Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Richard Bagshaw/SWNS
Apple's AirTag helped a 47-year-old motorcycle owner to recover the stolen vehicle from dangerous criminals, providing real-time location data to track it down on the map.
Richard Bagshaw from Yorkshire says his motorcycle got stolen last year from its parking spot, but the man could locate the vehicle using an AirTag planted in the seat storage space.
Apple launched the AirTag to allow customers to track their belongings, including car keys and wallets, through their iPhones. AirTags are pill-shaped devices that come without a built-in Internet connection but communicate with the master smartphone through nearby iPhones. It connects to them automatically when they're close, sharing its location with the owner's iPhone in the Find My app.
Bagshaw says he specifically planted an AirTag in the bike's seat storage space in case he needs to see the vehicle's location.
When he noticed the bike was missing from the parking spot, he unlocked his iPhone and launched the Find My app. The bike was tracked to Guisborough, North Yorkshire, so he went to the location and waited for the police's arrival.
He spotted the bike under a cover in the back of a house, so he pointed the location to the police and hoped law enforcement could help. Little did he know that the house was used by dangerous criminals for drug dealing, with the police eventually finding combat knives, machetes, and rifles. When he discovered the bike under the cover, the police told him to get on it and take it home, but he decided to wait for a recovery truck. The ignition was broken, possibly as the thieves tried to start the engine.
The case shows how important AirTags have become for vehicle owners and how little attention thieves pay to these devices, considering they become more widely adopted.
Police tell car owners to install AirTags in their vehicles, with some authorities even giving away Apple trackers to help combat the growing car theft trends.
Meanwhile, Apple is already working on a second-generation model that should come with improved precision and battery life. However, the second-generation AirTag won't launch until 2025, as the current model still sells like hotcakes, making a new model unnecessary.
Apple's AirTag doesn't require recharging, as it uses a CR2032 battery offering up to six months of autonomy per unit. The AirTag doesn't integrate a power-off button, so the only way a thief can disable it, assuming they determine where they are planted, is to remove the battery. The AirTag can alert thieves that they might be tracked by sending a notification on their iPhones. The alert is integrated into the AirTag as a privacy feature to protect users from stalkers. However, the better the AirTag is hidden, the lower the chances for a thief to locate it.
Apple launched the AirTag to allow customers to track their belongings, including car keys and wallets, through their iPhones. AirTags are pill-shaped devices that come without a built-in Internet connection but communicate with the master smartphone through nearby iPhones. It connects to them automatically when they're close, sharing its location with the owner's iPhone in the Find My app.
Bagshaw says he specifically planted an AirTag in the bike's seat storage space in case he needs to see the vehicle's location.
When he noticed the bike was missing from the parking spot, he unlocked his iPhone and launched the Find My app. The bike was tracked to Guisborough, North Yorkshire, so he went to the location and waited for the police's arrival.
He spotted the bike under a cover in the back of a house, so he pointed the location to the police and hoped law enforcement could help. Little did he know that the house was used by dangerous criminals for drug dealing, with the police eventually finding combat knives, machetes, and rifles. When he discovered the bike under the cover, the police told him to get on it and take it home, but he decided to wait for a recovery truck. The ignition was broken, possibly as the thieves tried to start the engine.
The case shows how important AirTags have become for vehicle owners and how little attention thieves pay to these devices, considering they become more widely adopted.
Police tell car owners to install AirTags in their vehicles, with some authorities even giving away Apple trackers to help combat the growing car theft trends.
Meanwhile, Apple is already working on a second-generation model that should come with improved precision and battery life. However, the second-generation AirTag won't launch until 2025, as the current model still sells like hotcakes, making a new model unnecessary.
Apple's AirTag doesn't require recharging, as it uses a CR2032 battery offering up to six months of autonomy per unit. The AirTag doesn't integrate a power-off button, so the only way a thief can disable it, assuming they determine where they are planted, is to remove the battery. The AirTag can alert thieves that they might be tracked by sending a notification on their iPhones. The alert is integrated into the AirTag as a privacy feature to protect users from stalkers. However, the better the AirTag is hidden, the lower the chances for a thief to locate it.
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