My Sons mate has had his Fiesta ST pinched off his drive (whilst he was in the house watching telly!!). Local CID came round few days later and he said the 'best thing folks can do' is hide an apple air tag in the vehicle.

I know it wont stop a theft but wondered if these air tags do what they say on the tin or is there a catch somewhere?

I note they have a 12 month battery life and rely on a 'community' of iPhones to find lost stuff which I assume includes a car. Does the scrote who nicks the car get notified that the air tag is being searched for if he has an iPhone?

Four for £99 off ebay! 405 AB exec seats Baltic and Cirrus
93 RR Classic efi

Remember it's easier to get forgiveness than permission!

Gone in order:
4.4 TDV8 SE - gone to a good home
93 Classic hard dash Plymouth Blue
03 L322 Oslo Blue
2000 Disco TD5 ES Epsom Green
98 P38 Rioja Red
89 Classic Cairngorm Brown

This relies on the police actually acting on this and the thieves being of low enough calibre to not have a device to locate and remove the tag. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

to be fair I have done this also. seems to work so far, as long as it is near an iPhone (within 10m) it will ping the AirTag and your phone will be able to view its last location.

there is a speaker in it which will make a sound if its near an unrecognised phone - think this is to prevent it being slipped into someones handbag for example and following them home electronically.

However I have placed mine in one of the boot storage bins and purposely played the sound and I couldn't hear it in the driver seat so figure anyone trying to steal it won't be listening out for it that hard.

at the end of the day, a cheap solution that may or may not work when the time comes but I figured worth the tiny investment.

- I should also add be really careful buying any so called apple product on eBay! loads of new sealed rip offs on there and loads are really good counterfeits - just get them from currys or similar.

I have been doing the same using Samsung' Galaxy SmartTags and so far all has been good I have always been able to find our cars.
However they are not great for real time tracking as with Airtags they rely on a passing phone.
I have found that the range is greatly reduced when its in a car probably due to all the metal around it.

I think I will start looking for a better solution in the near future.

David Range Rover 4.2 Supercharged 2006
Ford Focus EcoBoost 1.5 2017
MG TF 2003

Previous Cars of note
Land Rover Discovery 2
Jaguar Mk2 3.8 - Company car
MG Midget 1974 - Concours

Brother-in-law was able to track and assist Emirates find his luggage when it went missing en route to Dubai from Paris CDG. He was told it was properly lost but was able to pinpoint its location. It worked, got his luggage back very swiftly. 2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster - Baltic Blue, Jet interior
1997 P38 2.5 DSE auto & 1998 P38 2.5 DT Manual
1988 Vogue 3.5 EFI - Manual, gone.
2004 Volvo C70 2.0T convertible, had since new.
2007 Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport Roadster/Coupé, had since new.
2024 Mini Cooper S cabrio, JCW kit, 2.0, DCT auto

The internal speaker can be disabled to avoid a thief becoming aware it’s hidden somewhere in the vehicle.

How to videos online 👍 Jonathan

2007 Defender 90 XS Hardtop

I use air tags for my luggage when I’m travelling, so if it ever goes AWOL, I can hopefully track it. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

I have one of these buried in the 405, had one in all my cars for over 10 years, never had one fail and always worked great. I just connect 12v and a ground, pop in a GiffGaff PAYG sim and use it as a locator, you can do other stuff as well including automatically switching something off via a relay.... I just phone the number and it replies with a text giving a link to google maps and a speed... Never had a measurable power draw from one so they don't use much...

I've also got a Thatcham approved Bluetooth immobiliser fitted as well as a couple of non disclosed security devices, I fitted them myself and you would never know where they were or where they tap into the 405 wiring unlike a lot of fitted devices where all the installers seem to use the same spot to hide them...!!

TK103-A Car Vehicle GPS/SMS/GPRS Locator Tracker Alarm Real Time Tracking Device
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394108614093?ha...R4Tpy6buYg

I do like the idea of the air tags, might add one as well...  Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

JayGee wrote:

This relies on the police actually acting on this and the thieves being of low enough calibre to not have a device to locate and remove the tag.

Got one buried in mine also, removed the speaker. Worth it as it’s relatively cheap and an extra layer of security

Full-fat-Lance wrote:

JayGee wrote:

This relies on the police actually acting on this and the thieves being of low enough calibre to not have a device to locate and remove the tag.

The easiest way to ensure a police response is to ring them up, give them the location and tell them you’re going there to get it sorted out by whatever means necessary.

I have an air tag in the car, very useful if you are close by the car as it tells you when it has moved away from you.
Also got one of these trackers which you can either fit yourself or get them to instal it and be Insurance Approved, altho to be honest I have yet to have any insurance reduced for having trackers installed...

https://gpsbob.com 2011 L322 Autobography - a lot of bells and some of the whistles...owner with no idea!

If Mr.Thief has an iPhone on him (or her? ) won't he be informed that there's an airtag following him? I got this on my iPhone when driving a minibus for a charity works thing, one of the lads had one in his wallet and my iPhone pinged me to make sure I was happy I was being 'followed' by an AirTag (as above, to prevent someone slipping one in my pocket etc)

Not sure how long you have to travel for that to happen FFRR SDV8 Autobiography

I have a Samsung SmartTag in my RR and have had it tucked away for over a year. They, and the Apple equivalent, are cheap enough and the phone app allows you to view movements based upon it receiving a phone ping. That requires firstly a compatible phone, secondly a wi-fi on phone, thirdly a wi-fi signal on said phone and lastly that phone to be within a few meters of the tag to pick up the ping.

The app location history stores 7 days of info, it's not route perfect and its not going to show a car on the move in real time. However, if the car is stationary and it pings then the location map is pretty much spot on.

James W wrote:

If Mr.Thief has an iPhone on him (or her? ) won't he be informed that there's an airtag following him? I got this on my iPhone when driving a minibus for a charity works thing, one of the lads had one in his wallet and my iPhone pinged me to make sure I was happy I was being 'followed' by an AirTag (as above, to prevent someone slipping one in my pocket etc)

Not sure how long you have to travel for that to happen