Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

Post by nomel » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:14 PM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #28

andrepew wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What tracker is comparable in price? An AirTag is $30 with no other monthly costs. Genuinely asking, I would love to find a better solution.

A quick search on Amazon for 'gps tracker' will yield at least one option on the first page for $29.99. GSM for communications. Not as small as an AirTag, but 1.5 inches by 0.9 by 0.6 inches isn't exactly huge either. A legitimate point is that the battery life isn't great. But that's not too hard to solve, if you tolerate a little more space for a bigger battery. I'm sure there are even better options out there, tha…

Post by pinot » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:14 PM UTC

nomel wrote: post #40

andrepew wrote: post #6

Not hard for a non-technical person to remove the speaker. Housing pops right open with a small flathead screwdriver. Then you just remove the speaker's magnet, no desoldering or anything like that required. Took 5 minutes. I did it to one of mine to use it to track my bicycle if it ever gets stolen.

If the thief has an iPhone, they'll still be alerted that the tracker is following them. If they move their phone around on your bike, they'll be able to find it, within several inches, with the NFC identification feature that gives the last four digits of the owners phone number. Maybe Apple's campaign is working: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/26/apple-doe...

Post by jdminhbg » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:16 PM UTC

stefan_ wrote: post #48

ribosometronome wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple gets a lot of focus on it that other companies do not. Ex. Headlines often focus on Apple when revealing some of Foxconn's worst labor practices. But stories about Foxconn using child labor to build Alexa devices, and the person who blew the whistle on that being tortured and put in jail for revealing it, went fairly under the radar in comparison. It's definitely a good thin that unethical labor practices being…

Apple coopted every iPhone into a global surveillance network for the benefit of throwaway keychain tokens. That's why .

Post by TuringNYC » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:16 PM UTC

nomel wrote: post #51

rootusrootus wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search on Amazon for 'gps tracker' will yield at least one option on the first page for $29.99. GSM for communications. Not as small as an AirTag, but 1.5 inches by 0.9 by 0.6 inches isn't exactly huge either. A legitimate point is that the battery life isn't great. But that's not too hard to solve, if you tolerate a little more space for a bigger battery. I'm sure there are even better options out there, tha…

> A legitimate point is that the battery life isn't great. A big difference is that these GPS trackers broadcast their position continuously, wherever there is cell coverage. The AirTags only update their position when an Apple device (made after 2015) is within the relatively short bluetooth range of the tag.

Post by wyager » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:17 PM UTC

beambot wrote: post #27

kube-system wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love my AirTags because they actually have a functional tracking network. I've lost items outside the house with a Tile tracker attached and it proved to be entirely worthless for actually finding my stuff. They simply don't have a good network.

They need to switch over to Helium's LoRa network, which has vastly better coverage...