Hello
Airtags are expensive
I'm sure there is similar Xiaomi (?) Or other tech available for much cheaper
Found these on Aliexpress - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004643645808.html
But these only work as far as your Bluetooth can reach apparently.
Anything similar? I'm looking for something that can track my luggage during travelling
Thanks!
Reading last threads and below comments, tile is crap apparently.
Im surprised there's no ~5 GPS tracker on Aliexpress that does the same job
~5 GPS tracker on Aliexpress that does the same job
And how exactly will they work?
The Apple ones are built in to the operating system, so you can't turn the feature off.
There are over 10 million iphones in Australia for tracking…
The Aliexpress trackers are completely Bluetooth based and will have absolutely no users on Australia, and their companion mobile apps might suck even more (may even have malware if you're not careful).
Try to avoid sideloading any apps, if you see that the trackers need you to install an APK from some dodgy source steer clear.
Im surprised there's no ~5 GPS tracker on Aliexpress that does the same job
So you want a tracker that has GPS plus a antenna to transmit location, presumably using a sim card for data, all for cheaper than an airtag?
yeah , hard to see any 5 bux GPS based trackers via sim data exists,
even this dog GPS tracker costs more than airtag when factor in sim subscription
no find my network integration = useless. nobody even wants a tile anymore
you cant find similar unless there is similar company like apple, as the airtags is using apple phones around it to find the location
something like that. im not apple person
Smart tags rely on a network of "smarter" devices to function. They use low energy communications to talk to the closest "smarter" device which then uses their GPS to identify the location of the tag. The tags don't have inbuilt GPS. Therefore, they are very dependent on the network to which they belong. AirTags have the biggest network, and are therefore going to work best. There is no way a knock off or cheap version can really exist, as they don't have a large network backing them.
eufy's new one apparently can tap into the Apple network. Not sure how though.
That is legitly cool. I had no idea Apple's "Find My" feature was open to 3rd parties.
Good move from apple which is seemingly a very un-apple thing to do these days.
@Caped Baldy: Seems pretty un-Apple. But also promotes the Apple ecosystem as it is reliant on i-devices to do the heavy lifting. I guess its a win-win.
eufy Security SmartTrack Link. Not sure about Aus release.
But these only work as far as your Bluetooth can reach apparently.
You want something that is cheaper than the gold standard but want all the features?
I'm looking for something that can track my luggage during travelling
If your luggage is that important to you then what's the problem with buying an airtag ?
I don't have apple ecosystem. Only android!
Spare phone with find my phone?
Thanks everyone. Seems I had quite some learning to do on the tech
Thanks. Makes sense. Cheers
the non airtags really only work with your device. So if they are within range of your phone. You cant rely on them outside the house. I found that when i had them, i was more likely to lose my keys, as i wouldnt care where i put them down.
My experience with airtags are mixed. Works okay. I do a lot of international travel, and they are blocked by many of the airport buildings etc. So while give you a general indication, are not perfect. They also work better in AU where the airport staff can afford iphones, and therefore trigger the tracking in more locations
Also, airtags dont work properly without an iphone. (things may have changed - but they were locked to apple a few months ago)
I have Samsung SmartTags. Unfortunately have to have a Samsung to use, but should be a decent size userbase out there.
Haven't put them to use yet as only going travelling this week.
Seems like the only other company that stands a chance with that many data points is Google
Why hasn't google come up with a competitor yet leveraging Android phones?
Why hasn't google come up with a competitor yet leveraging Android phones?
Probably because they don't want to deal with the headaches that Apple is having to deal with where people are being tracked by AirTags against their will.
Also profit.
where people are being tracked by AirTags against their will.
Yeah imagine how many cars are being stolen by attaching an airtag at the shops/car shows and just go steal it from their house
If the airtag is in/on the car and the driver has Apple dev, it will notify them of unusual following activity. Happened to me with when my partner left their Airpods in my car, I immediately got notified after about 5 mins from memory
Yeah imagine how many cars are being stolen by attaching an airtag at the shops/car shows and just go steal it from their house
I actually was half considering air-tagging my car as my neighbourhood has had a spike in stolen cars lately, most recent one was the bloke a few houses down… who also had same car model as mine…
To use an airtag it has to be linked to your apple account. If youre immediately linking yourself to the crime.
Might not get caught the first time, but eventually you'll have your phone seized and they'll link you back
I'd just get the AirTags if you already have an iPhone.
op doesnt have iphone
An old android phone with the Facebook app on it.
Between google and Facebook, it’s location will never be hidden
lmao!
"Its", as in possessive it, does not have an apostrophe. I made that mistake for years.
For over 5+ years I've owned Tiles(mainly), Airtags (now) and recently samsung smartag (now also). I got fricken annoyed with my own airtag always beeping to alert me to the fact I was stalking myself (Apple's anti-stalk feature).
Tiles are meh and depend on users having app installed on mobile device. This severely limits coverage.
Apple's big appeal to me was that every iphone user becomes a node. So thats ~50% of the population. I put one under my bike seat for theft protection, as Ive previously lost 2 bikes to theft that each had a tile under their seat. Tiles pinged about once a week, thats how minimal their community is/was (its worse now since airtags etc have entered the market). In a way it was a (painful) weekly reminder that someone was enjoying my bike, but useless in tracking it down (it was never in the place it pinged). Apple airtags are about 5mins real-time with me living in a CBD. Thats decent for a non-gps/3G location device.
But that damn beep all the time was annoying and will obviously alert the thief that something is there and they will find it and destroy it. I ended up taking it apart and removing the speaker. Effort.
Then I bought a new Samsung phone and they gave me an Smart tag, and confirmed that all Samsung users are nodes (like Apple, but Samsung is lesser market share ~ about 30% market). It has no annoying anti-stalk beeping and has a handy button I can assign to do stuff. It won me over fair and square, can confirm its able to provide location in the wild about the same frequency as Airtag (~5mins). Battery life has been fine, better than Airtag, which scans/beeps too frequently to compete. Neither has reported low battery after 6 months. Replaceable battery.
Detailed response. Thanks a lot
I'm curious to see what these are like https://www.howtogeek.com/847000/anker-just-made-a-better-ai…
Look at "Tile" instead? They're the closest competitor to Apple Airtag's ecosystem, although the number of Tile users in Australia is probably very few.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/brand/tile