10 Year Battery AirTag Case

[Gareth]

https://www.macrumors.com/2024/12/18/tim...g-battery/

I already had plans to DIY a similar solution. Bought some 2xAA battery cases (or maybe it's 2xCR123 for a 5 year life because I have a plethora of CR123 batteries) off AliExpress and some 3rd party AirTags - specifically so they wouldn't have precision finding which isn't needed in a vehicle. With a 10 year battery life, you can really bury the AirTag somewhere that will be really hard to find (especially without precision finding and the speaker removed).

But $20/1, $30/2 or $40/4 seems like a pretty decent price for a nice pre-packaged solution compared to my DIY solution.

[special]

3rd party AirTags - specifically so they wouldn't have precision finding which isn't needed in a vehicle.

Oh, interesting. I want some of these.

[sekker]

Nice

What are third-party Airtags (ones that work with the Apple Airtag system)? Or are you referring to Tiles, etc?

[JPK]

Thanks for posting. This solves a need I have been trying to fix.

JPK

[Ken Sp.]

sekker wrote:
Nice

What are third-party Airtags (ones that work with the Apple Airtag system)? Or are you referring to Tiles, etc?

These use rechargeable batteries, and they even have a very slim one for your wallet. They are completely compatible as far as working, just like AirTags.
https://pebblebee.com/

[Gareth]

sekker wrote:
What are third-party Airtags (ones that work with the Apple Airtag system)? Or are you referring to Tiles, etc?

There are 3rd party options that work with Apple's Find My.
https://chipolo.net/en-us/products/chipolo-one-spot was one of the first, I believe.

As Ken points out, some of the 3rd party ones have rechargeable batteries, so for vehicle use, you could possibly just keep them plugged in somewhere so they get charged every time you drive for "infinite" power.

In my case, I just bought cheap ones on Amazon (they were like $8 each and are de-listed now) because I was going to experiment with them, but something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C9PZ3VDX/

[sekker]

Is there any functional difference between 'works with FindMy' and an official Apple Airtag except form factor?

[Gareth]

sekker wrote:
Is there any functional difference between 'works with FindMy' and an official Apple Airtag except form factor?

AFAIK, only the Apple AirTags have the UWB chip which allows for precision finding, otherwise they should operate the same.

[sekker]

Gareth wrote:
[quote=sekker]
Is there any functional difference between 'works with FindMy' and an official Apple Airtag except form factor?

AFAIK, only the Apple AirTags have the UWB chip which allows for precision finding, otherwise they should operate the same.
Ah, the hardware differences in the bluetooth and related connectivity. Makes sense.