Android Based GPS Trackers?

[Prairie Dog]

My wife and I will be travelling overseas (Japan) soon and we plan on each bringing a carbon analog bike along with us as checked baggage. These are bikes that we've had for a few years but don't get ridden very often. The bikes will remain in Japan on a permanent basis for future potential visits. For peace of mind, the airline suggested attaching a tracking device inside each box in the event that the bikes become stranded or worse case lost in transit.

Neither of us have iPhones so that would rule out Airtags. Does anyone have any past experience or could strongly recommend an Android compatible GPS device that would meet our needs? I’ve done a bit of homework and discovered that they range in size as well as subscription fees but since we've never used such products are at a loss as to which are more reliable. I would like to keep costs down as as much as possible as this would only be a one-time event OR should we simply take our chances with the airline and go without?

 

[peterh_nz]

Does anyone have any past experience or could strongly recommend an Android compatible GPS device that would meet our needs?

I have used the Samsung SmartTag plus locally for about six months. It works very well and doesn't require a subscription.

However regarding your use, I haven't yet tested it during international travel. Samsung have two versions of the tag and, if I remember correctly, at least the version I have requires a Samsung Galaxy mobile.

Good luck.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I have used the Samsung SmartTag plus locally for about six months. It works very well and doesn't require a subscription.

However regarding your use, I haven't yet tested it during international travel. Samsung have two versions of the tag and, if I remember correctly, at least the version I have requires a Samsung Galaxy mobile.

Good luck.

Thanks Peter. I did look into the Samsung tags but the only mitigating factor that precludes us from using them is that we both have phones (Pixels) that are not compatible with the SS Ecosystem.

I've also been eyeing both the Chipolo One and Tile Mate which offer similar features and are Android compatible. However, their network communities are much smaller in size compared to Apple’s Find My Network where there are literally hundreds of millions of users to help with a search. Tile does involve a subscription fee for their premium service but they also offer a free 30 day trial which would work in our favor.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I think you're better off with something that will connect to a satellite so it can always transmit to you wifi too. you have to pay a monthly fee for that though.

 

[Prairie Dog]

That did cross my mind while doing the research. There are a number of generic GPS trackers targeted mainly at car owners with monthly subscription fees as high as $20 US/month/device which works out to almost the cost of some of the units themselves. Most of these are quite bulky in size and I likely wouldn’t have much use for them afterwards because of this. The tiles, on the other hand, are versatile and small enough to conceal on a bike. The perceived risk or odds of losing either or both bikes are relatively low even with one connecting flight and my additional baggage loss/damage insurance covers each of us up to $2k Cdn.

 

[DiggyGun]

Another consideration is to get Apple Air Tags, an older, cheap and suitable iPhone with the cheapest SIM card and just use it for tracking the bikes.

Both Mrs DG and myself have iPhones and use Air Tags on a number of items. These do work well and also notify us if the battery is low on the tag.

DG…

 

[Prairie Dog]

Where in Japan?
I'm 100% sure that no body will steal your bike with or without tracking system.
Japan has lost and found division that is 90% + of lost items are return to the owners

Theft was never a concern of mine. Potentially losing a bike during transit is which is the reason for this post.

Another consideration is to get Apple Air Tags, an older, cheap and suitable iPhone with the cheapest SIM card and just use it for tracking the bikes.

Both Mrs DG and myself have iPhones and use Air Tags on a number of items. These do work well and also notify us if the battery is low on the tag.

Thanks DG. I’ll look into your suggestion. It would likely need to be a phone with at least OS 14.5 or later. Can you track multiple tags on a single phone?

 

[DiggyGun]

Can you track multiple tags on a single phone?

It does need IOS 14.5.

Yes you can. I’ve currently got four on my iPhone.

DG…

 

[DaveMatthews]

I believe there are AirTag detector apps on Android

 

[Prairie Dog]

Wife leaves in less than a week so I’ve been rushing to get her bike packed and haven’t had any time to look into trackers, guys. I did see a few used iPhones on Kijiji but most were asking more than I was willing to pay.

I was able to pick up a couple of bike boxes from the LBS and the dimensions are well within Air Canada’s checked baggage limits of 115” and 70lbs. The shop left all of the packaging, foam, etc…inside the boxes which saved me a ton of time scrambling around.

My Scott Metrix 10 after a thorough cleaning/lube. My flight leaves at a later date so I still have time before it has to be broken down and packed in its own box.

 

[PDoz]

It sounds like you only want this for the flight? If you have a friend with an apple device, you could register the airtags on their device. When you get home, donate the tags to them.

 

[PatriciaK]

What about the Tile series, that works with Android?

 

[Prairie Dog]

If you stay on same airplane. All the way to Japan with stop over in Hawaii and Korea, Yeah your bike can be accidentally unloaded before you get to Japan. Lol I didn't think of it in transit.

The only time that the bikes could get LIT is YVR (Vancouver) which is the connecting flight so I would only need to keep tabs at that point and ensure that they are on the departing flight. The risk increases slightly if we were bringing the bikes back with us.

It sounds like you only want this for the flight? If you have a friend with an apple device, you could register the airtags on their device. When you get home, donate the tags to them.

Thanks for the suggestion PDoz. Closest family members live an hour or so from me and use Android devices. A few more frantic calls to a several friends/neighbors this morning and so far, only two have iPhones but both have older versions and apparently sharing airtags requires IOS 17. I really do need to make a more concerted effort to extend my social circle.

What about the Tile series, that works with Android?

Yup. With time running out and a laundry list of things to do around the house, I decided to purchase a two pack of Android compatible tiles that were 30% off and I can acquire them before the Missus departs in a few days time. I feel that the odds of such special large items arriving safely at their final destination are pretty favorable though stranger things have happened. Tiles work just as well with Android as Airtags do with Apple devices though they may lack the precision that you get with an Airtag.

 

[DiggyGun]

Glad that you got it sorted.

DG…

 

[Prairie Dog]

Glad that you got it sorted.

DG…

Thanks DG. I'm greatly appreciative of the suggestions and advice from everyone as it all helped and made me a bit wiser in the fast-paced tech world that we live in.

 

[PDoz]

us.


Thanks for the suggestion PDoz. Closest family members live an hour or so from me and use Android devices. A few more frantic calls to a several friends/neighbors this morning and so far, only two have iPhones but both have older versions and apparently sharing airtags requires IOS 17. I really do need to make a more concerted effort to extend my social circle.

I'm not sure if it's possible to express how jealous I am - an apple free social sphere - absolute bliss !!!

Sharing airtags is frustrating - you need to physically register the things with the device, so, for example, if your daughter drops hers in a train station in milan , you can't register the replacement from Australia.....not to mention the tears when she drops her crazy expensive iphone , shattering the rear glass ( yes, glass on the back!!! ) .

 

[Prairie Dog]

Just thought that I would let everyone know that the TileMate tracker works great! I followed the bike from my hometown to YYC (Calgary) then to YVR (Vancouver) where it sat for several hours before I was finally able to see its arrival at Narita airport this morning. The tracker map now shows the bike's location at the express courier's office in her home prefecture of Yamanashi and should arrive at her doorstep soon.

YYC (Calgary Airport)

YVR (Vancouver)

Narita Airport

Sagawa Express Sales Office (Showa)

 

[Prairie Dog]

My wife encountered a slight glitch with the Japanese courier service. The company that she normally uses (Yamato) doesn’t transport bikes so she had to use one that she wasn’t familiar with (Sagawa). Unfortunately, the box’s linear dimension exceeded their max allowance by a few centimeters so she was forced to shorten it on site before they would accept it. She is now expecting the bike to be delivered tomorrow but the bike and its contents were perfectly fine. Pretty frustrating for her to discover this after a long flight. Thankfully, I have time to reconfigure my own shipping container before I leave.