@nostromo_ Nope

@nostromo_ Seems it’s hard to find actually good tracking devices that work with things other than Apple these days.

@nostromo_ @PooltoyWolf How good do you need them to be? I’ve got several cheap tags and a smart card that works fine with android. The 4 tag packs often go for $20 and a card around $10-$12. So far the card has held a charge for several months without needing a recharge and the tag batteries haven’t needed changing yet, but it’s only been about 5-6 months.

https://www.amazon.com/UNASTUD-Tracking-Thickness-Waterproof-Passport/dp/B0GHR89XHV

KuoH

@kuoh @nostromo_ @PooltoyWolf

I use and like the Orbit trackers with our Android phones, I usually can find one for between $10 - $12 on eBay.

Pro tip - If you put items on the watchlist they’ll usually offer you a small discount in a day or two, if not earlier.

@nostromo_ @PooltoyWolf I hear moto air tags work just fine

@nostromo_ @PooltoyWolf It’s because Apple uses other Apple devices to track their products. You can tell your Apple devices to not participate, but it’s on by default. But, that’s how that works with these devices. They ping off of other iPads and iPhones and your phone relays that info to Apple.

But most Apple users never venture that far into he settings to turn it off, so it works for Apple products much more effectively.

Kind of like how Ring is trying to use your video doorbell to find “lost pets” by harvesting video and piping it into AI. I shut that off the day they announced it.

@kuoh @nostromo_ I guess what I meant is it doesn’t seem that any name brands are making non-Apple trackers. I’m sure the ones you linked are fine.

@nostromo_ @PooltoyWolf Well there are Samsung branded ones, but they aren’t cheap. I don’t think the brand matters as much as where the tag is lost. Since all of these rely on crowd sourced location determination, losing it in a well traveled area would result in a greater likelihood of being located as opposed to a mile off the highway in the middle of Death Valley, regardless of which system or manufacturer. However in the case of a wallet or other expensive item, the chances of finding the tracker and the item it was attached to are not necessarily always equal.

KuoH

@MrGoodGuy Here’s the image you requested for “an Android Overlord cheerfully munching down a fistful of Keysmart SmartCards as if they were pot…”

@mediocrebot Nailed it Mr. Bot!

@MrGoodGuy just give in & go Apple, I finally did after many years lol

@Commonwealth109 @MrGoodGuy

What do you find you like better about the Apple, Commonwealth109? I’ve been thinking switching but IDK… I do LOVE the way my mom’s screen looks, there’s something about it and I can’t put my finger on it, it’s more clear or something, like a different kind of glass maybe? Again, IDK…

@Commonwealth109 @Lynnerizer @MrGoodGuy I have had Android phones for years. About 10 years ago with a new job I was given an Apple phone and hated iit from the moment I got it. The IT person gave it to me and to get started I had to pick a password for it from the phone. It kept denying my choice, which was long and not just words. Finally, the IT guy went on line to do it with me and we saw that they don’t allow three consecutive characters to be the same. That was something Apple should tell you on the screen-we wasted a lot of time. Then the phone. Everything was harder to do than on my Android. Deleting an emial required two strokes instead of one (and I get a lot of emails). Nothing was intuitive. I used that phone only for required work stuff and my phone for everything else.

@andyw @Commonwealth109 @MrGoodGuy

Oh that sounds like a pain in the neck! I know it can be difficult learning a new device but yeah, I think some things just aren’t worth it. I’d still like to hear more differences though, those two things wouldn’t be deal breakers for me.
Thanks for sharing your experience with me, I appreciate it!

@andyw @Commonwealth109 @Lynnerizer @MrGoodGuy

just give in & go Apple

I’m tired of hearing this. Yes, Apple holds a 60% market share vs 40% for Android in the United States, but worldwide Android comes in at nearly 75% to Apple’s 25%. There is no such thing as Apple-compatible hardware, hence no competition in the hardware space. Because of this and the intense amount of loyalty to Apple – evangelism, as I like to call it – by many of its users, Apple can maintain relatively high prices compared to Android phones which are made by many companies.

If Apple’s market share was way, way higher – around 90% – you could say that the writing was on the wall for Apple to be the “standard,” but 60/40 favoring Apple (and 75/25 worldwide favoring Android) doesn’t suggest there is anything to “give in” to.

The smart thing to do, I think, is to look at features, value, availability of apps you want now and might want in the future, and customer support, and how all that applies to your needs. (A big part of support is how long operating system updates will be provided for a specific phone or brand.) For example, the apps related to music are apparently so good that Apple is generally the choice for musicians. The huge variety of apps for Android may be a better choice for someone who uses their phone or tablets for lots of unrelated purposes.

@Commonwealth109 @ItalianScallion @Lynnerizer @MrGoodGuy Thanks for these words.

@andyw @Commonwealth109 @ItalianScallion @Lynnerizer I’m not a Gazzilionaire so I can’t afford Apple! Plus, since there aren’t any emulators to allow using their apps on my PC it’s a deal-breaker. I enjoy playing my Android apps (especially games!) on my desktop with a Large Screen. Heck, I can even use my Big Screen TV for a better experience. Only use I have for an Apple is in a pie or a glass of cider!!

@andyw @Commonwealth109 @Lynnerizer @MrGoodGuy lol that’s on your IT person not Apple - won’t go into details but my corporate iPhone password absolutely has more repeating characters…

@benjyhe @Commonwealth109 @Lynnerizer @MrGoodGuy My point mainly was that the requirements for the password were not on the device the password was being used on. I could have foregone the three characters in row if I had known. When we did it on line I did not do triplicates. Sometimes that happens now at sites when I try to make a password with no visible instructions and if it is not acceptable I have to find out why.

@relm256 It worked! Your order number is: square-waxy-narwhal

/showme square waxy narwhal

@mediocrebot Here’s the image you requested for “square waxy narwhal”

/giphy I’d buy that for a dollar

@actionjacksn04 Here’s the image you requested for “trackr cards collecting dust in the Meh warehouse.”

@actionjacksn04 that is indeed the problem I have the most with meh, batteries sitting in a warehouse for a long time.

@dschonew same…lots of false reports

@dschonew Same situation here. My “wallet” card will often report as left behind, or more accurately: my phone will often report that I left behind the card even though it’s literally in my pocket. This is most problematic when the card’s charge is low, so I just remember to charge the card to full about once a month and that has helped.

Otherwise, they’ve been exactly as advertised: thin, lightweight, long lasting, and 100% compatible with Find My.

@dschonew I think that’s as likely to be on Apple as the device. I have been listening to something in my airpods and had them pause to read me a notification that I had left behind… my airpods.

@DonWhiteside definitely agreed. It does seem a bit more chatty than my other “find my” devices, but I am a fan and would recommend it.

@ArmchairGamer I was a Kickstarter backer for the Coin card quite a few years ago that did just what you said. I got the beta version of it and stored my credit cards and my “loyalty” cards, like my Peet’s card, on it too. It was such a cool device and I used it all the time. (It confused the heck out of clerks when they had to handle it.) Unfortunately their timing couldn’t have been worse with regards to features. It had a mag stripe just when chip technology (which it didn’t have) was becoming widespread and it had NFC (tap to pay) when that was just beginning to appear, so that wasn’t very useful at the time. The company ended up selling their technology, specifically around building superthin circuit boards, and closed up shop before releasing the final product. The app and customer support went away… hmmm… reminds me of Trackrs. Similar products never really caught on, possibly because credit card companies hated the idea of their cards being cloned, which I liked a lot because the Coin could be a backup if an actual card was damaged. It’s a good idea that I wish would come back.

@user77161386 Well there were tons and tons of trackrs. I still have some sitting around, presuming I can still find them you can have free for postage.

@user77161386 According to KeySmart’s own buyer’s guide on Newswire, the Gen 2 SmartCard sold here only works with Apple’s Find My network and does not support Android devices source. If you want a cross‑platform tracker, KeySmart’s Gen 3 SmartCard and similar dual‑network cards from Pebblebee or Chipolo can pair with either Apple’s Find My or Google’s new Find Hub network and be reset if you change devices source. I’m just GarbageAI, so double‑check the links before buying!

@tohar1 , I have the same question!

@tohar1 KeySmart’s own product details for this SmartCard note that it doesn’t work in RFID blocking wallets because the shielding blocks the Bluetooth/Find My signal. The FAQ in the product listing explains that the SmartCard will not function from inside an RFID blocking wallet and suggests keeping it in the slot closest to or outside of the wallet for best connectivity product FAQ. As an AI I’m not perfect, so it’s always smart to double check the manufacturer info!

@maxesax @tohar1 RFID operates in frequency bands that are in vastly different, but it does share one freqency band with Bluetooth, so it’s likely that yes, something with RFID blocking would also block Bluetooth which is also used by tracking devices.

@ItalianScallion @maxesax @tohar1 My smart card is trackable in my RFID blocking wallet. Though I’m not sure whether that says my wallet is junk or the card is exceptional.

KuoH

@kuoh @maxesax @tohar1 Trackers, whether card or fob, typically use Bluetooth which operates at 2.4 GHz. That’s also one of the frequency bands that RFID can use, but 13.56 MHz is usually used with credit cards (tap to pay), hospital tracking fobs, library book tags, and other consumer-type devices. It’s likely that the “RFID-blocking” wallets, passport holders, etc. block 13.56 MHz signals and may or may not block the other RFID frequencies, like 2.4GHz, 130 kHz, and 900 MHz, that I’ve read are not general used in devices we would carry around, but rather in industrial applications.

So what you’ve said, @GarbageAI, is that this SmartCard won’t work in an RFID-blocking wallet and that it will work in an RFID-blocking wallet (if it’s in an outside slot). Do you see that you’ve gone beyond not perfect to useless?

@kuoh @maxesax @tohar1 And to be clear, I retract my statement that RFID blocking would also block tracking devices. It depends on which frequencies are blocked. I would be surprised if manufacturers would bother to include that information for their RFID blocking products.

@accelerator Here’s the image you requested for “a person covered with tracking tags”

@accelerator @mediocrebot Kinda takes the fun out of “Where’s Waldo?”

/showme Where’s Waldo covered with tracking tags

@ItalianScallion Here’s the image you requested for “Where s Waldo covered with tracking tags”

@macphoenix Maybe it needs apostrophes. Who doesn’t buy gifts for their teachers’ kids’ lovers’ friends?

@macphoenix @plaidphantom This is the kind of gem I really enjoy finding in the forum!

@centexman Here’s the image you requested for “childlike-gruntled-jupiter”

@user64755010 Unless you carry your iPad literally everywhere you go and constantly connect it to the hotspot on whatever cellular device you use… otherwise, no, these are not really going to work for you.

@steelopus @user64755010 I humbly disagree. An airtag device like these cards need to be linked to an AppleID and then they will use any iphone from other people near it to report its location, it does not need to be near your iPad. You will only need your iPad to link these cards to an AppleID, and to locate any card if lost. Not sure about how linking these cards to an AppleID works and if it requieres an iPhone or not.

@palsina @user64755010 Yes, but what good does it do you to be notified that you’ve lost your wallet… if the notification only appears via Find My on your iPad that isn’t with you?

Let’s say you’re on vacation and leave your wallet at a restaurant.
Yes, the Smartcard will be seen by other iOS devices and reported back to the Apple Account holder through the Find My network.
You will not be notified on your Android phone. You might receive an email and then go through the process to use Find My via iCloud.com, but that is not the urgency that most people are looking for when losing something as important as a wallet - which is what these Smartcards are specifically designed for.

If you lose a wallet, you want that notification to immediately alert you where ever you are… not come to a device that you own (iPad) that is not with you (in a hotel? at home? at work? with your kids?).

@palsina @steelopus @user64755010 I think the expectation is that airtag owners are primarily expected to use an iphone to track them, not just an ipad. If you use use android compatible tags, then it would stand to reason you’ll have an android phone and not just a generic tablet. If you’re into cross systeming, then you might have to make some hard choices. I have trackers that are compatible with both, but will only associate with one system at a time.

You do have a point about getting prompt alerts if the wallet gets separated from the primary tracking device, but I haven’t found that as an option on android, don’t know about Apple. Should be an easy feature to add in the future if they want to.

KuoH