Air Tag Mystery (come sleuth alongside me)

[Jersey Girl]

So here it is. I was out at Walmart getting the grocery pick up this late afternoon when my iPhone started pinging Air Tag notifications. I ignored them due to indifference, introvert not having it. Got home, put away the stuff, all that jazz. Hours later this evening, my phone starts popping off older notifications. First one says the Air Tag was near me at 1:29 p.m. and the other at 11:24 a.m.--in that order. I was literally inside the house at those times.

So I look at the map.

It shows the alleged Air Tag zipping around the neighborhood but not on any of the streets.

Immediate assumption: Someone put an Air Tag on their dog or cat and it's running around through the woods. It never leaves the "neighborhood". Never goes on a street.

What I did:

Asked the Boy to see if his phone is getting the same notifications: No
Texted the neighbor to see if their phones got notifications: No

Theories:

The Boy: It's an Air Tag on a drone flying over the houses taking pics.
The Neighbor: It's a GPS error

Debunked:

Can't be a GPS error according to my googler because the Air Tag and iPhone uses Blue Tooth.

Question:

Why is my iPhone the only one getting notifications?

Conclusion so far:

Based on what I think I know, which is virtually nothing about tech, and if I apply Occam's Razor, I go back to my original assumption that an animal is Air Tagged and running through the woods. Even if I go with that theory, it still doesn't explain why my phone is the only one receiving notifications.

When I go on the Find My iPhone app it has instructions to disable the Air Tag...but only if **I** have the Air Tag--take out the battery. It also says if I think I'm being tracked by an Air Tag (Bill Gates is tracking my C19 vax chip) I should contact law enforcement because I could be at risk.

You guys got any ideas I haven't thought of or don't know enough about?

[Dr. Shades]

Hold the phone: You're telling me that one's cell phone can receive "pings" from an air tag that one doesn't own??

[Jersey Girl]

Hold the phone: You're telling me that one's cell phone can receive "pings" from an air tag that one doesn't own??

Yes.

Check it out:

That means that there is an AirTag that is not your AirTag but belongs to someone else, and it is near you, attached to or in something you are carrying with you. It is not a bug; it is a warning that you might be being tracked by someone. If it follows you around it is in something you have with you. If it is just when you are in the apartment one of your new neighbors is probably using AirTags to track THEIR stuff.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/25 ... ortBy=best

Note: I wasn't moving. The Air Tag was moving.

[Res Ipsa]

Hold the phone: You're telling me that one's cell phone can receive "pings" from an air tag that one doesn't own??

Yes.

Check it out:

That means that there is an AirTag that is not your AirTag but belongs to someone else, and it is near you, attached to or in something you are carrying with you. It is not a bug; it is a warning that you might be being tracked by someone. If it follows you around it is in something you have with you. If it is just when you are in the apartment one of your new neighbors is probably using AirTags to track THEIR stuff.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/25 ... ortBy=best

Note: I wasn't moving. The Air Tag was moving.

That's an answer from one user on the apple forums. From the other entries in the thread, I'd suggest it is some kind of bug.

ETA: Only the owner of an air tag can see its location. If you can see the location, then your phone thinks you have an air tag that is with you. But you shouldn't be getting alerts that an air tag is with you if it's your tag. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 Most likely a bug.

[¥akaSteelhead]

In order to avoid "abuse" of air tag tracking (like slipping an air tag onto someone's car) apple has made it so the air tags notify every smart phone around them that an air tag is in the vicinity. My kid has one on his keychain. It pops up all the time as an alert on my phone.

[Jersey Girl]

Yes.

Check it out:

That means that there is an AirTag that is not your AirTag but belongs to someone else, and it is near you, attached to or in something you are carrying with you. It is not a bug; it is a warning that you might be being tracked by someone. If it follows you around it is in something you have with you. If it is just when you are in the apartment one of your new neighbors is probably using AirTags to track THEIR stuff.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/25 ... ortBy=best

Note: I wasn't moving. The Air Tag was moving.

That's an answer from one user on the apple forums. From the other entries in the thread, I'd suggest it is some kind of bug.

ETA: Only the owner of an air tag can see its location. If you can see the location, then your phone thinks you have an air tag that is with you. But you shouldn't be getting alerts that an air tag is with you if it's your tag. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 Most likely a bug.

I read about the bug issue.

1. If I am bugged then why isn't it pinging on the hub's phone, too?

2. Also...why and how would I be bugged?

[Jersey Girl]

In order to avoid "abuse" of air tag tracking (like slipping an air tag onto someone's car) apple has made it so the air tags notify every smart phone around them that an air tag is in the vicinity. My kid has one on his keychain. It pops up all the time as an alert on my phone.

The Air Tag was notifying my phone only. Not The Boy's and not the neighbors’.

Why?

[Jersey Girl]

So far today it's not sending notifications.

[Res Ipsa]

That's an answer from one user on the apple forums. From the other entries in the thread, I'd suggest it is some kind of bug.

ETA: Only the owner of an air tag can see its location. If you can see the location, then your phone thinks you have an air tag that is with you. But you shouldn't be getting alerts that an air tag is with you if it's your tag. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 Most likely a bug.

I read about the bug issue.

1. If I am bugged then why isn't it pinging on the hub’s phone, too?

2. Also...why and how would I be bugged?

Sorry, not saying you are bugged. I'm guessing there is some kind of bug or glitch in the software that is causing it to "think" that you are moving around with an air tag that is physically separated from its owner when you aren't. It could involve the GPS. Bluetooth would allow your phone to know when it is is close to another Bluetooth device, but I don't think that Bluetooth alone could locate you or the air tag on a map.

The only way that I can think of that would make your pet theory work would be differences in the settings between your phone and JB's and the neighbor's phones. Or maybe that someone's pet is stalking you.

[Res Ipsa]

So far today it's not sending notifications.

I think that makes software bug (glitch) more likely.