Over the last year, we made a few international and domestic trips, and decided to track our luggages at various stages of the trip. So, we bought a 4-pack Apple AirTag and had a great experience with this wonderfully made tracker. It was a very good investment. We knew where exactly our bags were when we were temporarily away from our bags for a few days. We went to Boracay while our heavy luggages went to our Airbnb.
If you are the kind of person that forgets things like your wallet, purse, car keys, gadgets and other stuff, Apple AirTags will help keep track of them. Or if you just wan to track your luggage or other items, like cycle, the AirTag is a great tracker.
What does the Apple AirTag look like?
Apple AirTag
The AirTag is a tracker that connects to mobile phones using Bluetooth. It looks like a tiny button the diameter of a quarter. There is a metal exterior and a plastic case. It is powered by a standard CR2032 coin-shaped battery and has an official battery life of up to a year.
The AirTag can easily get lost, and it is good to buy a case or cover for it. We bought a 4-pack AirTag cases from Amazon. Each AirTag fitted perfectly in its case. We put each AirTag in a separate luggage.
A 4-pack Apple AirTag set is on sale for $79.99 right now (January 6, 2024), so this is a good chance to try them out.
Specifications of the AirTag
The AirTag is about 1.26 inches in diameter and about 0.31 inch high. It weighs 0.39 ounce. It uses a CR2032 battery. It uses the U1 chip for Ultra Wideband and Precision Finding. For connectivity, it uses Bluetooth for proximity finding and NFC tap for Lost Mode. It has a speaker that is about 60 decibels maximum.
How does the AirTag work?
The AirTag should first be paired with an iPhone. The process is very straightforward. This is a one-time setup process. Just bring the AirTag near the phone and the iPhone prompts to connect. Unfortunately, setup is only for iPhone users. This is not available for Android phone users, though they can track an AirTag.
During registration, you can name the AirTag and register it with your Apple account.
Open the Find My app on your iPhone. You will see the AirTag in the list. You can view the current location of the AirTag.
You can track and find the exact location of the AirTag. This works within a 30 meter range. If you want precision tracking, your iPhone needs to be version 11 or newer.
If you are trying to find your AirTag and are in the vicinity, you can play a loud sound on it by clicking on Play Sound for that particular AirTag.
There are over 1.5 billion Apple device owners, so it will be possible to ping a lost device at some point.
By putting the AirTag in Lost Mode, the owner can be notified of its current location.
Does the AirTag have its own GPS?
No, it does not. The AirTag uses Bluetooth to ping its location to all the iPhones in the vicinity (within 30 meters). If you are trying to locate it, the Find My app will retrieve the latest location and pinpoint it in the map.
When we had our four bags sent to the Airbnb room while we travelled to Boracay island, the Find My app showed the location of the bags accurately up to a few feet. It even showed the Airbnb house address accurately!
Thanks to the other iPhone users in the vicinity. đž
Do we need a case for the AirTag?
No, but it would be a great convenience. We bought these cases from Apple.
The AirTag is bare and is best kept in a case for many reasons. It is very convenient to carry or locate the AirTag (ironic, but yes). The key rings and faux leather are very high quality.
If you do not want anything to do with leather, then try these silicone cases. They are quite good.
Privacy Issues
AirTags have similar privacy and security design that is implemented in Find My app. Communication with the Find My app is end-to-end encrypted. The location history is not stored in the device.
AirTag users cannot share an AirTag with other family members or friends. This is useful to prevent unwanted tracking of a member. It also allows the individual user to allow access to a single AirTag and locate or track their item.
Apple continues to work on its privacy issues regarding AirTags, so follow the news for updates.
Anti-Stalking Feature
From iOS 14.5, Apple has prevented stalkers from sneaking in AirTags into other people's bags. If the iPhone detects a device, such as an AirTag, follinwg the person, the iPhone will alert the user.
Alternatives to AirTag
Tile Pro, Tile Slim and Tile Mate are device trackers manufactured by Tile, and work on iPhone and Android. There are mixed reviews about these models, and they are also dated.
Tile Sticker is newer and has good reviews.
Conclusion
I personally liked the AirTags and found them useful. I was able to track my bags, I can keep an eye on my backpack when it's in another location, and so on. We travel a bit during holidays, so this is always good to have, and for less than $25 a piece, it is a bargain!
If you like AirTags or you probably did not have a good experience with your AirTags, please comment below. Thank you for reading my post.
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If you have any questions, please contact me at arulbOsutkNiqlzziyties@gNqmaizl.bkcom. You can also post questions in our Facebook group. Thank you.
