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Essential Travel Gadget - Apple AirTags tracker

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GPS trackers have been around for a while. Until recently, Tile was likely the most well-known

as they were really trying to penetrate the market. There were others as well, such as Trackr, which was the first tracker I owned. While these were great concepts, the execution was not as good. Trackr never really took off. Though for it to work correctly and be able to report on items' locations, the opposite needed to be true. And that is where the Apple Air Tags come in.

How do Bluetooth trackers work

Also known as item finders, Bluetooth trackers are small devices that use Bluetooth to connect to your phone. This lets you locate them when they're within Bluetooth range.

Trackers use Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as BLE or Bluetooth 4.0) to wirelessly connect to your mobile device and regularly transmit small amounts of data to that device through the connection.

If you lose the item and want to find it again, you can use the tracker to locate it using your phone.

Once connected, you can track the location of the object it is attached to using the map on the tracker’s mobile app or via a web browser. You can also use your phone to ring your tracker if you can’t locate it with the map.

Apple Air Tags

Apple didn’t invent the tracker, but they significantly improved on it.

According to a new market intelligence report, the iPhone US market share is at 50% of the total US market market share for the first time ever.

Apple also dominates global premium smartphone sales, accounting for 78% of the $1,000+ segment worldwide. With so many devices around, your item will likely be within the radius and pinging its location.

We have been using AirTags for a bit now and have had great success. We can track our items, such as backpacks and bikes. This was especially helpful when these were left behind. In the Find My app, we located the item within a few feet of its location, as the AirTag shows you an approximate radius of the location. Though it is getting more and more accurate.

We have also placed one in the car. We can now know where we parked and in which direction, so we do not need to try to remember the spot (though it is probably still a good idea to orient ourselves) or wander around the parking lot or unfamiliar territory.

The battery on the AirTag lasts about a year. We just had to replace it in one of our trackers. Doing it was effortless. You just press and twist, pop out old, and put it new. The instructions on how to replace the AirTag battery can be found here: https://support.apple.com/airtag-battery. They use a CR2032 lithium 3V coin battery approved for travel.

This makes Apple Air Tags a great tracking gadget for your tech and much more.

Travel use

Track luggage (tape it to a side or place it in an inside pocket)
Track kids on tours or excursions (put it in their backpacks)
If older kids, track around the resort (there are Airtag bracelets available)
Track items on the beach

Car use

Put the tracker in the car to keep track of it
Use it when parking to easily find the car
Put AirTag within the key ring holder on your car keys

Universal use

Hang in on the bag with a carabiner AirTag holder
Track bike (Stick-On Mount for Apple AirTag)
Track pets (with AirTag collar case)
Put it in your wallet (with AirTag Wallet Holder Card Insert)

Have you used an item tracker?

Which one?

What are some other uses for Bluetooth trackers?

Let us know below.

Update:

This is not fully travel-related, but when our TV remote decides to travel, it has been great to have the AirTag. Since we found the tags useful, we got more on the sale. We attached one of them to the remote with two-sided sticky tape. You won’t be able to track the remote on the map unless it really decides to travel, but we can locate it in the room by playing a sound via the tag. And following the sound, we can find wherever it ended up and where it is hiding.

With all the benefits that the AirTags have in tracking your belongings and more, there are also cautions on how they are being misused:

An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking - Apple

AirTags are being used to track people and cars

Apple moves to stop AirTag tracking misuse

AirTags Are Linked to Stalking