to be in the limited Bluetooth range of your phone.  Any phone with the app for that particular brand of tracking device and Internet access will "see" it and report the tag's serial number and the phone's GPS location back to the service provider (Apple, Tile or Samsung).  Basically, it's a mesh or crowd network that locates these trackers. 

 

Here are the problems.  First, all three use different "apps".  The Apple AirTag app is built into and activated on all newer model Apple devices.  The same goes for the Samsung tags and Samsung phones.  But with Tile, which works with both Apple and Android, it only gets tracked by phones that have the Tile app installed.  So if you have a Tile and are relying on my phone or my wife's phone to keep up with your lost items location, you'd be SOL because neither of us has the Tile app.  

 

Note that I said these "crowd" phones report the phones location and only when the phones have Internet access.  If the tag never get close enough to a phone to be tracked, or the phone that tracks it does not have Internet access, then you'll not know where it is.  

Edited August 6, 2022 by rudeney