AirTag on car

ted1

So I got an alert an AirTag was moving with me.

when I got home I went looking for it. I can get it to play a sound so there diffidently one in or in the car somewhere, but I can’t track it down the noise it emits makes it hard to trace.

many ideas how to find it? Or what the plan is if the person who put it there ?

cars is a 221 VW ID4

Sir Galahad

Someone put a tracker in or on your car ?

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058251363/airtag-on-car

Sounds like someone lost it in your car or placed it there.

id check in between the seats or is the sound coming from outside?

In your phone, when you get the alert to say an AirTag is following you, you get the option to disable its broadcast to the host.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119237277#Comment_119237277

Seems to be.

No one who has been in the car has air tags. Sound May coming from the wheel arch is somewhere

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119237320#Comment_119237320

Check it in the morning to see where it’s stuck. It’s possible with the current cost of materials, parts etc, they want your EV.

The next time the notification comes up, I think you can disable the tracking feature. It’s the anti stalking feature.

Sir Galahad

Well ? Did you find it yet ?

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238150#Comment_119238150

No joy finding it, and can’t stop it from tracking. Even if I could my neighbours phone would probably report its location

will head to the Garda station later to report it

HorseSea

Hope you find out who placed it, that would drive me nuts until I found out.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238634#Comment_119238634

yep, it is driving me nuts.

I’ve tried downloading lots of different BLE scanners but nada. Hoping the Gardai have some kind of wand they can wave but doubt it

i have raised a case with the data commissioner. To think someone can put a device on you belonging that can trace you and you can’t deactivate it is absurd.

[Steve]

You should be able to deactivate it as outlined here: https://support.apple.com/en-ie/HT212227

Girl Geraldine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238664#Comment_119238664

Lol. The Gardai barely have patrol cars. Plus, they won't give a fiddlers about an airtag in your car, if they even know what an airtag is. You'd be laughed out of the station.

eusap

If it was misplaced it probably down side of seat etc... if it was placed intentionally probably in a cubby hole if its from somebody you know or outside if not.

Do you have an iphone? if so open the "Find MY" app, click "Items" and click identify found item, then wave your iphone around the car and narrow down location

ThreeGreens

I'm not so sure that he'd be laughed out of the station. It seems like the potential for a serious crime. Quite possibly lining up a car theft...perhaps a chance to catch a gang that use it as a modus operandi.

I'm sure any woman going to a police station with a similar complaint would be taken very seriously. I don't see why they wouldn't take the same complaint from a man. It's a form of stalking at minimum.

OP, I'd suggest going to the police first. After that, I'd suggest going to your mechanic. Lifting the car up on their jack or driving over the bay, will give much better access to the underside and wheel arches and might make it much easier to find.

If it's underneath the car or in the wheel arches, it probably took some effort to put there. So more likely a professional job. If inside the car, more likely a family member.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238901#Comment_119238901

Not a chance it’s misplaced as we don’t use them.

I’ve tried waving the phone. I gather that uses NFC. But can’t locate it.

eusap

Is it a company car? could it be your employer?

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238850#Comment_119238850

Those instructions seem to want me to disable location services on my money which stops google maps etc from working. They also don’t prevent my neighbours phone from reporting the location.

then The instructions to disable it require you to have the actual tag In your hand

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238949#Comment_119238949

No , it’s my wife’s.

eusap

Where are you located? we could have a boards meetup to find the airtag?

[Steve]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238955#Comment_119238955

If you cannot physically locate the airtag then the Gardai is the best option. It's mentioned in that article -- " If you can't find the device and if you feel your safety is at risk, go to a safe public location and contact law enforcement."

Most likely that it's been placed somewhere inaccessible and/or encased in soundproof material to stop the sound being heard clearly. At least you got notified that it was with you in the first place.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Might also be worth not bringing your car home too.

If it was placed on your wife's car there could be a potential for a few crimes here. I'd park the car somewhere secure where it can't be accessed until you pull the tag out of it, although that might be too late now since the tag already tracked you at home for a night so they know where the car is.

You might invest in some extra security features such as your own tracker, and maybe a big lock and chain around the steering wheel.

Bad it has to come to that but there might be a theft incoming very soon.

Would also recommend your wife to keep doors locked etc as she's driving around and to have her wits about her too just incase.

antodeco

Can you hear it when you're outside the car? The volume on these isint actually too loud, so if you hear it outside the car, then I'd be confident it's not IN the car. And I that's the case, there's only a limited number of places it can be stuck to. If it's IN the car, then someone had to have access to the internals of the car.

Ubbquittious

Download the app "nRF Connect" from nordic semiconductor. That should give detailed signal strength indication to help you find it

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239292#Comment_119239292

It’s hard to tell , I can hear it inside and outside. I suspect the Wheel arch or some here.

Open your bonnet & boot and search again

Magown3

It might be easier to hear at night when it's a bit quieter?

If it's malicious, It could be in a magnetic box, stuffed with some form of sound proofing, and stuck to literally any part of your car that a magnet can stick to.

mikeecho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238581#Comment_119238581

Let us know the outcome of the Garda stn visit.

But i know that you'll be wasting your time.

If anything, it'll be recorded as property found... If you can find it.

Unless you know of what crime has been committed, you're wasting your time.

You'll be rocking up, telling them that you found something in your car.

kirving

If it was suspected to malicious, I'm sure the Gardai could get a warrant to force Apple to disclose the ID which the AirTag was first registered against.

mikeecho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240611#Comment_119240611

What crime has/was committed?

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238982#Comment_119238982

Sounds well dodgy alright, though they don't sound too "professional", because it's extremely easy to disable the speaker entirely and make it silent. No soundproof material required.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238894#Comment_119238894

Actually this tag tracking thing is well known to police around the world as it's been increasingly used in stalking and for theft purposes.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241100#Comment_119241100

Illegal tracking and Interfering with a vehicle

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238937#Comment_119238937

NFC has to be close to the item.