Originally Posted by
Iride01
So wouldn't the thieves with iPhones also eventually just get a notification that they are being tracked and then know to search the bike for an air tag? If the thieves are doing this for the money, then they'd simply make sure not to take the bikes to a endpoint where they can be tracked too until after they have determined if it has such a tag.
Additionally, it just seems like all they'd really need to find out if it has an airTag is an RF detector of some sort. Which can be very inexpensive.
Yep, if the thief has an iphone 11 or higher, then after some number of hours they'll be notified if the airtag is with them. I'm unsure if they just get alerted if it's moving with them or if it'll alert while sitting still.
I'd imaging the pros would either just open up the likely hiding spots to look for an airtag or they might stash the bikes in a cooling off spot for a few days. I seem to remember reading that was common with vehicles when they didn't know there was a lojack installed.
So there's still some potential utility for an airtag to help locate a stolen bicycle - but that window might be just a few hours.
.. .and yes, I'd imagine an RF sensor could pick up an Airtag when it transmits. Yet with months-long battery life I'd imaging that transmission is periodic rather than continuous, and if the interval is a minute or two it might make it more difficult to do the scan with reliability.