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-   -   Alternatives to AirTags for Android users? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/2085994-alternatives-airtags-android-users.html)

TGarza Jul 13, 2022 9:01 pm


Originally Posted by StuckInYYZ (Post 34423877)
Also considering it for a few other items due to a spate of issues where these could be used (like car theft).

A friend was able to track and recover his stolen car using Air Tags. The big city police department told him to file a report in the citizens self service portal and provided no assistance when he said he could track the car.

StuckInYYZ Jul 13, 2022 9:04 pm


Originally Posted by TGarza (Post 34423915)
A friend was able to track and recover his stolen car using Air Tags. The big city police department told him to file a report in the citizens self service portal and provided no assistance when he said he could track the car.

We had a spate of carjackings.... one had airtags in them (and I guess the thief had an iphone or it was near somewhere where the airtag could report it). The cops helped recover 9 cars that day.

GUWonder Jul 13, 2022 10:26 pm


Originally Posted by lwildernorva (Post 34423642)
I bought a Tile Pro today to put in a checked golf bag for a trip to the UK in August. I'm figuring that at a minimum, I'll learn whether the bag makes my flights from JFK to LHR and then LHR to Edinburgh. Although I understand that Tile's crowd sourcing is not as comprehensive as Apple's for the Air Tags (with all the good and bad that accompanies that), the best case scenario is that I learn where my bag has been misdirected before my airline does.

We'll see.

Why not do both, TilePro+AirTag in the golf bag?

lwildernorva Jul 15, 2022 3:47 pm


Originally Posted by GUWonder (Post 34424050)
Why not do both, TilePro+AirTag in the golf bag?

I'm not part of the Apple universe although that would be the most reliable combination.

Loren Pechtel Jul 15, 2022 8:56 pm


Originally Posted by GUWonder (Post 34424050)
Why not do both, TilePro+AirTag in the golf bag?

That's only good for the Apple crowd.

USA_flyer Jul 17, 2022 10:13 am

Ok. This tech could be really useful in monitoring our daughter on her mile walk home from school.

Could we install Tile on her android cell (or buy a new cell if it won't install) and put a tile in her backpack. Could myself and my wife track the Tile on our phones?

TGarza Jul 17, 2022 11:13 am


Originally Posted by USA_flyer (Post 34433654)
Could we install Tile on her android cell (or buy a new cell if it won't install) and put a tile in her backpack. Could myself and my wife track the Tile on our phones?

Yes and there are apps to track her without buying a tile.Sharing tile with other users

USA_flyer Jul 17, 2022 11:16 am


Originally Posted by TGarza (Post 34433796)
Yes and there are apps to track her without buying a tile.Sharing tile with other users

useful.

Wife is talking about the gizmo. Has rubbish reviews though.

Need Jul 17, 2022 1:13 pm


Originally Posted by USA_flyer (Post 34433654)
Ok. This tech could be really useful in monitoring our daughter on her mile walk home from school.

Could we install Tile on her android cell (or buy a new cell if it won't install) and put a tile in her backpack. Could myself and my wife track the Tile on our phones?

You don't need any tile or air tag if you want to track someone with a phone. If she has an android phone, turn on location and you could type in google search "find my phone", log into the google account with the phone, and you will see the real time location of the phone.

If you are tracking iPhone, just use "find my iPhone".

StuckInYYZ Jul 17, 2022 5:12 pm


Originally Posted by Need (Post 34434092)
You don't need any tile or air tag if you want to track someone with a phone. If she has an android phone, turn on location and you could type in google search "find my phone", log into the google account with the phone, and you will see the real time location of the phone.

If you are tracking iPhone, just use "find my iPhone".

I think it depends on how young the kids are. If they're really young and I could have a backup locator, I would get one just for piece of mind. Separate "network" just in case.

lwildernorva Jul 18, 2022 6:56 pm

Got my Tiles at the end of last week and testing them through my girlfriend who is in Nevada on a business trip. Checked the app, and it reports that the bag is in the city where she's staying although the nearest app user--I intentionally told her not to download the app so the results wouldn't be skewed--was at a local store she visited after arrival as the last known location is along the street that fronts the store.

Of course, the accuracy of the results still depends on the number of nearby Tile users, but now I'm really convinced that even Air Tag users might consider getting a Tile to corroborate the location reporting from the Air Tags.

Need Jul 20, 2022 7:01 am


Originally Posted by lwildernorva (Post 34437748)
Got my Tiles at the end of last week and testing them through my girlfriend who is in Nevada on a business trip. Checked the app, and it reports that the bag is in the city where she's staying although the nearest app user--I intentionally told her not to download the app so the results wouldn't be skewed--was at a local store she visited after arrival as the last known location is along the street that fronts the store.

I wonder if it was picked up by another Tile user or from Amazon sidewalk? Tile app probably doesn't tell you the source of the discovery right? Interesting to see if the Tile get picked up again later on your gf trip or that would be the only ping you get.

lwildernorva Jul 20, 2022 8:11 am


Originally Posted by Need (Post 34441858)
I wonder if it was picked up by another Tile user or from Amazon sidewalk? Tile app probably doesn't tell you the source of the discovery right? Interesting to see if the Tile get picked up again later on your gf trip or that would be the only ping you get.

She left for southern California this morning out of Reno with a connection in Oakland. She just arrived in Oakland. The app showed both that she was at the airports in Reno and Oakland and also gave an interim location in Alpine County, California, which means someone else on the plane must have been using the app. TBH, this is all the information I could have hoped for from the use of the Tile and its app.

And yes, no way (at least for the average person) to track the source of the information. Those three location pings could be from the same person or from multiple sources. What is important to me is that with someone who is keeping me informed about her progress on the route, I have verification that the app works in a general way. Given that it is likely that travelers compose a significant percentage of Tile and Air Tag users, it's probable that a bag could be traced through multiple airports in real time.

elCheapoDeluxe Jul 20, 2022 12:24 pm


Originally Posted by StuckInYYZ (Post 34423877)
If the various manufacturers would like more exposure, I'd recommend (to them) to create some beacon hardware.... just to place in specific places like airport luggage pick up areas and possibly bus/train depots. They would connect to wired endpoints near strategic places so they could help with tracking luggage.

I was thinking the same thing. It could be just a cheap cell phone with no SIM, connected to wifi, with one strapped strategically around the baggage system in airports. Place one in the airport lost-and-found, too :)

According to the tile blog, the tiles do with through the cabin floor. Only takes one tile user in a plane to know that your bag made it to the right city after landing. Take it with your own grain of salt.
https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/blo...lights-luggage

StuckInYYZ Jul 20, 2022 2:10 pm


Originally Posted by elCheapoDeluxe (Post 34442843)
I was thinking the same thing. It could be just a cheap cell phone with no SIM, connected to wifi, with one strapped strategically around the baggage system in airports. Place one in the airport lost-and-found, too :)

The problem with wifi is that it's unlikely to work in the bowels of the airport. Too much concrete and other forms of interference. That's why I suggested a wired connection.... there should be an office near the entries/exits of the luggage handling area. So several beacons should be attachable (I would refrain from putting an iphone anywhere... not doubting the airport staff, but there are sticky fingers there) near the exit points of the luggage... add in a few at the exit of the arrivals area.... some where the luggage leaves to go to the planes and where it comes in if different... one at the check-in point. If you've got at least that much covered, you're good. More (like at various points along the conveyor belt sorting the luggage or scattered in the arrivals areas) even better. It'd likely help with the current situation.


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