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Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

gizmodo.com

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Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#71

Post by errcorrectcode »

Anecdotal regional issue:

I had an AirTag on my AirPod Pro's case that was stolen. I immediately notified Austin's police (APD) as I could see where it was going. Unfortunately, due to understaffing of 100-200 police officers and detectives, most calls unrelated to imminent threats of injury or death aren't being handle for days or ever. So, it's open-season on packages and property because APD can't or won't do its job, even if you tell them where stolen property is located. As long as a crime is nonviolent or the threat of violence has passed (with the exception of rape), ATX has the security measures of a third-world country. I met a UT campus police officer who refuses to live in or bring his family to ATX because of the risks and de facto lawlessness.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#72

Post by antihero »

xoa wrote: post #24
post_break wrote: post #4

Taping them together tightly silences it. Airtags have to be the most nerfed product I've bought. Day one, they were fantastic. Then they lowered the beeping and rogue alerts to a threshold my wife gets them from my keys or wallet all the time. Then they just beep randomly. I regret buying them to be honest. Tile never really got harped on for stalking. The samsung trackers work just as well as Apple and don't have a…

I haven't experienced the same issues you describe in terms of random beeping or the like. But I do think one of the most curious and irritating missing pieces from AirTags is no sort of tie-in with Family Sharing or some sort of contacts whitelist. I saw one thing saying that was about privacy but that makes zero sense because Apple doesn't do the same thing elsewhere in "Find My" for people or devices. While it's c…

Yeah until they have family tie in I hardly see the point.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#73

Post by shiftpgdn »

errcorrectcode wrote: post #71

Anecdotal regional issue: I had an AirTag on my AirPod Pro's case that was stolen. I immediately notified Austin's police (APD) as I could see where it was going. Unfortunately, due to understaffing of 100-200 police officers and detectives, most calls unrelated to imminent threats of injury or death aren't being handle for days or ever. So, it's open-season on packages and property because APD can't or won't do its…

This is every major city right now, unfortunately.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#74

Post by gjs278 »

pajko wrote: post #30

So this is a failed product then. Too good for tracking because it can be abused. While the new version alerts the thieves in the intended use case. Should have been given a 10x-50x price tag right from the start, to make it less available and affordable for malicious activities.

No post body was provided.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#75

Post by barkerja »

rootusrootus wrote: post #8

I guess I don't get it. For the price of an AirTag, you can buy a more capable tracker with GPS and mobile data. And it won't be notifying the trackee that it's there. The AirTag seems like a downgrade.

I recently replaced my dog's collar -- which had GPS with LTE-M -- with an AirTag simply because it saves me money, I get about a ~year battery life and I find it's just as reliable.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#76

Post by errcorrectcode »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #73
errcorrectcode wrote: post #71

Anecdotal regional issue: I had an AirTag on my AirPod Pro's case that was stolen. I immediately notified Austin's police (APD) as I could see where it was going. Unfortunately, due to understaffing of 100-200 police officers and detectives, most calls unrelated to imminent threats of injury or death aren't being handle for days or ever. So, it's open-season on packages and property because APD can't or won't do its…

This is every major city right now, unfortunately.

Which? Where?

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#77

Post by endisneigh »

legostormtroopr wrote: post #67
phkahler wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Samsung trackers do not work nearly as well imo. Well, Apple Airtags use the massive network of iPhones to report the location of nearby airtags to Apple.

Quoted post unavailable.

Don’t know why they’re being downvoted when your point is irrelevant - the Samsung tracker only uses Samsung Galaxy devices specifically for the network

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#78

Post by buran77 »

legostormtroopr wrote: post #67
phkahler wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Samsung trackers do not work nearly as well imo. Well, Apple Airtags use the massive network of iPhones to report the location of nearby airtags to Apple.

Quoted post unavailable.

Android phones don't intrinsically track tags, they need software specifically installed for this. So almost none of those Android phones can be used to track anything. On the other hand all newer iPhones can track any AirTag out of the box, in what's probably the single biggest tracking network in the world.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#80

Post by endisneigh »

Spooky23 wrote: post #39
endisneigh wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung trackers do not work nearly as well imo. Or tile for that matter. I’ve tried most of them and AirTags are clearly on another level for better or worse I do think AirTags should have a button like the Samsung ones, tho.

They work great, it’s just the network effects are smaller for Samsung. For people at risk, it is meaningless. Your crazy stalker will just drive around locations and confirm where you are remotely. The whole controversy is both real and bullshit. It is very trivial for people to get tracking devices for modest amounts of money in high threat scenarios. I think the issue with AirTags is the less malevolent, but creep…

They work ok, but it’s inferior to AirTags specifically because the network effects are (much) smaller.

If you’re using it to find stuff you want the largest possible network

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