Apple Tags

wildebus

wildebus

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Questions for you people with Apple Tags ....

Now I use the "TILE" Trackers (link - https://www.tile.com/en-gb), and they are quite good -but they are bluetooth based, so you have to be within a certain range in order to find the TILE. I've found them really handy on quite a few occasions as I tend to leave my wallet and car/van keys in random places and the TILE has saved me literally hours overall searching for them.
But the limited range with the Bluetooth is a real limitation, and I understand the Apple AirTags are much better in that repect? is that right?

So questions ... If you have an Apple Air Tag;
1) Do you need an Apple iPhone to find them? or is there an Android App as well?
2) How are they located? using GPS signal? Wi-Fi Hotspots? Mobile Phone Cells?
3) If GPS, can they be found inside a building? so if say you drop or leave your car keys ina shopping centre, are they still locatable?
4) Any subscription payable or is the only cost the initial purchase?
5) Battery life?
6) Any other comments on the Tags?

7) oh, and any alternatives to the Air Tags anyone uses and recommends?
 
I use air tags with an iPhone so not sure about Android. Think it is as I can use app on pc to track.

They work by sending their location when any iPhone is nearby. They piggyback on any iPhone device. They send their gps position to the cloud whenever a connection is nearby.

Once bought tags do not require a subscription. The batteries are meant to last over a year.
 
For Android you should use the Samsung Smart Tag2.

Much as the Apple device does it relies on detection by Samsung devices in proximity to it then relays the position to the Samsung cloud.

www.samsung.com

White Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag 2 EI-T5600BWEGEU | Samsung UK

Buy the White Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag 2 EI-T5600BWEGEU with enhanced battery life & water resistance. Tag, track & find all your devices at Samsung UK.
www.samsung.com www.samsung.com
 
So both devices use a "device cloud" to get found.
Did not realise they were so proprietary :(.

So I have a non-Samsung Android phone and I go for a walk in a forest and drop my keys. From what I am reading, the keys with an Apple Air Tag OR Samsung Smart Tag could be at my feet and I wouldn't get notified if I did a "locate tag" request from the phone app. That is pants.
Samsung - No thanks.
Apple - Ditto
 
wildebus said:
So both devices use a "device cloud" to get found.
Did not realise they were so proprietary :(.

So I have a non-Samsung Android phone and I go for a walk in a forest and drop my keys. From what I am reading, the keys with an Apple Air Tag OR Samsung Smart Tag could be at my feet and I wouldn't get notified if I did a "locate tag" request from the phone app. That is pants.
Samsung - No thanks.
Apple - Ditto
Click to expand...
I don’t know about Samsung, but the apple tag you can ask it to sound an alarm signal
 
We use tile but TBH not found them that good outside of the house, so the batteries are now flat.
 
I looked into these devices a while back David and I decided their use as a locator was limited to say the least. They need to blue tooth to another device so if you're keys are lost in a department store you'd probably get a lot of notifications but the accuracy would still only be within quite a large zone, if your keys or dog we're lost in the woods then you'd have to wait until another person walked close by with their BT AND data turned on before you get a ping.
 
RichardHelen262 said:
I don’t know about Samsung, but the apple tag you can ask it to sound an alarm signal
Click to expand...
But only if you have an Apple iPhone?
I do have a couple of iPhones thanks to kind forum members but I don't use them day-to-day, but for a specific App use, so they are not a regular carry item.

Pudsey Bear said:
We use tile but TBH not found them that good outside of the house, so the batteries are now flat.
Click to expand...
Depending on the models you can replace the batteries. I have some credit-card like Tiles that I would say are non-replaceable, but I use those in a wallet or such like as they can be tucked away out the way, which is good. I have 1 square tile which is sealed up and has an officially non-replaceable battery (took it apart and it really would be a faff to remove with desoldering needed), but most of the ones I have have a user-replaceable battery, which is the best option I would say. Just last night I ordered a pack of 20 batteries (CR1632 - around 40p each) to refresh them all as most were either low or dead.

merl said:
I looked into these devices a while back David and I decided their use as a locator was limited to say the least. They need to blue tooth to another device so if you're keys are lost in a department store you'd probably get a lot of notifications but the accuracy would still only be within quite a large zone, if your keys or dog we're lost in the woods then you'd have to wait until another person walked close by with their BT AND data turned on before you get a ping.
Click to expand...
They do have a "last seen" function and if you go to the Tile App it shows that location on a map (I have not actually done that).
The Tile "Last known location" and the navigation to it via google maps would probably help find them? Note that the location shown is based on the phone location at the time the Tile was last seen though, not the actual tile, so is likely up to 120 Metres away from where it says it is, so I think it is a matter of going to that general area, hitting the 'find' button to make the Tile play the tune and then wander around listening. (one of my tiles was last seen right at the edge of the garden for example, where I would never have take one. but the phone was probably in my pocket. (last seen there as the battery will be dead so not reporting location anymore))

As I said, I have not actually tried this, but I think I might give it a go out of interest, leaving one of the tags somewhere out my normal movement area and then see if the App takes me to it? (The Tile with the non-replaceable battery is near the end of its life anyway, so probably a good candidate for this test :) )



I was kind of hoping that there was a system that if you dropped your keys say, you could run up an app and an exact location with GPS co-ordinates would come up to tell you precisely where they are.

I do also have one of those basic "key finder" systems with a controller and 8 keyfobs receivers. They work well as well and I have also ordered a pack of batteries to replace in all the receivers. The battery life is a bit of a bugbear with all these systems I would think? but doubt if there is any way around that.
 
I use the Samsung pro tags and have found them pretty good. The batteries are replaceable, The BT range is, I think,up to 600 metres where you can ping the tag from the phone for an audible alarm or press a button on the tag to make your phone ring. You can set it up to register on amazon alexas as it passes to find the last known area it was seen. (All of which I set up a year ago so can't remember how and may have changed.) but they have helped me to find keys and luggage for a reasonable price. They are usually cheaper from Tile direct. I have an android phone which is why I went for these. YMMV.

Crossposted with wildebus
 
one thing that is possible with the Tile App - and maybe other systems as well? - is to have multiple phones registered. You could then have an old Android phone tucked away somewhere in your van and use your regular phone to show its location. Like a tracker setup I guess?
I am not sure if the location of the phone you are looking for is based solely on last known location or is dynamic using the Phones GPS though? if it is a static last known location, it would not be a lot of use in a vehicle!
 
I've seen cheap vehicle trackers on Ebay and the like but not sure how god they are or how much power they would suck.
 
goinfg back to the Tile system, I have generally bought those on promo deals on Amazon - either Black Friday or the Prime Day thingy.
Looking at what I paid ...
Tile Mate (2022) - bought Nov 2023 for £12. Non-replaceable battery. Now nearly dead
Tile "performance pack (2022)" - bought Oct 2023 for £51! These are meant to have double the range - upto 120M.
Tile Pro (2022) - Replacable battery​
Tile Slim (2022) - Non-replacable battery.​
Tile mate (2020) x 2 - bought Dec 2021 for £12 ea. Replaceable battery
Tile mate (2020) x 1 - bought Dec 2021 for £12. Replaceable battery
I think I got a set direct from Tile as well as well and for a better price than Amazon.

Looking at range now, seems only ones with non-replaceable batteries are available (based on being IP69 so must be sealed up). Battery life is meant to be 3 years but I have not found that.
If I could get more of the 2020 version (swappable batteries) at the price I paid, I would do.
 
wildebus said:
So both devices use a "device cloud" to get found.
Did not realise they were so proprietary :(.

So I have a non-Samsung Android phone and I go for a walk in a forest and drop my keys. From what I am reading, the keys with an Apple Air Tag OR Samsung Smart Tag could be at my feet and I wouldn't get notified if I did a "locate tag" request from the phone app. That is pants.
Samsung - No thanks.
Apple - Ditto
Click to expand...
My wife has an AirTag in her handbag I get a message on my phone to say that it’s been left behind when we go for a walk and leave the bag in the house.
 
wildebus said:
one thing that is possible with the Tile App - and maybe other systems as well? - is to have multiple phones registered. You could then have an old Android phone tucked away somewhere in your van and use your regular phone to show its location. Like a tracker setup I guess?
I am not sure if the location of the phone you are looking for is based solely on last known location or is dynamic using the Phones GPS though? if it is a static last known location, it would not be a lot of use in a vehicle!
Click to expand...
That's a neat idea👍 surely got to be the GPS location of the phone?? Could it be anything other?? 🤔🤔
 
merl said:
That's a neat idea👍 surely got to be the GPS location of the phone?? Could it be anything other?? 🤔🤔
Click to expand...
I guess it all depends if the Tile App has cloud data? The way you see browser info on one device shared with all your other devices using the same browser, for example, it cannot be hard to be sharing real-time info like locations.
 
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