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For all the people commenting "How would they know?", AirTags are scannable by NFC readers and identify themselves as an AirTag. You can test this yourself by
by runjake 4y ago
For all the people commenting "How would they know?", AirTags are scannable by NFC readers and identify themselves as an AirTag.
You can test this yourself by downloading the NFC Tools app on your iPhone (or one for Android) and doing a read on the AirTag.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nfc-tools/id1252962749 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nfc-tools/id1252962749
- Gigachad 4y agoIf you stick it in the middle, it’s out of range. Unless you have some super powered scanner perhaps
- antman 4y agoIf it is not connectable you won't locate your luggage either
- natch 4y agoNFC and Bluetooth are different technologies with different capabilities and ranges.
- fritolaid 4y agoI did not expect anyone on HN suggesting sticking it deep into the luggage so it's out of range.
- ceejayoz 4y agoThey report in via Bluetooth, not NFC. My phone won’t scan one from more than a few inches, but I can locate them with Find My iPhone 20+ feet off.
- antman 4y agoAlso what is the point? Bluetooth is easily detectable too
- ceejayoz 4y agoThey don't identify as AirTags over BT like they do over NFC. https://lifehacker.com/try-using-a-bluetooth-scanner-app-to-find-unwanted-airt-1846829920 https://lifehacker.com/try-using-a-bluetooth-scanner-app-to-...
- swyx 4y agoif its out of range, its not much use as an airtag. circular logic
- ceejayoz 4y agoNFC and Bluetooth have different ranges. AirTags use both for different purposes.
- runjake 4y agoIt still beacons. And sticking it in the middle will attenuate the beaconing by quite a bit (per my own testing), which defeats the purpose.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- coder543 4y agoNFC has a range of around 5cm and has nothing to do with how AirTags work for tracking purposes. Do you really think AirTags only update their location when someone with an iPhone comes over to intentionally scan it? Even if you bury the AirTag in the middle of the luggage, it will still be trackable, but NFC will absolutely not come even close to reaching it. They’re not going to have off the shelf equipment capable of locating an AirTag quickly enough to matter even if they can tell there are AirTags somewhere in the general vicinity of the luggage area. That’s just not how any of this works. Whether the rule itself is ridiculous or not, as others have pointed out, the main benefit seems to be that they can tell customers to stop bothering them about luggage that they’ve lost.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- googlryas 4y agoI put an airtag on the inside pocket of my luggage, and am having no luck scanning it from the outside. It seems unlikely this will work. I can still find it with my iphone though.
- insane_dreamer 4y agoYeah but security scanners don't have NFC readers built into them, and even if they did, the range is too short to be useful the way scanners are built.
- amelius 4y ago> "How would they know?" They don't have to know. All they want to do is respond to "You lost my bag" with "But you jeopardized the entire flight with your illegal transmitter".
- mynameisvlad 4y agoYou don't need to reveal your AirTag to report a lost bag. And carrying an AirTag, even if it were against their rules, does not somehow absolve them of their duty to return the bag (and/or pay for the lost luggage).