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Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

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Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#601

Post by dghlsakjg »

INTPenis wrote: post #528
dghlsakjg wrote: post #20

The cat is out of the bag. There is no way that people are going to stop putting AirTags in their luggage, at least not while airlines are still constantly losing luggage and fighting people on reimbursement.

Just wait until an airtag lithium battery catches fire in the cargo hold.

AirTags use lithium button cells which are not really a fire risk when compared to a lithium polymer cell like in your cell phone.

Enough of a mitigated safety risk that the CR2032 that the AirTag uses is small enough to be exempted from the lithium battery rules.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#602

Post by dghlsakjg »

t0mas88 wrote: post #531
yftsui wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AirTags doesn’t report its location, the iPhone or other iOS devices report nearby AirTags. That’s the difference between an active tracker that has its own cellular connection.

For aviation regulations there is no different between an active or passive tracker, the rules are not about takers. The rules are about there being a lithium battery in it (there is) and whether it has a radio transmitter (it does, airtags transmit Bluetooth signals). Lithium batteries are not allowed in checked baggage. Transmitters are allowed only if turned off.

Lithium button batteries of the size you would find in a tracker are allowed in checked baggage.

You are correct about transmitters though

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#603

Post by filoleg »

tsimionescu wrote: post #485
filoleg wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you turn off wifi from settings instead of the control center (top right corner pull), it will stay turned off. If you turn it off from the control center, it will indeed say "Turning off WiFi until tomorrow".

Can you at least get from Control Center to the corresponding Settings page easily now (long press, hard press, etc), or is Apple dying on that hill?

> Can you at least get from Control Center to the corresponding Settings page easily now (long press, hard press, etc)

You can, just long press the wifi icon in control center, it will expand to show all wifi points nearby. Then click on "settings" button, and it will take you to the actual wifi settings page in the settings app.

This isn't a recent change btw. Idk when they added it, but I remember using it since at least iOS 13 or 14, which was 2-3 years ago.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#604

Post by LorenPechtel »

layer8 wrote: post #351
ajmurmann wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This section makes it even more confusing to me, since I thought that the whole cell phone transmission restriction theater had been removed a few years ago. Was that only within the US and I've been violating EU regulations for years?

I don’t think this is about transmission. Rather, it is probably to reduce the risk of thermal runaway of lithium batteries, which can cause fire and explosion. The regulation also states that such devices “ should be carried as carry-on baggage ”, that is, in preference to checked baggage, presumably so that the devices are less prone to damage, and cases of malfunction and fire will be more quickly detected.

All current *rechargeable* lithium chemistries are an issue, single-use is not. Air-Tags aren't going to start a fire.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#606

Post by bdcravens »

Hnrobert42 wrote: post #489
tsimionescu wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you're also not allowed to transport lithium based batteries in checked luggage unless they are inside a powered-off device, I believe.

I think you can as long as they are stored in such a way as to prevent an accidental short circuit.

Per FAA, this is correct. Obviously other jurisdictions may vary

https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/resources/media/Airline_...

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#607

Post by sneak »

rzimmerman wrote: post #298
nostrademons wrote: post #76

Note that the reason for airport mode is a courtesy to cell-phone carriers. It's not any air safety issue. Rather, 300-500 cell phones all trying to contact the next cell tower, multiple times per minute, would wreak havoc on cell service. https://www.inverse.com/article/51015-cell-phone-use-on-airp... At one point, when both cell phones and laptops were new, there was perhaps a risk to the airplane's electronics. Mo…

Switching your phone transmitter off is technically required by FCC regulations: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B... Realistically there isn't an issue with leaving a cell phone on and out of airplane mode going purely based on how many people forget or ignore the directions everyday and how infrequently there are problems. But I'll make two points: The idea that a cell phone transmitter c…

Most places Lufthansa flies are not within the FCC’s jurisdiction.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#609

Post by angry_octet »

teddyh wrote: post #240
seanp2k2 wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>throw away all airtags I have no doubt that they'll do exactly this. They'll likely stick them into an RF-blocking pouch first, then destroy them all. You won't get it back, you won't get any compensation, and they'll point to their policies as to why.

You’re aiming to project maximum evil. While emotionally satisfying, it does not usually have good predictive powers. What you should be doing is to predict maximum laziness instead. As in, they will probably only destroy airtags inside a particular luggage when they know that the luggage is already lost and it would be embarrasing for them if its location was known.

But it records last known position. Logically they should put it in some else's luggage that is being picked up, thereby sending you on a wild goose chase.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#610

Post by rjcjvyd77 »

rippercushions wrote: post #299
rjcjvyd77 wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At one point, when both cell phones and laptops were new, there was perhaps a risk to the airplane's electronics. There was never any risk. Someone wrote an article in the times suggesting "perhaps" and people freaked out. There has never been a single instance or study to support this claim. The entire idea airplane mode is a farce.

There definitely was theoretical risk with 2G-era mobile phones, which blasted considerable amounts of radiation. I was in university once doing a signal interference lab: we had set up an circuit and we're trying to induce current in it from another circuit. Suddenly the oscilloscope on the receiving end showed a couple of wild spikes, and I received a text message on my trusty Nokia 1611: apparently 900 MHz was in…

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