Anyone using Tile or apple airtags for theft recovery?

[NathanR]

A colleague of mine recently had his cars stolen from home, the thieves pried open the front door of his house with a crowbar, grabbed the keys that were sitting next to the door (who doesn’t store keys near the door right?) and drove two of cars away.

He and I were talking about it and he said, He’s going to get the new apple air tags and hide them in his car. There is also a similar product called Tile.

I’m curious if anyone is using these gadgets for the purpose of vehicle recovery after theft.

Apple, in its infinite wisdom, programs it’s air tag to warn adjacent a iPhone users they’re packing an unknown air tag with them, which prevents people from using the air tag to stalk people. This is not useful for theft recovery obviously.

Tile relies on other users who have the tile app to pass near their devices. I’m not sure how widely used it is, and if that limits its effectiveness

What are your thoughts ?

[LIRS6]

First thought - I need to move my keys away from near my door.

There are GPS automobile tracking devices, which to me would make far more sense. Check Amazon etc.

[ryans65]

I don't think a tile is GPS enabled, I have them on all my keys because I'm an idiot and lose them in my own house all the time.

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

One of the car websites covered this. The Apple device reported the location in under an hour vs something like 8 hours for tile. There are just a lot more iPhones out there so it works faster.

The anti stalking features may act as a theft deterrent. If you hide the air tag well enough thieves might abandon the vehicle vs completing their plans.

Also, once the air tag is placed in lost mode it will behave differently and attract more attention to whomever is driving your car.

Is it as good as a dedicated gps tracker? Probably not. Is it cheaper with a possible upside? Seems like it.

[NathanR]

Originally Posted by LIRS6

First thought - I need to move my keys away from near my door.

There are GPS automobile tracking devices, which to me would make far more sense. Check Amazon etc.

Exactly what I did. Les (the victim) pointed out he’d rather they take the keys and go instead of wandering around the house looking for them. Was tempted to put some fake keys by the door....

[Jtt84911]

You want this....or something similar. (from Amazon)

Logistimatics 4G Pocket Tracker for Vehicles, Cars, Family - Tiny GPS Tracker with 30 Second Location Updates and Real-time Tracking + Magnetic Waterproof Case
$49.00.

Battery charge lasts about 3 weeks. Complete very accurate global tracking, via their mapping app, has geo-fencing, multiple notifications/alerts, etc. etc. After buying tracker.... monthly cell charge is $15.00/month.

I think it’s well worth the cost and monthly charge.

Regards,
JT

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

Here are a few links & videos from people who have tried this.

Can You Track Your CAR with AirTag!?
https://youtu.be/JvGJ-SPbrDQ



CAN AN APPLE AIRTAG FIND A STOLEN CAR
https://youtu.be/1Ybnwz6FTHI



AIRTAG VS BIKE THIEF - Real World Testing
https://youtu.be/mRHqlKnRMUI



Apple AirTag A Brilliant Car Tracker As This Road Test Proves
https://youtu.be/qA9o4paK8KI