Tag: AirTag

Categories
Mobile Syrup

AirTag helps recover stolen E-bike from thief’s apartment

The AirTag, Apple’s small tracking device, has proven to be useful for finding lost items but also for recovering stolen ones. Just last week, we reported a story where a San Antonio man used his AirTag to track a stolen truck.

Now, A family in California has used the AirTag to track down their $3,000 USD (about $4,065 CAD) e-bike that was stolen in March and confronted the thief at his apartment.

Johnny Ehrman of Orange County relied on her e-bike for daily transportation to work, school, and other places. She was devastated when she discovered that her e-bike was stolen. “I drive like 12 miles a day,” Ehrman told Fox 11 LA (via AppleInsider). “I was sobbing outside my workplace. I actually had some of my coworkers be like, What’s happening? Where is your bike?”

Fortunately, Ehrman had an AirTag attached to her bike. The $39 tracker uses ultra-wideband technology to share its location, which can be seen on the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad. After reporting the theft to the police, Ehrman and her family used the Find My app on their iPhone to locate the AirTag and the e-bike at an apartment near their home.

David Ehrman, Johnny’s father, decided to take matters into his own hands and went to the apartment to retrieve the e-bike. “I yelled, ‘Dude I am grabbing my daughters bike,’ boom and I hightailed right out of there,” David said. “The dude just stood there with the look on his face like I’ve never seen anyone with that look.”

“I think the look was shock.” he added “Like ‘How did you get my location?’”

It’s worth noting that it is important to wait for the police in such matters. While AirTag can be an effective tool for locating stolen items, it is crucial to exercise caution and leave any confrontations to the professionals. While this confrontation did not get heated, last week’s stolen truck confrontation turned deadly.

Source: Fox 11 LA Via: AppleInsider

Categories
Mobile Syrup

San Antonio man uses AirTag to track stolen truck, confrontation turns deadly

Apple’s AirTag was pivotal in a case of car theft recovery in the U.S this past week.

The $39 CAD tracker uses ultra-wideband technology to share its location, which can be seen on the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad. This past week, a San Antonio, Texas resident whose truck was stolen decided to take the matter of retrieving his vehicle into his own hands.

As reported by MySanAntonio, Via: 9to5Mac, the person’s truck was stolen from his Northside home on Wednesday, March 29th. Fortunately, there was an AirTag inside the car. Using the location of this AirTag, he was able to track down his truck, which was found parked in a shopping center across town.

According to the report, the person called the police to report that his truck had been stolen but did not wait for the police’s assistance. He tracked down the vehicle and confronted the car thief. The police say that upon confronting the thief, some sort of disagreement ensued, and the situation escalated quickly. Police say that at this point, the details become a bit unclear, but according to the car theft victim, he believed the suspected car thief was armed with a gun, leading to a deadly firefight.

The suspected car thief was shot and pronounced dead, and police say they could not confirm if more than one weapon was found at the scene. The car theft victim reportedly stayed at the scene of the shooting, complied with police, and was taken into custody for questioning. The shooter is not expected to face charges, according to a San Antonio Police department spokesperson Nick Soliz, but an investigation is still ongoing.

This case serves as a reminder to the public that it is important to wait for the police in such matters. “Let us go with you. We have training,” said Soliz. While AirTag can be an effective tool for locating stolen items, it is crucial to exercise caution and leave any confrontations to the professionals.

Source: MySanAntonio, Via: 9to5Mac

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Tile threatens $1 million fine for doing crimes with Bluetooth trackers

Bluetooth tracker maker Tile wants to tamp down on people using trackers for crimes like stalking by threatening to slap users with a $1 million USD fine. The fine was announced as part of a new program that will also ask users to verify their identity with a government ID and allow Tile to share information with law enforcement.

Bluetooth tracking devices fell under increased scrutiny after Apple joined the game with its AirTag tracker. While the devices were intended for uses — like keeping track of important items like keys or wallets, or as anti-theft devices — trackers gained a more nefarious reputation as tools used by stalkers and thieves.

Plenty of reports have surfaced about people using AirTags to stalk people. There were also several vehicle thefts, including in Toronto, that involved slipping an AirTag or other Bluetooth tracker onto a car so thieves could find it later.

Thanks to the scrutiny, Apple and other tracker companies like Tile rushed out new anti-stalking features that enable victims to find unwanted trackers. The problem with that is that those tools can also help thieves spot trackers on stolen goods, effectively killing trackers’ anti-theft capabilities. Tile’s solution is a new ‘Anti-Theft Mode’ that hides it from the ‘Scan and Secure‘ anti-stalking feature, but only if users verify their ID and agree to the fine.

“All Tile customers now have the option to make their devices invisible to Scan and Secure, meaning thieves will not be able to misuse our stalking prevention features to locate and disable a Tile device after stealing your valuables,” Chris Hulls explained in a blog post shared on Medium. Hulls is the founder and CEO of Life360, the company that owns Tile.

Hulls goes on to detail that Tile users need to manually opt-in to the feature and when they do so, they must:

  1. “Verify their real identity with a government-issued ID”
  2. “Allow [Tile] to partner and share this information with law enforcement (even without a subpoena if stalking is suspected)”
  3. “Agree to pay a $1 million penalty if they are convicted in a court of law to have used Tile in a criminal manner”

Maybe it’s just me, but that seems like a pretty wild set of conditions just to use a Tile tracker in a specific way. Sure, you don’t need to do any of this, but even so, it seems shady. Moreso considering Life360’s history — the company offered a family-safety app that let people track the location of family members and got caught selling the precise location data of users of that app in late 2021 and in 2022 promised to switch to selling aggregate location data instead.

Elsewhere in the blog post, Hulls stresses that those who are “part of the 99.99% of our customers who follow the law” have nothing to worry about. “If you’re a criminal, we’ll do our best to make sure you feel the full weight of the law and face serious financial consequences if you misuse our products.”

To be fair to Hulls, he also dedicated a large amount of the blog post to dissecting the stalking problem and examining how solutions from Tile and Apple have worked (or failed) so far. It’s all very informative, though it doesn’t lead me to the conclusion that I should willingly hand over more of my data to Tile (I do, however, agree about increasing penalties for stalking since it’s a pervasive problem not limited to users of Bluetooth trackers).

Source: Tile Via: Android Police

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Local news story, AirTag, help Ontario woman recover lost luggage

There’s no denying how helpful Apple’s AirTags can be.

The tracker from Apple is small, relatively affordable, and helps keep track of everything from their keys to their pets. People have also found it helpful to toss a tracker in their luggage when travelling.

Janet Greaves had the same idea. The Ontario woman packed an AirTag in her luggage destined for Cuba. Unfortunately, Greaves didn’t get her luggage at her destination; her bag never left Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Travelling with Sunwing, Greaves was notified she’d get her bag when she returned, CTV News reports. The bag contained items worth approximately $4,000.

The promised return never happened. The airline told her the bag was in a “secure area” that couldn’t be retrieved.

According to posts Greaves shared on Twitter, she couldn’t locate the bag on her return, which remained at Pearson for 17 days. She communicated with the airline constantly, even offering to give them access to her phone to track the AirTag located in her luggage.

After sharing her story with CTV News, Greaves was reunited with her bag on January 14th.

Source: Janet Greaves/ Twitter Via: CTV News 

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Does tracking a dog with Apple’s AirTag actually work?

Dog owners all have one thing in common — they all really love their dogs. I’ve had my dog, Sniper since I was in high school. Despite my mother’s misgivings, I got him as a puppy, and now he’s approaching nine years old. It’s wild how time flies. He’s a bulldog-American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a single, distinctive white paw.

To a dog owner, nothing is worse than losing their best friend. When Sniper was younger, he would run off the moment he got off-leash, sparking some heart-racing moments trying to get the little sprinter back. As Sniper has gotten older, calmer, and more obedient, him running off has become less of a concern. But, still, a fear that I’m sure every dog parent has no matter their age.

When Apple released AirTags last year, I considered it the perfect product to attach to Sniper’s harness to help to keep track of him in case he ever ran off. This article looks at my personal experience of using an AirTag to keep tabs on my furry best friend.

The reason I went with an AirTag

There are three main reasons I went with an AirTag to track my dog: affordability, accessibility and simplicity. A quick Google or Amazon search will pull up endless results of GPS trackers for pets. However, many of these results cost hundreds of dollars, require a subscription, or rely on LTE service.

This leads to AirTags’ first selling point, affordability. A single AirTag is $39 from Apple, while a four-pack is $129. The AirTag uses Apple’s ‘Find My’ network to avoid needing a subscription fee or another monthly mobility bill. Apple’s Find My network leverages encrypted low-powered Bluetooth pings with other Apple devices to share an AirTags’ location. While an AirTag and Apple’s Find My network will not be responsive as a more expensive GPS tracker, the likelihood of Sniper running away is incredibly small for me. Therefore, the AirTag is there for a worst-case scenario. Add a durable AirTag holder like the Belkin Secure Holder for $15.95, and you have a small, reasonably inexpensive item tracker with no subscription fee.

The second benefit is accessibility. Getting an AirTag is incredibly easy. You can pick up an AirTag at your local Apple Store, order them on apple.ca, or have one Prime Shipped from amazon.ca. Compare this to a GPS tracker, which you’ll want to research and then wait to arrive. All the while, Apple and Amazon have decent return policies if the AirTag doesn’t quite meet your needs.

Lastly, AirTags are simple. Simple to set up and simple to use. Once you unpackage an AirTag, a prompt appears on your iPhone asking if you’d like to pair it to the AirTag. Once paired, The AirTag appears under the ‘Items’ tab in the ‘Find My’ app. From the Find My app, you can ping the AirTag, get the AirTags location, and mark the AirTag as lost. The Find My app even offers widgets on macOS and iOS.

The Positives

The ultimate value that the AirTag gives me is some degree of peace of mind. Knowing that if something happens where Sniper runs off, I have dramatically increased my chances of being able to find him.

The AirTag makes this possible in a few different ways. First, there’s the location presented in the Find My app. Assuming Sniper runs into another human with an iPhone, I’ll have his updated physical location pretty quickly. Second, while Sniper has a traditional dog tag with his name and my phone number on it, someone with an iPhone or the Tracker Detect app on Android can identify the AirTag and obtain my contact information. This is made even easier once the AirTag is marked as lost in the Find My app.

To mark an AirTag as lost:
1. Launch the Find My app on iOS or macOS
2. Tap/click ‘Items’
3. Select your pet
4. Tap/click ‘Enable’ under Lost Mode
5. Tap/click ‘Continue’
6. Type in your phone number or select ‘Use an email address’
7. Tap/click ‘Next’
8. Tap/click ‘Activate’

AirTags also features a speaker and U1 chip. The speaker allows for a noise to be played from the AirTag, hopefully enabling you to find your dog when they’re hiding in some tall grass or just out of sight. The U1 chip allows for a feature called precision finding, where iPhone 11 and above can give you the direction and approximate distance of the AirTag.

To play a sound or use precision finding on an iPhone:
1. Launch the Find My app
2. Tap ‘Items’
3. Select your pet
4. Tap ‘Play Sound’ or ‘Find’

Hardware-wise, the AirTag seems built to handle a dog’s life. They’re splash-, water-, and dust resistant for a maximum depth of one metre for up to thirty minutes. AirTags are relatively durable, especially when paired with the proper AirTag holder. They also feature a replaceable CR2032 coin battery that lasts for around a year.

The Negatives

Of course, the AirTag isn’t perfect, either. Right off the bat, if your dog has a habit of running away often or you live in a very rural setting, you may want to consider a proper GPS tracker designed for pets. AirTags are ideal for more urban environments where there are plenty of iPhones to run into.

The speaker of the AirTag is all right at best. While it can be handy to try to listen for the AirTag when your pet is out of sight, it’s not the strongest of noises meaning it can be a struggle to hear while outside.

AirTag precision finding also doesn’t love moving objects. While Precision Finding still provides you with an approximate distance, it won’t give you a directional arrow while the AirTag is moving. Not the best while tracking a speedy dog.

AirTags have also had a lot of privacy concerns placed around them recently due to unwanted tracking. As a result, when your pet spends a lot of time around another person, they may get alerted that an AirTag is following them around. I had this happen recently when I went on vacation, and my brother looked after Sniper. I pre-warned him that he may get an “unknown item” alert on his iPhone and not to worry about it. The AirTag did just what it was supposed to do. It reported Sniper’s location while I was out of the Province. While my brother did get those potential unauthorized tracking alerts.

Final Thoughts

The AirTag isn’t the perfect pet tracker. However, it is affordable and fairly reliable if you want something to provide a little more peace of mind. Thankfully, I’ve never had to use the AirTag outside of testing it and frankly, I never want to have to. Losing a beloved pet is an experience no pet owner wants to go through. However, if you ever do, I hope an AirTag can help you find them.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple AirTag reveals Florida airline worker stole thousands of dollars of luggage

Apple’s AirTag is a great Bluetooth tracking device, but it can also be used for nefarious purposes, including car theft.

However, in a welcome change of pace, this story is far more positive.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has announced that it used AirTag location data to uncover an airline worker that stole thousands of dollars worth of passenger luggage.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a traveller reported that their AirTag-tracked suitcase with contents worth more than $1,600 USD (roughly $2,054 CAD) didn’t make it to its destination. Another traveller from the same airport reported that their checked bag was missing more than $15,000 USD (about $19,265 CAD) worth of jewelry when they picked it up at their destination.

The Sheriff’s Office then used the airport’s database of employees to locate who lived near where the first victim’s suitcase was located, thanks to the AirTag inside it. This led to the arrest of 19-year-old Giovanni De Luca, an airline subcontractor at Flordia’s Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport.

De Luca later admitted to removing the AirTag from the first victim’ suitcase, though the Bluetooth tracking device still pinged its location before he was able to disable it. While the $15,000 of jewelry has been recovered, the $1,600 worth of items have not been found.

De Luca has been charged with two counts of grand theft.

Since the AirTag’s release, Apple has added several new features to the Bluetooth tracker, including unwanted tracking alerts, an Android detector app and a louder alert sound.

For more on Apple’s AirTag, check out this story.

Source: Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Via: 9to5Mac

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Toronto man uses Apple AirTag to find his Range Rover after vehicle theft

A man from Toronto used Apple’s AirTag tracker to find his Range Rover, following a theft. This occured after another vehicle was stolen from the same owner.

Apple’s Bluetooth tracking device can be handy for finding a misplaced Apple TV remote or wallet. However, Apple’s AirTag can alsobe used to track larger objects like vehicles. That’s exactly what happened to Torontonian Lorne (surname has been omitted by CP24).

Earlier this year, Lorne’s Range Rover was stolen in broad daylight outside of his own home. Personal effects such as phones, wallets, etc. were thrown out of the vehicle prior to it being stolen. Additionally, the tracking system inside the car, provided by the manufacturer, was disabled. The vehicle was never recovered.

Fast-forward a month and Lorne purchased the same model of vehicle. However, rather than use the provided tracking system, they set up three Apple AirTags in case of another theft. One was placed in the glove box, another under his back seat, and the third in the spare tire in the trunk.

The next morning Lorne was woken up to the news that his vehicle was stolen yet again. Using the Find My app, Lorne was able to track the AirTags and their location. All three were found to be stationed near Manville and Comsock roads in Scarborough. The location was listed as a metal recycling plant.

Later that day, Lorne drove to the location and called the police. With no response, he drove to the 41 Division station and issued a report. Police were eventually able to recover his Range Rover. In the process, the police were also able to recover nine other vehicles. While police have not been able to elaborate on the circumstances of the recovery, Lorne expects to get his vehicle back soon.

Apple’s AirTags can be a good safety net in the event of a theft. However, not every story is guaranteed to end like Lorne’s. “It’s not foolproof,” Lorne said.

Though Apple’s AirTag is designed to help users track their keys, backpacks, luggage and pretty much anything they’re attached to, they can also be used for more nefarious tracking purposes. Since the tracking devices’ release, Apple has released several updates to the AirTag that aim to fix these issues, including notifying people if they’re carrying an AirTag that doesn’t belong to them.

Source: CP24

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Strong AirTag sales indicate Apple could be working on 2nd-gen Bluetooth tracker

Apple might be working on a 2nd-gen AirTag, according to often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo says that AirTag shipments have grown “gradually” over the past year, which could result in Apple releasing a new version of the Bluetooth tracker.

On Twitter (seen above), Kuo said that AirTag shipments have hit 20 million and 35 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Apple’s AirTag is designed to help users track their keys, backpacks, luggage and pretty much anything they’re attached to, which has also led to nefarious use cases. Since the tracking devices’ release, Apple has released several updates to the AirTag that aim to fix these issues, including notifying people if they’re carrying an AirTag that doesn’t belong to them. Apple also launched an Android app to identify lost AirTags.

It’s unclear what additional features a next-gen AirTag might offer, but the device’s anti-stalking features will likely be expanded alongside other functionality like a louder built-in speaker, better range and improved battery life.

For more on Apple’s AirTag, check out our in-depth look at the device.

Source: @mingchikuo Via: 9to5Mac

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nomad case for Siri Remote includes AirTag pocket, adding the ability to track device

Nomad is releasing a Leather Cover for the 2021 Siri Remote. This cover includes a pocket designed for an AirTag, adding the ability for users to track the rather small remote.

In 2021, Apple launched the new Siri Remote for Apple TV. The new remote includes a revamped design but as many have pointed out, it lacks a U1 chip.

Nomad’s case for the 2021 Siri Remote effectively enables users to track the device in the event it’s lost in another room or is misplaced in the couch cushions. However, it does rely on the use of an AirTag and the Find My app. The official Nomad Leather Cover description reads:

“Leather Cover elevates the look and feel of your Siri Remote. Constructed with a hidden inner pocket for your AirTag, Leather Cover allows you to easily track your Remote using the Find My App.“

Nomad’s Leather Cover for Siri Remote is made of Horween leather, sourced from the U.S. It features a microfibre interior lining and a hidden AirTag Pocket. This allows for the discreet use of an AirTag.

Currently, the cover is available in an Ashland Brown colour. On its website, Nomad lists the Siri Remote cover for $39.95 USD (roughly $50.45 CAD).

Image credit: Nomad

Via: 9to5Mac

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Apple provides temporary solution to users receiving phantom AirTag privacy alerts

AirTag users have begun to report a new phenomenon commonly referred to as “phantom” AirTag alerts. While a permanent solution to the issue has not been sound, Apple is aware of the problem and is providing a potential fix.

Apple’s AirTags have an alert system built into iOS to notify users when someone else’s AirTag is nearby. This is in place as a way for Apple to provide anti-stalking measures, maintaining safety and privacy. However, some users claim iOS is alerting them when an AirTag is not in their path.

Reports first began surfacing from the Wall Street Journal. “In recent weeks, some iPhone users have begun receiving alerts, often in the middle of the night.” The Find My app provides a notification saying “AirTag detected near you” with a proximity map of its location. However, “ phantom AirTag alerts share a similar pattern: straight red lines radiating out from the user’s location,” the report claims. If these patterns were true, the AirTag would be in motion, crossing otherwise unreachable zones.

It’s still unknown how many users are being affected by this bug. However, Apple has confirmed that the company knows the AirTag alert issue is affecting users and is looking into it. A spokesperson of Apple provided a statement and outlined a temporary solution.

“Such alerts could have resulted from an iPhone receiving area Wi-Fi signals that temporarily confused its location services,” the report reads. For anyone being affected by the bug, Apple suggests navigating to ‘Settings’ then ‘Privacy,” and finally ‘Location Services.’ Once in the menu, toggle the switch off and on while on Wi-Fi. Apple also states that AirTags in more populated areas could trigger these alerts.

While far from a permanent solution, this may alleviate unwanted notifications caused by the Find My app on iOS. Apple has been refining the AirTag user experience, offering many anti-stalking measures. While effective in various ways, the Find My app needs more attention as it does appear to be the root of the issue.

Source: 9to5Mac