AirTags or Tiles?

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MandyLuna
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AirTags or Tiles?

Post by MandyLuna »

I've been looking at these little devices to attach to my keychain, phone, etc....since I am terrible at misplacing items.

Anyone use them? Any recommendations? Thanks
RickyAZ
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by RickyAZ »

I have an AirTag on my dog’s collar. Works great. Accurate within a few inches, much more refined than Find My Phone. Not supposed to get them wet but found that it still worked fine at the beach.
Had another on my keys but never needed it so I put it in the car as a locator in case the IPhone doesn’t mark the parking spot correctly. It “chirps” a few times when it reconnects with your phone after a few days so it’s not really subtle. Would be nice if they could attach one (or incorporate) to the phone itself because that’s something I occasionally misplace (and use an iPad to locate).

Cheers
jebmke
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by jebmke »

RickyAZ wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:35 pm I have an AirTag on my dog’s collar. Works great. Accurate within a few inches, much more refined than Find My Phone. Not supposed to get them wet but found that it still worked fine at the beach.
Had another on my keys but never needed it so I put it in the car as a locator in case the IPhone doesn’t mark the parking spot correctly. It “chirps” a few times when it reconnects with your phone after a few days so it’s not really subtle. Would be nice if they could attach one (or incorporate) to the phone itself because that’s something I occasionally misplace (and use an iPad to locate).

Cheers
Find My

Doesn’t that do it? If I can’t recall where it is in the house I just call the number.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Grasshopper
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Grasshopper »

We have a Tile pro attached with a harness on our Leopard tortoise. Makes it easy to find her in the acre yard. Not sure how it would work if she left the yard to wander the ponderosa, but I have high hopes.
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rob
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by rob »

Just went through this... short version... If you have apple stuff, then airtag otherwise tiles.... I went for the older tiles because I hate hate hate the idea of non-replaceable batteries.
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
RickyAZ
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by RickyAZ »

jebmke wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:45 pm
RickyAZ wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:35 pm I have an AirTag on my dog’s collar. Works great. Accurate within a few inches, much more refined than Find My Phone. Not supposed to get them wet but found that it still worked fine at the beach.
Had another on my keys but never needed it so I put it in the car as a locator in case the IPhone doesn’t mark the parking spot correctly. It “chirps” a few times when it reconnects with your phone after a few days so it’s not really subtle. Would be nice if they could attach one (or incorporate) to the phone itself because that’s something I occasionally misplace (and use an iPad to locate).

Cheers
Find My

Doesn’t that do it? If I can’t recall where it is in the house I just call the number.
I’ve never heard my phone ring. Always on silent, no vibrate. Text or voicemail, those are the options 🤗
I could text myself but if the phone is face down ….
River in Sight
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by River in Sight »

RickyAZ wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:45 pm I could text myself but if the phone is face down ….
One of the greatest features of the Apple Watch is the ability to ping your iPhone - I use it all the time - even if it's on silent, it will emit a pinging noise. It's silly, but a time saver.
EZ James
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by EZ James »

I have two 2020 Pro Tiles and an an airtag. My original intent was to use a Tile to locate my companion in large stores as we normally go separate ways. It’s only marginally useful for that due to obstructions in the line-of-sight. I cannot contact her by phone because she can’t hear it ring where she carries it. But the Tile is relatively loud and when it’s hung around her neck on a lanyard she can’t miss the alert and will come out to a clear area and look for me.

The Tile has a feature that I have not seen mentioned anywhere. My companion went 50 miles away to a casino and forgot her phone. I located her with Tile both enroute on the freeway and at the casino. The driver may have had a phone but I doubt he had the Tile app. So the interesting part to me is how the Tile determined the location enroute.

The other Tile is velcroed to her iPad which she has a habit of misplacing. I see it now at a house where she is staying 1500 miles away in a home with wifi. She has her phone with Tile now so that’s the expected result.

I just received the airtag and cannot exercise it to it’s fullest because my iPhone does not have the U1 chip. It’s unremarkable as is but can be used to find things around the house. It’s chirp is not a loud as the Tile. I hope to have a newer phone in a few days so I can put the tag through it’s paces.

The air tag gives direction and distance, the Tile only shows signal strength.

There are a number of reviews available on YouTube.
mhalley
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by mhalley »

I like the chipolo better than the tile myself, but used tile for several years before switching. Kept having problems with the tile disconnecting for no apparent reason. The fact that you need to buy a “case” for the apple one just because they didn’t build it with a hole for a key ring is such an obvious moneygrab I dislike it on principle. But it does have some nice features for the latest iOS devices. I imagine the others will catch up soon tho.
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celia
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by celia »

Does anyone have a solution for locating a misplaced hearing aid with a “dead battery”? It should not be visible to others and not make a loud noise while the hearing aid is being worn (in case someone was locating all their stuff electronically and forgot they were wearing one next to their ear).
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celia
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by celia »

EZ James wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:13 pm The Tile has a feature that I have not seen mentioned anywhere. My companion went 50 miles away to a casino and forgot her phone. I located her with Tile both enroute on the freeway and at the casino. The driver may have had a phone but I doubt he had the Tile app. So the interesting part to me is how the Tile determined the location enroute.
What was the Tile attached to in this situation? Your companion?
EZ James
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by EZ James »

Yes. The Tile was on a lanyard around her neck. I read a rumor that Apple was "opening up" the Find My Phone feature to avoid legal problems. If the driver had an iPhone that MIGHT be the reason I got her location.

On another occasion when she had her phone I got similar locations from both Find My Phone and Tile when she was on the freeway so it seems to credence to the rumor.
onourway
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by onourway »

RickyAZ wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:45 pm I’ve never heard my phone ring. Always on silent, no vibrate. Text or voicemail, those are the options 🤗
I could text myself but if the phone is face down ….
Use the Find My ecosystem. If you have another device with Siri - 'Hey Siri, where's my iPhone?'. If you do not, log into iCloud on another computer and ping the phone from there. The ping that will play is much louder and works even if the phone is muted.
jebmke
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by jebmke »

onourway wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:22 am
RickyAZ wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:45 pm I’ve never heard my phone ring. Always on silent, no vibrate. Text or voicemail, those are the options 🤗
I could text myself but if the phone is face down ….
Use the Find My ecosystem. If you have another device with Siri - 'Hey Siri, where's my iPhone?'. If you do not, log into iCloud on another computer and ping the phone from there. The ping that will play is much louder and works even if the phone is muted.
Or introduce a modicum of self-discipline and always keep the phone in the same place. Shouldn’t be difficult given that it doesn’t ring and therefore doesn’t need to be handy. Store it in top desk drawer like I do.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Freefun
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Freefun »

I have tons of air tags. Many uses:

On a dog
In my car
In rental cars (yes map apps can track your parking place but it sometimes doesn’t work).
On my kindles.
On my luggage and backpacks
Remember when you wanted what you currently have?
runninginvestor
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by runninginvestor »

Freefun wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 6:46 am I have tons of air tags. Many uses:

On a dog
In my car
In rental cars (yes map apps can track your parking place but it sometimes doesn’t work).
On my kindles.
On my luggage and backpacks
The first two lines can almost be read like a Dr Seuss book... :P

ETA: the dog use is something I've strongly considered for mine. Once we have kid around, I'd likely do both. And then in our safe, just in case someone decided to take the whole thing or got into it and decided to just shove everything into a getaway bag.

I've also considered putting on a shoe of a grandparent. Fortunately they aren't at that point and never will be.
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rob
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by rob »

EZ James wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:13 pm The driver may have had a phone but I doubt he had the Tile app. So the interesting part to me is how the Tile determined the location enroute.
Tile did a deal with Amazon "sidewalk" (a nefarious network Amazon don't seem to advertise but make you opt OUT of, which should be illegal IMO).... Not sure it's completely rolled-out but that might be one way. The privacy issues on this are astounding - an Android user would not know if someone else put an apple tracker on them unless they install the apple app....
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
onourway
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by onourway »

rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:24 am The privacy issues on this are astounding - an Android user would not know if someone else put an apple tracker on them unless they install the apple app....
Not true. An AirTag separated from its owners phone for ~8-24 hours will start beeping to alert people nearby of its presence.
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rob
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by rob »

onourway wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:28 am
rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:24 am The privacy issues on this are astounding - an Android user would not know if someone else put an apple tracker on them unless they install the apple app....
Not true. An AirTag separated from its owners phone for ~8-24 hours will start beeping to alert people nearby of its presence.
Yes that was a change from the orig rollout... my point is still true... until it alerts the person carrying does not know.
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
jebmke
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by jebmke »

onourway wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:28 am
rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:24 am The privacy issues on this are astounding - an Android user would not know if someone else put an apple tracker on them unless they install the apple app....
Not true. An AirTag separated from its owners phone for ~8-24 hours will start beeping to alert people nearby of its presence.
The tag beeps or the phone beeps? Hopefully not the tag.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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walkabout
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by walkabout »

AirTags prevent unwanted tracking (or try to) like this:

1. Person A slips AirTag into Person B’s bag.
2. Person B leaves.
3. The AirTag in B’s bag detects that it is moving, but also that it’s owner, Person A, is not nearby.
4. B’s iPhone (assuming B has an iPhone) displays an alert that B has an unrecognized AirTag.
5. The AirTag will eventually start beeping, alerting B.

In theory, this should make it more difficult for someone to track another person with an AirTag.

If B has an iPhone, the alert should be sufficient to alert B about the AirTag.

If B does not have an iPhone, the whole tracking scheme would probably not work very well anyway (unless relying on the fact that B’s associates have iPhones). The tracking of an AirTag relies on the AirTag being close enough to an iPhone (any iPhone) for the iPhone to “see” it. AirTags communicate via Bluetooth, so the range of an AirTag is actually pretty limited.

The AirTag’s beep could possibly be subverted by opening it and disconnecting the speaker (don’t if this is even possible without breaking the AirTag). I could also imagine wrapping the AirTag such that the beep would be muffled.

Either way, it seems like Apple has tried to make it difficult to secretly track someone with with an AirTag.

https://www.apple.com/airtag/
mervinj7
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by mervinj7 »

jebmke wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:55 am
onourway wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:28 am
rob wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:24 am The privacy issues on this are astounding - an Android user would not know if someone else put an apple tracker on them unless they install the apple app....
Not true. An AirTag separated from its owners phone for ~8-24 hours will start beeping to alert people nearby of its presence.
The tag beeps or the phone beeps? Hopefully not the tag.
The tag beeps. My neighbors left their spare keys with us when they left for Hawaii. They were unaware that the tag was going to beep for the entire week they were away.
Luke Duke
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Luke Duke »

I would have used those keys to put the AirTag in their house.
retire2022
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by retire2022 »

It doesn’t work with Iphone SE2 (2020) :oops:
Topic Author
MandyLuna
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by MandyLuna »

I can only think of 3 locations that would be very helpful for me: an airtag attached to my iPhone, my keychain and my Kindle.

Am I correct that I have the iPhone, I could locate the other two?

If I have my laptop (Mac), I could locate any of the tree (or I would need one on my laptop)?

As a last resort, if I contacted Apple - could they locate them? (presuming I have some kind of numbers or something?)

Thank you
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walkabout
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by walkabout »

You should not need an AirTag for your iPhone. It is already locatable via Find My as it is. Your keychain and kindle are pretty normal candidates for an AirTag.

And, yes, if you have an iPhone, you can locate your items that have an AirTag. If you are nearby, the iPhone can actively, and pretty precisely, locate your AirTagged items. If you left one of your AirTagged items behind somewhere (eg you left your kindle in the restaurant where you had lunch), your iPhone can tell you the last place that your iPhone was close to your kindle/AirTag.

If you also lost your iPhone (or broke it or the battery died) (after you misplaced your kindle), you can use your iCloud account (log into iCloud.com with your Apple ID via a web browser) to find the last place that your iPhone was close to your kindle/AirTag.

If you lost your iPhone, you can also probably/maybe locate it by logging into iCloud.com (via a web browser) with your Apple ID.
onourway
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by onourway »

mervinj7 wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:21 am The tag beeps. My neighbors left their spare keys with us when they left for Hawaii. They were unaware that the tag was going to beep for the entire week they were away.
Yeah, I understand why they had to do this, but it pretty much ruins these as anything useful for us. Anything we might want to track with them is inevitably going to be out of range of our devices (ie. left at home) fairly frequently (while other members of the household are still there).
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by jebmke »

onourway wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:00 pm
mervinj7 wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:21 am The tag beeps. My neighbors left their spare keys with us when they left for Hawaii. They were unaware that the tag was going to beep for the entire week they were away.
Yeah, I understand why they had to do this, but it pretty much ruins these as anything useful for us. Anything we might want to track with them is inevitably going to be out of range of our devices (ie. left at home) fairly frequently (while other members of the household are still there).
I have a relative who has a habit of setting her phone down and then forgetting it when she walks off (like at a checkout at the pharmacy). I can see how this might help her if she puts it on her key ring; it would beep as soon as she stepped far enough away and remind her to go right back and take her phone. Other than that, I also don't see this as much help.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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walkabout
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by walkabout »

The beeping should only happen if an AirTag has been out of touch with your iPhone for some time (I’ve read 3 days) and the AirTag is moved (or is moving). So, if you leave an AirTagged item at home while on vacation and that item is not moved, the AirTag should not beep.

Also …
retire2022 wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:30 am It doesn’t work with Iphone SE2 (2020) :oops:
AirTags work fine with iPhones earlier than the iPhone 11. The difference is that earlier iPhones don’t have the UW chip that allows for precision locating. That is, you will still be able to see the last reported location of the AirTag, an older iPhone just won’t be able to give you an arrow pointing you towards the lost AirTag and the hot/cold-type guidance.
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by jebmke »

walkabout wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:31 pm The beeping should only happen if an AirTag has been out of touch with your iPhone for some time (I’ve read 3 days) and the AirTag is moved (or is moving).
Well, there goes my one application. :twisted:
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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walkabout
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by walkabout »

jebmke wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:35 pm
walkabout wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:31 pm The beeping should only happen if an AirTag has been out of touch with your iPhone for some time (I’ve read 3 days) and the AirTag is moved (or is moving).
Well, there goes my one application. :twisted:
I wonder if this would work … ?

An iPhone can hive give a notification if an AirTagged item is left behind (configurable per AirTag). I wonder if the notification would happen if the iPhone were left behind? That is, the separation happened because the AirTag moved but the iPhone didn’t? Assuming one has an Apple Watch (a reasonable enough assumption if one has an iPhone and some AirTags), it could receive the notification from the iPhone, thus alerting that the iPhone was left behind. If the Apple Watch is non-cellular, there is a limited distance that it be from the iPhone and still receive the notification. If the Apple Watch is cellular, it should be able to receive the notification almost anywhere.

Maybe if I’m bored I’ll try this as an experiment in the next couple of days.
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by mervinj7 »

walkabout wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:31 pm The beeping should only happen if an AirTag has been out of touch with your iPhone for some time (I’ve read 3 days) and the AirTag is moved (or is moving). So, if you leave an AirTagged item at home while on vacation and that item is not moved, the AirTag should not beep.
Thanks for the explanation. The neighbors tags beeped everytime someone took a key or coat off the hook. I'm assuming there motion counted as movement. So next time, if I leave the spare keys in a drawer then the AirTags shouldn't beep?
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by retire2022 »

walkabout wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:31 pm
retire2022 wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:30 am It doesn’t work with Iphone SE2 (2020) :oops:
AirTags work fine with iPhones earlier than the iPhone 11. The difference is that earlier iPhones don’t have the UW chip that allows for precision locating. That is, you will still be able to see the last reported location of the AirTag, an older iPhone just won’t be able to give you an arrow pointing you towards the lost AirTag and the hot/cold-type guidance.
The SE 2 is last year model the same chip as Iphone 11.

Why doesn’t this work?
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Big Mig »

retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:36 pm
The SE 2 is last year model the same chip as Iphone 11.

Why doesn’t this work?
There’s more than one chip in a phone. SE 2 has the same A13 chipset as the 11 but it doesn’t have the 11’s U1 ultra wideband chip. You need the U1 for precision finding.
retire2022
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by retire2022 »

Big Mig wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:49 pm
retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:36 pm
The SE 2 is last year model the same chip as Iphone 11.

Why doesn’t this work?
There’s more than one chip in a phone. SE 2 has the same A13 chipset as the 11 but it doesn’t have the 11’s U1 ultra wideband chip. You need the U1 for precision finding.
ah thank you
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walkabout
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by walkabout »

mervinj7 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:18 pm
walkabout wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:31 pm The beeping should only happen if an AirTag has been out of touch with your iPhone for some time (I’ve read 3 days) and the AirTag is moved (or is moving). So, if you leave an AirTagged item at home while on vacation and that item is not moved, the AirTag should not beep.
Thanks for the explanation. The neighbors tags beeped everytime someone took a key or coat off the hook. I'm assuming there motion counted as movement. So next time, if I leave the spare keys in a drawer then the AirTags shouldn't beep?
I think that should be true. However, if the drawer is opened and closed, that might be enough motion to trigger the beep.
retire2022
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by retire2022 »

retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:13 pm
Big Mig wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:49 pm
retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:36 pm
The SE 2 is last year model the same chip as Iphone 11.

Why doesn’t this work?
There’s more than one chip in a phone. SE 2 has the same A13 chipset as the 11 but it doesn’t have the 11’s U1 ultra wideband chip. You need the U1 for precision finding.
ah thank you
Bump!

I went to Apple store at World Trade Center, Apple customer service representative said the AirTag does work now with Apple SE 2 (2020).

He checked it against his compatible spec list and showed me.

Could someone opine and confirm this is the case? That is the iphone SE2 2020 will work with AirTag?
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Katietsu »

retire2022 wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 12:20 pm
retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:13 pm
Big Mig wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:49 pm
retire2022 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 3:36 pm
The SE 2 is last year model the same chip as Iphone 11.

Why doesn’t this work?
There’s more than one chip in a phone. SE 2 has the same A13 chipset as the 11 but it doesn’t have the 11’s U1 ultra wideband chip. You need the U1 for precision finding.
ah thank you
Bump!

I went to Apple store at World Trade Center, Apple customer service representative said the AirTag does work now with Apple SE 2 (2020).

He checked it against his compatible spec list and showed me.

Could someone opine and confirm this is the case? That is the iphone SE2 2020 will work with AirTag?
My spouse has used an Airtag with an iPhone SE2 for about a year. I am not aware that there was ever a problem using an Airtag with the SE2. However, because the SE2 does not have ultra wideband technology, precision finding is not available on the SE2. Precision finding can point you in the direction of the Airtag like a compass and give a precise distance. My experience with the Airtag on an older phone is that it gives a more approximate location and distance. Once close, I use play sound as I do with the Tile Tracker. I have not tested the Tile Tracker against an Airtag on an older phone for use around the house. I might need to try that.
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by Doctor Rhythm »

Grasshopper wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:27 pm We have a Tile pro attached with a harness on our Leopard tortoise. Makes it easy to find her in the acre yard. Not sure how it would work if she left the yard to wander the ponderosa, but I have high hopes.
The awesomeness of this use case cannot be overstated.
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by stocknoob4111 »

Tiles requires users to have the Tiles app on their phones right? It isn't built into Android similar to how Airtag functionality is built into iOS. If so then it's of limited use, most Android users will not have the app installed.
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Re: AirTags or Tiles?

Post by retire2022 »

Hello all

As a follow-up regarding “AirTags” and a new problem with “Find My” app.

I brought a new Apple IPhone SE3 last October 2023 along with a box of four AirTags.

-discovered “AirTags” sometimes gives false separation signals. In other words, my AirTag on my wallet was in my pocket and “Find My” app indicated that my wallet was separated from me but was actually in my pocket.

This happened several times as I was riding in my car or on the bus and while walking.

-sharing my location with friend using her IPhone, sometimes I don’t see my friend’s location.

Nor does my friend see my location even though my location is turned on.

-An air tag on my pet, was not effective as I tried pinging it and could not hear it as the case muffled the sound.

Therefore the sound function only works in a quite environment.

Other than that it is not as effective as it should be.
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