Air Tags as a Cheap Method to Locate a Stolen Trailer?

CrabTab
CrabTab Member Posts: 457
in Products and Accessories
I was reading up on the new Apple Air Tags. Could this be a method to try and track a trailer that has gone missing? ... or for that matter be hidden inside a generator, etc. ? What do you think?

AirTag - Apple

2019 320 Boondock Edge - Sold Jan 2022
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Comments

  • VictoriaP
    VictoriaP Member Posts: 1,496
    It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the announcement. I read though that it apparently starts chirping when separated from the owner for three days, which seems like it would lead a thief to the device’s location pretty quickly. I’m not sure how far “separated” is and haven’t had time to research it further, so I’ll be interested to see what others think.
    2019 320s BD Lite, white with blue (“Haven”)
    2015 Subaru Outback 3.6r (unsafe 200lb tongue weight limit until 2020 models)
    2020 Subaru Outback XT
    Pacific NW
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  • masnpip
    masnpip Member Posts: 7
    I have air tags on order and planned to use one for just this purpose. After reading more about this chirping, it seems like a not-ideal-but-better-than-nothing option. After 3 days of separation from the owner, the tag will chirp occasionally. Possibly missable by a thief, or they could attribute the chirp to a smoke detector. But if they have an iPhone, a message will pop up on their phone alerting them that an air tag is following them! Apparently Tile trackers do not do this. I think that a well-hidden air tag and quickly tracking the thief before they disable it might be useful. It is worth $25 for a little peace of mind for me.
    2017 T@b CS
    2019 Honda Pilot
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  • SweetlyHome
    SweetlyHome Member Posts: 336
    I have been reading about Airtags.  They appear to be a bluetooth device which means their range is less than 100 feet from your phone.  Does this meet your needs?
    Jupiter, Florida~T@B 400, with 2018 Toyota 4Runner

       
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  • Marceline
    Marceline Member Posts: 1,747
    SweetlyHome said:
    I have been reading about Airtags.  They appear to be a bluetooth device which means their range is less than 100 feet from your phone.  Does this meet your needs?
    That’s sort of correct but not really the whole story. I’ve been using Tiles for years and Airtags work pretty much the same way. They locate items in two ways: 1) Bluetooth connection to your own phone (what you describe) 2) Bluetooth connection to other people’s phones. 
    The second is what allows you to track down items that are out of your range. I actually used a Tile to track down a friend’s wallet halfway across San Francisco. When you report an item as lost, Tile starts sending you info when another Tile user’s phone detects your Tile in proximity. I haven’t tested the Airtag yet, but it works in pretty much the same way. Airtag will have an advantage over Tile in that every iPhone with location services enabled will be able to send data. But for tracking a stolen item, the chirping is a downside. If you’re not will to spend the money on a GPS tracker, an Airtag would be better than nothing. 
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • SweetlyHome
    SweetlyHome Member Posts: 336
    @Marceline, thanks for the info.  This forum is such a great place to learn about just about anything.

    Jupiter, Florida~T@B 400, with 2018 Toyota 4Runner

       
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  • lkc001
    lkc001 Member Posts: 877
    @Marceline so you are saying that once the airtag gets 100 feet away from you, say it's stolen and the thief is now 25-50 miles away, that the airtag "network" can pick up the signal through someone else's airtag and it will report to you where that location is at that moment?  I had looked at one of those "tiles" some time ago, but when I saw the 100 foot limitation it wouldn't work for me--I was going to put it on my dog.
    2018 Tab 400
    2016 Nissan Frontier SV 4x4 Crew Cab
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  • Marceline
    Marceline Member Posts: 1,747
    lkc001 said:
    @Marceline so you are saying that once the airtag gets 100 feet away from you, say it's stolen and the thief is now 25-50 miles away, that the airtag "network" can pick up the signal through someone else's airtag and it will report to you where that location is at that moment?  I had looked at one of those "tiles" some time ago, but when I saw the 100 foot limitation it wouldn't work for me--I was going to put it on my dog.
    I haven’t tested the Airtag but I’ve used Tiles for many years and I understand that they work in pretty much the same way. When you lose a Tile (and the object it’s connected to) you use the App to report it lost. Once you do that the Tile system starts reporting location information collected from other phones with the Tile app installed. We found my friend’s wallet because it ended up in a post office and every time someone entered the post office with a Tile-enabled phone it sent location data to my friend’s phone. This is all anonymized, of course. You don’t know who’s phone has connected with your tile. 
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • lkc001
    lkc001 Member Posts: 877
    Great info!! Now I understand it more— thanks!
    2018 Tab 400
    2016 Nissan Frontier SV 4x4 Crew Cab
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  • Verna
    Verna Member Posts: 6,876
    I’ve used Tiles for a few years on possessions and on my two dogs. If the beep sounds on the dogs, it does scare them, so that is a problem. Luckily, both dogs tend to stay together so one would run after the other….hopefully. 

    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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