Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Where on your bike is your AirTag?
- Thread starter mikedop
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Got a new bike today and the shop put my AirTag in a little bubble wrap and up into the bottom of the carbon seat post. Unfortunately that low position sits down in the carbon tube and I guess it’s just too much for the little guy to fight through - no signal at all anymore. May have to go back to the under-the-bottlecage holder I was using on my other bike.
I have one inside the top cap of a Specialized Keg that I carry in the seat tube water bottle cage. The Keg also holds my tire fix stuff.
![22ba7b99003b5cb4b054833a4826e869.jpg]()
I was able to track my bike while working its way through the airport on one of my recent trips.
I agree with the others; stashing an AirTag inside the frame doesn’t work very well because of the signal impediments caused by the bike tubing.
~ Sheldon
I was able to track my bike while working its way through the airport on one of my recent trips.
I agree with the others; stashing an AirTag inside the frame doesn’t work very well because of the signal impediments caused by the bike tubing.
~ Sheldon
This is the type of comment / info I was looking for while searching through the rest of this thread. It seems much less useful for me to consider, if the range of signal will be weak with significant barriers. But I like the idea of getting one and using one, under the seat or in a saddlebag, both seem like good ideas to me. About the posts debating whether it’s useful for something already stolen, in this regard the use for me would be just an immediate alert that something moved (the airtag, bike, saddlebag, seat) that would be a nice layer of protection, security, on top of the several other more crucial elements I already use: U-lock, line of sight to the bike, use it in daytime only as much as possible, etc.
This seems like the coolest idea so far re: where to place it, however it’d be helpful if this could be confirmed to hamper the signal for the Tag, or not?
In other words anyone have a guess or experience how much distance this thing can get in real world use? Reminds me of how my Airpods, as handy as they are, have usable range of only ~25-30 meters/yards.
I'm not sure but, basically I wouldn't expect them to work reliably past around 10 metres. The head cap top is plastic so it's not going through so much metal, but AFAIK AirTags don't have much range in the first place.
I would still suggest trying it yourself before assuming it won't work. I have an airtag sitting inside the access hatch on my Trek road bike's downtube. Seems to work pretty well as for range, though I've not specifically measured inside vs alternative.
Airtags are not good anti-theft devices because the thief will quickly be told an air tag is tracking him and figure out where it is.
But it might help in some cases. I think the best place on my carbon fiber bike is to remove the seat post and toss it into the frame. But first, push a chunk of foam into the tube then the airtage then the foam. so I will not rattle. And you need a long wire with a hook on the end to remove the foam.
But it might help in some cases. I think the best place on my carbon fiber bike is to remove the seat post and toss it into the frame. But first, push a chunk of foam into the tube then the airtage then the foam. so I will not rattle. And you need a long wire with a hook on the end to remove the foam.
I just recovered a motorbike with them. I removed the speakers so this wouldn't be an issue. If they take too much time to find it they'll abandon it because they know I'll be on my way to it.
I wanted to do this but the seat post is just too small to fit it into
I don't understand this. I live in California and my wife is currently traveling in Japan. She has AirTags in her luggage. I can see where in Japan the luggage is and even the address and a map and follow it as it moves on a metro train. All from about 6,000+ miles away. We have an apartment in Tokyo and I can see she left the luggage there and took a backpack to a different location. (No, I'm not spying, just testing the AirTags)
AirTags do not require a radio link to your phone. The link goes through servers at Apple.
It needs to be within a certain distance of an iPhone. If not, you will see nothing. ie. If someone steals your bike and transports it out to his warehouse, you will see nothing if there is no iPhone nearby.
Yes, but if the thief knows there is an AirTag inside he will disable it, one way or another. AirTags only work if the thief is clueless. Any sophisticated thief would know to disable the tags.
What car thieves do now to move the car less than a mile, park it, and wait. If the car is still there after a few days then they assume it is not being tracked.
My bike? You can't ride it far unless you have Look Delta cleats on your shoes.
If AirTags aren't for anti-theft, then what exactly are they for?
And why can't they be made for anti-theft without whatever it is that thieves somehow benefit from?
I still don't see why thieves would bother tracking a car instead of just stealing whatever car they find in a vulnerable place.
And why can't they be made for anti-theft without whatever it is that thieves somehow benefit from?
I still don't see why thieves would bother tracking a car instead of just stealing whatever car they find in a vulnerable place.
finding stuff you’ve misplaced. You can’t imagine how often my wife can’t remember where in the house she left her keys or pocketbook. Also good to alert you when you’ve left something behind.
the aspects which would make them great for tracking stolen stuff - small, silent, undetectable - are also the same aspects that would make them great for that stalker who slips one into your sister or daughter’s purse or jacket pocket or car so he can follow her home to rob and rape her.
Professional thieves often target specific makes/models either for parts or to ship overseas rather than just picking some random car.
Now look up “car remote relay attack” technique and please explain to us how that works better in a daytime public parking lot rather than at the car owners home driveway/garage.
Last edited:
There have got to be solutions though. Perhaps and AirTag can remain silent if it has been registered with a Photo ID. That way a criminal can't use it nefariously without identifying themselves to police. The "you are being followed" alert might go directly to police or an Apple service who can then verify if the Air-tag has been stolen, or planted.
Sure, you can solve for most things if you wish to invest sufficient time and energy and money.
My assessment is Apple just doesn't see sufficient potential additional AirTag sales to justify the time/expense of crafting those solutions - not to mention the cost of defending the inevitable lawsuits. Photo ID is far from infallible and even underage college kids seem to easily obtain them. And sending the alert to the police? Most departments already are understaffed for their current workload, why would they want to take on even more?
If you truly need a silent tracker, get one of the myriad GPS + cellular units on ebay or Amazon.
Semi-unrelated to OP bc it’s not an Airtag… I have a tracker on my bicycle called Knog Scout that is so sensitive that it seems useless because regularly, after locking my bike outside a store, I go into the store, and get a notification that my bicycle was “left behind”…last seen “___” etc., meanwhile it’s not moved, but my iPhone Find My app, and the Knog device and/or app can’t find it. The first, 20, 30, 40 times this happens I thought well it’s this particular store and some brick, cement, or other material wall specific to this place. But no, it happens at well over half the places I go into, while leaving the bike outside for just 10 minutes or so.
I don’t know if I’d get better results with the Airtag… might try one someday, but reviews of them seem quite mixed at best.
I don’t know if I’d get better results with the Airtag… might try one someday, but reviews of them seem quite mixed at best.
The Airtag in my car used to do that. I don't remember why it stopped. Maybe I found a setting at some point?
Within FindMy after selecting an AirTag, scroll down to the "Notify When Left Behind" setting. You can add certain locations where it won't notify you such as at home or at your work.
That feature is more intended for something like a wallet or purse or backpack though - stuff you wouldn't normally leave behind when away from home/work. Not sure it's really intended for bicycle.
Oh and @ndouglas the Knog Scout is one of the handful of third party devices which use the Apple FindMy network and behave like an AirTag. Another one - more for the road bike folks - is the 4iiii Precision 3+ crank arm power meter.
Given the effort of making the AirTag network work in the first place, why not make it work well for what people want it for?
I already provided my thoughts post #51, and others have done similarly in myriad other discussions on MacRumors.
My suggestion is that you contact Apple directly with your opinion and let us know what they say.
Edit: Don't hold your breath on it ever happening
Feedback - AirTag
Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about AirTag.
www.apple.com
Last edited:
Yes but there might be an argument for a thief giving up a bike that's being actively tracked and potentially giving away their address or location. If its sufficiently hidden to avoid detection, or just pure difficult to remove, the longer they have the bike the higher the chance they could get caught or give themselves away. Maybe getting the alert that an AirTag is with them might be enough for them to throw it on the ground (hopefully not a canal - depends on their proximity to bodies of water !). That's what I think. For sure, it wont be the case every single time - some will just be brazen or very skilled, but it might dissuade a certain percentage who aren't looking for a high risk object.
put two air tags, one quite easy to find, like in the saddle bag and another one in a more hidden location with the speaker hacked. once the thief find and ditch the first one, even if it still get a notification, it will probably thinks it is still referring to the old one