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AirTag again exposes lies told by airlines about lost luggage (appleinsider.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/apple_enthusiast@lemmy.world
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[–] 80 points 3 years ago (11 children)

I just wish airtags didn't require an apple device. Is there even an alternative to these tiny little things?

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  • [–] 41 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Samsung has its own "Smart Tags". They should be better than Tile, since they rely on the Galaxy network and many more people have Samsung phones than Tile devices, but it'd be nice if Google released one compatible with all Android devices, instead of being stupidly tied to a specific brand.

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  • [–] 23 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Google announced just that earlier in the year; a tracking platform backed by any device with Google Play Services. A number of companies have announced support - including Tile, Pebblebee and Chipolo - but in typical Google fashion it's not launched yet.

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  • [–] 29 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Tile is the closest but it has a much smaller user base since it depends on people having the tile app installed. Airtags pickup on most iphones since most people have "Find My" enabled.

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  • [–] 26 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    If you're a tinkerer there's a project called OpenHaystack that lets you make your own tags that leech off Apple's Find My network. I've got a couple dozen of them at this point and they work flawlessly.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I'm a tinkerer but I have terrible tech skills. Do you think a project like that is beginner friendly?

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  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Kinda? It's fairly polished, but it does require a computer (or VM) running MacOS, a compatible microcontroller to act as a tag and a TTL adapter to program it. The programming itself is handled by the OpenHaystack software though.

    https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack#how-to-use-openhaystack

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  • [–] 19 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    It will take a while, but once google launches its Find my device network. You will have plenty of alternatives that work on android.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 years ago

    Chippolo is making one for Google's find my network that works just like Apple's network. Can't comment on the tracker itself because it's a preorder, but theoretically it could be just as strong with the amount of Android devices around

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago)

    There are standalone GPS trackers that report its location via a cellular connection. Typically they are used to track pets and the elderly in case they get lost, you might be able to find them relatively cheap at pet supply stores, but they do require a continuous paid subscription to work. Though they do have the benefit of working anywhere that has a cellular connection without relying on having specific brands of devices nearby.

    If you don't need remote tracking, GPS trackers that only log to internal memory also exist. Those don't require a subscription because they only need to listen for GPS signals and not transmit.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Oh I've looked for a while, as I am not a fan of apple software, but these things are amazing. True innovation. I think the only reason apple is the only ones with something out there like this is because they have the infrastructure for it. Samsung or internet providers are others in the position to do something like this, but I'm still waiting

    They aren't some GPS tags, which would just gobble through the battery, they ping the nearest apple device. You can spoof an air tag with an esp if you are into that, but you still need an apple device. The real magic is again, the infrastructure. Luckily for me, my wife has a mac =P

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    So innovative it's just a Tile. They do have the advantage of having really good coverage in the US, but I don't see the innovation.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago*

    Directional location is pretty innovative.

    I suspect device coverage, relative to tile, even in countries not dominated by Apple, composes of a couple orders of magnitude more devices.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago

    Tile didn't use Ultra Wideband until after AirTags existed, and I think even now it's only the Tile Pro that has it.

    I used Tile for years before AirTags came along. The difference is night and day.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    So I have a Mac and an iPad but a pixel phone and I'm about to do some international travel. I passed on getting a tile because of the smaller network. Do you think airtags have been useful for you without having an iPhone?

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago

    My wife has an iPhone, but I have an old iPad hooked to her account. I can see where all the air tags are, and locate them or activate the noise function. For traveling, there's no real benefit to having an iPhone vs an iPad.

    The main bonus that the newer IPhones have is the ability to locate them like a homing device. If you're within 30 feet, it will actually tell you which direction and how far away it is. Like a compass, it points you towards the air tag, letting you get to within a foot or so to find it. For locating a lost item at home, it's much easier to use the iPhone.

    But for gps tracking, the basic Bluetooth check in network with apple devices gives you the location of all the devices, within a few meters or so.

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