Moderator: I posted this here because I figured it would be of interest to all international traveling AR members .

My traveling buddy that goes with me to South America at least once a year to shoot birds let me know today that Apple has a device called an Airtag that you can put in your checked bags to keep track of them. Both of us are "shotgun snobs" - by that I mean we always take our own guns. Over more than 14 years of travel the two of us have only not had a checked bag show up "late" once - gun cases always showed up. However, with more and more reports of checked bags getting "lost" we would like to be proactive. Wondering if any AR members have used the Apple device? Pros and cons? Wondering if there are GPS devices we could put in our gun cases/checked bags that would be better? We have dealt with having to go back to the baggage area and identify our bags and gun cases more than once. Any advice/experiences would be greatly appreciated. TIA,

Yes, I use AirTag in all my bags. Just make sure you use fresh batteries before your trip. I am able keep track of them on my phone, and know where they are at almost all times. “Tiles” will work with both Apple and Android.

The Apple “Find My” is great. Last month my wife’s iPhone was stolen at the Bucharest airport. I was able to track the phone, show the local police and we located the phone and the thief. Some 76 year old lady had it and a purse full of phones. Apple’s location services is great.

AirTags are interesting. They work by connecting to random people’s Bluetooth and reporting the location back to the owner.

Baxter’s spot on - AirTags work by essentially bouncing a signal across other Apple devices via Bluetooth and then via cell data to enable the “Find My” feature on your phone. In areas without a lot of smart phones, they will also report their location to your phone within 30-40 feet or so.

The Bluetooth bounce feature doesn’t work in the following countries, so perhaps think about a different option if you plan to need tracking here (sourced from https://www.macrumors.com/2021...nternational-travel/)

Argentina
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Indonesia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Nepal
Pakistan
Paraguay
Russia
Solomon Islands
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan

Funny you mention this.

I just started testing them.

Put one in my bag and one in my carry on bag.

They do work, as long as there is someone with a phone close by.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Funny you mention this.

I just started testing them.

Put one in my bag and one in my carry on bag.

They do work, as long as there is someone with a phone close by.

With all the sold iPhones it must work well

Will the air tags work if placed inside a metal gun case?

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Will the air tags work if placed inside a metal gun case?

It should.

They do work inside a metal case.

Problem is they have to have someone with reach that has Bluetooth on and using findmy app.