Air tags/gps luggage trackers to catch a thief

Had anyone used a gps luggage tracker/air tag to track down something stolen?

I’ve got a studio in a large studio site in SE London, I also do work in the print studio there which is a 24 hour access key holder member fine art print studio. Recently things have been going missing.
A friend had a package with paper and etching plates worth the best part of £500 go missing last week, this is not the first time it’s happened, particularly with paper deliveries.
With another friend there I’m going to make up a dummy package to look like a pack of paper that’s been delivered. Except it will be cardboard inside and some type of gps tracker.
I bought a ‘tile’ luggage tracker but it’s not accurate enough and isn’t updating quickly enough when I move it around the site. When I drove into work it tracked me fine but moving it between different studios on site it’s not updating to the new location even where they’re over 100 meters apart.
I asked my pal to take it to his studio, which he did, but it’s still showing as in the the print studio 2 hours later.
I need a tag that will give a tracking history so if the package gets taken in the middle of the night, taken back to someone’s studio opened and then disposed of I’d like a history of that movement and the time it happened.

Does anyone have any experience with these tags or a suggestion of a particular brand that would do this. I’m a bit wary of the air tag, because if they have an iPhone it will alert them to the tag.

Any help would be much appreciated,
Thanks

Why not just get a huge box and hide in it until they come to steal it, then jump out and catch them that way?

Big cardboard box will be cheaper than AirTags.

You can get AirTags on eBay that have the speakers on the AirTags disabled. That way the thief might know there’s an air tag but won’t be able to hear it or potentially find it.

I shove AirTags in my checkin luggage when I travel. I can then track it if it goes missing or in my case watch it get loaded up into the plane and get unloaded in the other side.

I actually found my luggage flying with me over the Indian Ocean over the summer while on holiday. The luggage must have been near the top of the hold and connected to someone’s iPhone through the deck.

J

How do you get alerted if someone else’s AirTag is around?

I’ve never had an alert and I must have passed thousands of AirTags?

I have an AirTag on my keys and as far as I’m aware, you can’t get a history of where it’s been, only where it currently is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

How do you get alerted if someone else’s AirTag is around?

I’ve never had an alert and I must have passed thousands of AirTags?

I have an AirTag on my keys and as far as I’m aware, you can’t get a history of where it’s been, only where it currently is.

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Air tags use a mesh network that link anonymously to other apple products and tell the owner where it is, you wouldn't know if your phone is giving information on other people

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Originally Posted by Mon Dieu4

Air tags use a mesh network that link anonymously to other apple products and tell the owner where it is, you wouldn't know if your phone is giving information on other people

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Yeah that’s what I thought. So any would be thief would have no idea they were carrying a box with an air tag unless they opened the box or the owner of the AirTag started making it make a noise.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

How do you get alerted if someone else’s AirTag is around?

I’ve never had an alert and I must have passed thousands of AirTags?

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Just passing it isn't enough, it has to be moving with you. Even if it is moving with you (e.g. on public transport), it won't go off if it's also moving with its owner's paired device.

https://www.howtogeek.com/725588/how...-tracking-you/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nonshinyfinish

Just passing it isn't enough, it has to be moving with you. Even if it is moving with you (e.g. on public transport), it won't go off if it's also moving with its owner's paired device.

https://www.howtogeek.com/725588/how...-tracking-you/

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Ah ok. So since the OP wouldn’t be in the vicinity then the thief would get a notification essentially saying they’re being stalked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Ah ok. So since the OP wouldn’t be in the vicinity then the thief would get a notification essentially saying they’re being stalked.

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If they have an iPhone/iPad, yes.

Also just read at the end of that article that apparently it automatically starts making a noise once it's been away from its paired devices for three days.

Before I bought my first Samsung tags, basically the same as the iPhone stuff, I did a wee bit of research.

I don't think a tag would work particularly well in this instance.

It might be better looking at a pet tag, various options available.

They run on a data sim card type system. They allegedly give real time tracking and a trail of where it's been.

A cheap indoor camera, like Eufy, might identify who the culprit is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nonshinyfinish

If they have an iPhone/iPad, yes.

Also just read at the end of that article that apparently it automatically starts making a noise once it's been away from its paired devices for three days.

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Loud ticking, I hope.

Thanks for the responses, I’m looking at a cat tracker at the moment as that’ll give live updates as well as a history of movement. Plus if the ‘cat’ leaves a predetermined safe zone it’ll send an alert.
Down side is battery life of 7 days so will need to be unpacked and recharged if it’s not been lifted within 5 days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Ah ok. So since the OP wouldn’t be in the vicinity then the thief would get a notification essentially saying they’re being stalked.

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Yip. I’ve had it when I borrow my wife’s car. But there is a setting where you can disable that alert for certain people. For example I can now find my wife’s keys. I also don’t get any alerts any more.

J

Any update yet? :dunno: