Apple AirTags - Can you use them to track your bike?

[@roadcc]

Got a tracking solution you want us to try out?

[@kevindrykjja2959]

Not sure if it's already a video but maybe in the frame itself as some people mention it will lower it's signal and some say it's still quite easy to track.

[@grigorbrowning]

Great idea for a series - genuinely novel and one that I'm sure folk will benefit from. Might be worth having a standard "ride-like-you-stole-it for 5 minutes and then throw it in a van/garage" test.

[@roadcc]

but then we won't get a slice of cake at the end! good idea though...

[@babbleboyquito]

Apple is developing an app for Android which would also ping android users if their phones detect an Airtag nearby. The idea is to prevent bad actors from using Airtags to track potential victims.

[@michaelrichmond3137]

Like Nicholas Cage ? is that what he's up to these days, scumbag.

[@andrewcbartlett]

Only major downside of Airtags is you can't find your phone pressing a button on the airtag, Galaxy SmartTag have a button you can press to find your Galaxy phone; not much use to iPhone owners though. Perhaps Tile is a solution for some although I've not tried it personally. There are also a lot of small chinese gps trackers you put a sim in, I have used one on my elderly father's keys.

[@grahamo22]

Link to the Chinese GPS tracker please ?

[@niteblaster1]

@@grahamo22 Vodafone curve tracker

[@molybdnum]

Few things I'm curious about. If you move the bike out into the countryside or go somewhere that it loses the trace, how and when does it re-acquire? Is the accuracy affected by how many iPhones are around it? Is there a track displayed of past locations, and how (+ how long) does apple store that data? If you use one of the "harder" methods of affixing the tag - inside a steel/alu frame, for example, does that affect trackability?

[@roadcc]

> If you move the bike out into the countryside or go somewhere that it loses the trace, how and when does it re-acquire? it'll just send a location whenerver it's near enough to an iPhone that has FindMy enabled > Is the accuracy affected by how many iPhones are around it? not really, it uses the GPS of the phone to locate > Is there a track displayed of past locations, and how (+ how long) does apple store that data? you don't get shown a track, although no doubt apple keeps it :-) > If you use one of the "harder" methods of affixing the tag - inside a steel/alu frame, for example, does that affect trackability? yes, it'll affect the bluetooth range to have it inside a metal tube, for example

[@arunasadomaitis4524]

Even inside a carbon seatpost the range is drastically reduced, making it almost useless. Ended up fixing it under the saddle.

[@bluecollarstudio8513]

I'm not sure if they updated the firmware or the Find My app as of 3/31/2022 but the Airtag immediately lets the nearest iPhone user know they are being tracked. I put a speakerless Airtag on my wife's bicycle as a theft deterrent but when she went out for a ride, she got 5 notifications in an hour. Kind of useless at this point.

[@roadcc]

sounds like they've changed how it works then...

[@Johnjay1989]

That seems to be the problem with using it as a security device. Have you figured out any workarounds? I want to fix it to my electric scooter but I don’t have the same issue your wife had

[@TheFandangovideoguy]

so what's the update for August 2023? I plan to buy an airtag and "hide" it somewhere on my ebike...I will remove the internal speakers...but if someone took my ebike, he/she will get a warning-do we now know how long it takes? Is an airtag really useful as an anti-theft device? I have 2 strong locks already and I use them. I don't want to use a real GPS service. Dont want to pay fees

[@xanderrobben4901]

Sooo can it do this anywere pinging of the phones or is there max range to knowing its estimate location

[@GlenHunt]

Yeah, but does it work in countries where scoundrels aren't so polite?

[@MysticFluff1]

Does it work in underground car parks or appartment blocks? Will the police actually do something about it with the bikes location? Are you prepared for a physical confrontation with a possibly armed thief? Just use a top quality lock and lock it properly, in a public place

[@zj7396]

No lock is un breakable

[@rockitMiC]

He said « in a PUBLIC space »!

[@Abdullah-fo9iw]

Always looking at the negatives lmao, it’s handy, it’s an extra piece of security, you’ll have more advantages than disadvantages, any bike can be stolen no matter how you lock it as long as the thief is persistent, so in the very good chance that your bike does get stolen you’ll at least have more of a chance finding it than if you didn’t have the AirTag

[@dz9459]

Everything can be stolen. A lot of measures can be taken

[@edeszabo1977]

If somebody nicked my bike how come I am chasing him down on a bike? Do I need to Nick a bike too?

[@justthatgamergirl1]

😂

[@DenisJuscenko]

Bike name please?

[@manuelcalleja92]

LeMond Prolog

[@sepez]

Unless the guy stealing the bike wasn't using an iPhone this test was a bit daft because his location would have been continually given up by his own phone, not passers by.

[@hrdcpy]

Show more of the phone screen so users actually know what the first-person experience is like.

[@carlbryan2227]

How long will the air tag last battery life, and cost per month?

[@themagicmatt]

It lasts a year. So about 20p a month.

[@brakesmadly]

Free to use once you've bought them.

[@niteblaster1]

Aren't they just a bluetooth device nothing to do with GPS

[@rockitMiC]

@@niteblaster1 but the iPhones receiving the Bluetooth signal have GPS!!!!

[@epictraveller4862]

I’ve got airtags on all the bikes in the family. Only downside is if the scumbag thief has an iPhone it will alert them. It’s not instant but up-to 24 hours. It will also beep. This is for anti stalking. I’ve opened the tracker up and taken the beeper out 😀

[@roadcc]

is that easy to do?

[@epictraveller4862]

@@roadcc yes some KZbin videos for it. I wasn’t going to do it but I came to the bikes one day and they were beeping? It was quite annoying.

[@rsbaz1393]

Useless item then

[@Doc.Holiday]

@@rsbaz1393,.. the benefit as a theft deterrent is limited time-wise. From the time a thief steals the bike and the AirTag is moving with him/her it may take “up to 24 hours” for notification to be posted on their phone that the tag is “moving with them”. Most say that happens more like within two hours. So, the only benefit as I see it is in an immediate pursuit.

[@docholliday9175]

Can you test "tabs" on helium network?

[@roadcc]

not sure there's much coverage in the UK yet?

[@1dash133]

7:22 "Andrew, our videographer, was following you around all day and he's got an iphone ..." IF TRUE, then of course the Air Tag would track well for this test! 😵‍💫🙄🤥

[@108mtsan]

but andrew turned off the bluetooth on his iPhone which disables ability to connect with the airtag

[@monkeymerv]

What would happen if the theif has an iPhone. Would they get some kind of notification that their phone is being used?

[@LeeHadley]

Yes they would.

[@insquares]

Yes, but my understanding is that it doesn't happen immediately. It could be several hours. Apple may change the timing over time in response to stalking concerns.

[@roadcc]

currently it's a random time and can be up to 24 hours, so yes, no guarantee the thief would get a notification

[@monkeymerv]

@@roadcc thanks for clarification, I've only ever had an android. Probably worth mentioning this important bit of info in the video. Looking forward to seeing what other options are available 👍

[@hepphepps8356]

Seat low? This guy crazy. It’s almost as high as the handlebar. Not cool. Seat needs a nice comfy backrest too.

[@niteblaster1]

Isn't the air tag just a Bluetooth device 🤔

[@roadcc]

yes but it's leveraging a very big network of nodes that can track it

[@Veterans2009]

Useless airtag, my bike keep notifiying eveybody around, so theif will be notified and my friend had an android cell phone and he kept telling him that something is going around with you.

[@janeblogs324]

6:33 I can't trust a bike channel where a host sits on a carbon top tube.

[@roadcc]

he was standing on it before they started filming

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

I think a better system to stop someone from running off with your bike is to have a security pin that locks the steerer so the handlebar wont turn. Headtubes would have to be customized to insert the pin which passes all the way through to the opposite side and then a lock could be locked onto the pin so you can't pull the pin out. This would be a great thing to do for commuter and utility bikes if you use the bike to do some light shopping or for work. How would a thief take off on a bike they can't steer and if they did they wouldn't get very far. We already have locks that you can't cut with a set of bolt cutters so a pin and one of those type of locks would be easier for the cyclist to carry than a big U-Lock or cable types. If manufacturers can design hidden cables into headtubes I'm positive they could design bikes to have a pin security system.

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

@@DanTuber And you are qualified to determine that how?

[@grahamo22]

You have a bizzarre definition of "better". The only people who come up with such nonsense are usually MP's in select committese when trying to understand technology issues.

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

@@grahamo22 It's just an idea. You got something better then say it.

[@27gw27]

Wear helmets, even if you guys don’t want to you have a responsibility to your viewers and the younger generation.

[@tamwestwater]

I’ve already told you - 100% isn’t true!

[@robbret]

So what is a person to do after having tracked their bike down to an address in some shady neighbourhood ? Bust down the door and forcifully retrieve it ? Where I live police will not give a stolen bike any time, and they most certainly will not accompany me to that shady neighbourhood address just because I say so.

[@roadcc]

yeah that is a flaw in the system 😁

[@dz9459]

My personal advice is to turn up with as many people as you can. Have the most violent one (not the actual most violent one, just the weakest looking violent one) armed with some kind of bike tool or anything that has no malicious intent and go to the place. The worst that can happen is a fight and even then, who will call the police

[@Samghnagan]

More like pink handed