• SpookyGrowly@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    A lot of people are saying that an AirTag has been planted on your belongings or car. This is a real and scary possibility. However…

    I will note that your phone sensing an AirTag nearby can also be a glitch. Back in 2022 I freaked out because I got this alert on my phone, and I was terrified because I was in my dorm (and there was a real threat that someone I knew might have done that). I looked everywhere and there was no tag to be found, and the “play sound” thing didn’t work either.

    I contacted campus police and everything. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that there wasn’t an AirTag at all. Turns out, it was a common glitch at that time for iPhone users to receive a notification that there was an AirTag with them when there was none at all.

    The source of the problem? My AirPods. I don’t remember what I did to resolve the issue, but it probably had something to do with unpairing them. I may have disconnected Bluetooth first, I don’t remember unfortunately.

    I don’t know if the glitch I experienced is the same issue you are having now. Whether or not this is a real threat, take the notification seriously. If you have accessories like AirPods with you, try disconnecting Bluetooth, or unpairing them. If that doesn’t work, search your car and belongings thoroughly.

    Take care OP. Please be safe.

  • katmio1@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    If it’s not your own car, call the owner & ask about it. People put AirTags on their own property & even their kids for safety reasons.

    If it is, deff drive directly to the nearest police station & have someone inspect the entire vehicle inside & out.

  • itshukokay@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    All these comments saying one was placed on your car, definitely a possibility.

    Here’s a question no one is asking though, were you driving with someone else? If your passenger had an AirTag in their purse or backpack, you would also be notified.

    • xBaShBrOsx@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      This! We have one in our stroller for Disney and my friend got the notification while driving to Disney with us and was confused.

      • joseph4th@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        My wife and her sister went to visit their brother in the hospital in a neighboring state. Halfway there they got an AirTag notice and freaked out.

        Wife took my laptop bag that I had an AirTag in.

      • Intrepid00@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        My favorite story of this was someone said they had an AirTag planted on them at Disney. Turns out they grabbed the wrong stroller that had the same Disney sweater in it someone else bought because it was cold. Disney sells a lot of them on those days that are exactly the same lol.

      • triplec787@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Yep - my fiance had a panic attack because I accidentally left my airtag in my golf clubs and left them in the back of her car. She drove all over, was about 40 miles from home and it started alerting her lol whoops…

      • Chet-Harper@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        I always get this notification when I walk my friend’s dog because it has an airtag on its leash. This dog is absolutely obsessed with pigeons and has almost ripped the leash right out of my hands a couple times when we came across some unexpectedly. Pretty smart use of an airtag imo

    • Kingtoke1@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      If the passenger had one then presumably they also had their phone with them which would not trigger this alarm. I have one on my cat and anytime i am away for more than 24hrs it triggers warnings on my partner’s device

    • kickbn_@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Is it not supposed to notify others only if the owner of the AirTag isn’t around ? I think so

    • Since1831@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I’ve never gotten one when my wife was with me and her wallet too. There must be some intelligence to know the “owner” is close enough that it doesn’t alert too.

    • GarikLoranFace@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Or were you driving a U-Haul? Mine didn’t have one but did have a warning and a disclaimer I had to sign

    • sjs48@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      It’s not supposed to give notifications if it’s nearby the owner. Like I have one in my wallet/car but it doesn’t notify people I’m with because I have my phone.

      • tuc-eert@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        It does happen sometimes though. I’ve had AirTag alerts randomly during trips where it belonged to someone else on the trip.

    • ThMashedPotatoMan@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I have one in my wallet but my family has never been notified. Is it because they’re in my contacts or something?

    • zSprawl@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      No it wouldn’t…

      As long as the owner is nearby with their Bluetooth enabled phone, it updates their app and that is it.

      If the owner is not around, it will update via other people’s Bluetooth phones and if it updates via someone else’s phone too much, they get notified.

    • Sylvurphlame@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      And occasionally AirPods with Find My integration will still occasionally false positive the owner or a travel companion

    • thebornotaku@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Here’s a question no one is asking though, were you driving with someone else? If your passenger had an AirTag in their purse or backpack, you would also be notified.

      I got one such notification driving my mom’s dogs to the vet.

      Then I remembered they both wear AirTags around their collars.

    • missyou247@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Wouldn’t it be the opposite? Go home as fast as possible? Cause a burglar knows you’re 200 miles from home right now.

      • Burnerplumes@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        I’d say it depends on whether you’re armed or not. I wouldn’t want to go home and run into a potentially armed burglar if I didn’t have the means to defend myself.

    • Crocubots@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      OP, listen to this guy.

      Don’t go home until you find it. And if you’re staying somewhere overnight, park your car a decent walking distance away from where you’re staying.

      Also, as others have said - contact the police.

    • Thecardinal74@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      on the other side of that argument, please have someone check on your house, as there’s a possibility someone put it by you to know how much time they have in your home before you get back

  • iLikeTurtuls@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I keep mine in the spare tire. Also if he shares the AirTag with you (which you can now do in iOS 17) you won’t get that message. As for why it took so long is that it won’t always show that a tracker is with you, unless you go home (not 100% of the time, but that’s what happens to me). Also needs to be with you for ~15 minutes, then when it sees you’ve stopped and the tracker is still near, it knows to notify you (same reason why your apt neighbors AirPods won’t ping you, but your passengers AirPods would if you have a friend over).

  • Bouncywaifu@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    This happened to me. My bf hid one in my car. My phone did not detect it for a long time. Not sure why.

  • ndy007@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I want to know how this gets resolved. OP please update how it went. Thanks

  • HawaiiStockguy@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    If someone is in the car with you, they have one in their wallet or keys. If not, someone hid one in your car. You said family car. Someone in your family may have put one as theft deterrent

  • TheMufasa@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Makes me wonder if pilots and flight attendants get this notification all the time.