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Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

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

#161

Post by orhmeh09 »

dheera wrote: post #92
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…

Same, I had $4K of camera equipment stolen in the Bay Area and police just closed the case. I wouldn't be surprised if the next 10 car smashings were the same crooks because the police department won't do its job. They keep letting the crooks go, and we wonder why there are so many thefts in SF these days. Well maybe don't let the crooks go! That said though I wonder if AirPods are having success in other countries w…

Be careful with creating traps — booby traps are illegal in most jurisdictions.

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

#163

Post by asimilator »

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…

> I immediately notified Austin's police (APD) as I could see where it was going.

Was the tracking good enough to reasonably narrow it down to a single person?

I think people expect too much of the police with a lot of these tracking devices/services. I don't have any experience with AirTags, but I know Apple's Find My can narrow down the location of e.g. a lost phone to a street corner. But if you're in a city there's a decent chance that there's more than one person on that street corner. The police can't/shouldn't stop everyone there and search them. Tracking a stolen item to a house is even harder (need a warrant). And an apartment is probably impossible because I doubt the tracking is good enough to narrow it down to a particular unit.

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

#164

Post by numpad0 »

willcipriano wrote: post #43
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.

This is a place for a generic open protocol. To have a real internet of things we need some kind of DNS but for objects.

How is it going to be monetized is a problem. The cost is basically negligible but not zero.

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

#165

Post by holistio »

thebean11 wrote: post #112
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…

> ATX has the security measures of a third-world country That's a pretty dramatic way to describe police not wanting to spend resources to get your $200 headphones back..

What's the threshold over which you believe crime is no longer okay?

AirPods Max? Only $549. A MacBook? Only $2000. A car? Only $20000.

Does someone have to burn my house down for it to be worthwhile for the police?

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

#166

Post by r00fus »

willcipriano wrote: post #43
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.

This is a place for a generic open protocol. To have a real internet of things we need some kind of DNS but for objects.

You expect Apple do make an open protocol? This is the role of a government to mandate standards for their jurisdictions.

Of course, regulation is a bad word for a good number of the electorate so this will never happen.

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

#167

Post by smoldesu »

dylan604 wrote: post #151
smoldesu wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...but didn't open the protocol to third parties. In other words, it's as "open" as the lightning connector is: "pay us $x for every product you ship, and we won't sue you for using it" Apple's marketing must train in the Matrix for how good they are at dodging bullets...

at the same time, you are using the Apple network/infrastructure of iDevices that track that item for you. Every Apple device that passes your lost product helps find your product. Should they be doing that for free? Serious question.

Apple is free to charge whatever they want for the use of their servers and infrastructure, and while it's not a good look, they're also welcome to charge again for the use of their intellectual property. However, that's not a reason that third-parties shouldn't be able to access that data. If I've got a Google Pixel in my pocket, the cost is marginal for me to send an API request to Apple's servers and use Find My elsewhere. Hell, Apple could force third-party devices to enable Bluetooth pinging in exchange for their use of the Find My network. It's apparently been lucrative enough on iPhone, I see no reasons besides "muh walled garden" that they shouldn't extend the functionality to other users.

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

#168

Post by up6w6 »

Or you can load your own firmware to any other embedded device with Bluetooth and also make it totally undetectable from iPhones by changing keys frequently and making it appear like multiple different AirTags.

https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/

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

#169

Post by Scoundreller »

kube-system wrote: post #153
willcipriano wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a place for a generic open protocol. To have a real internet of things we need some kind of DNS but for objects.

The hard part is convincing anyone to use your open protocol, when the people who are in the best position to implement it are also the ones who would most benefit from a closed-protocol.

Bitcoin used to do this: low value and/or infrequent transfers used to be free.

Only charged money for big transfers and the high frequency traders.

Dunno why it stopped. Seemed sensible to reward hodlers and incentivize use for microtransactions. Ultimately, liquidity comes from being able to trade a big thing easily for lots of small things.

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

#170

Post by r00fus »

panzagl wrote: post #93
errcorrectcode wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which? Where?

Every city in the US. Between 'are we the baddies' and relatively meh pay most municipalities are short of officers. I'd link an article, but googling 'police shortage' would seem to do the trick.

Law Enforcement definitely do not have "meh" pay in "most municipalities".
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