01/22/2020
Welcome to eIDtag
Every minute, people are losing their keys, phones, eyeglasses, and who knows what around the house and going nuts trying to find them. We now have tracking technology and devices to help, but are they worth it, how do they work and what is the cost?
More importantly, every single day thousands of pricey items are left behind on airplanes, airports, ride services, hotels and various locations, most with little or no resources of recovery. Why? While there are bluetooth and GPS tracking devices, those technologies have limitations. Perhaps one of the first and simplest measures is to simply have a visible name tag and contact information. If it’s an electronic device that is lost, when airline personnel try to activate the device for owner information it is almost always protected by a passcode. End of story.
I, like many found out the hard way. After a daughter left her iPad on an airline we were quick to call in and report the item missing with flight and seat number within minutes. No luck. Apple’s “Find My” app wouldn’t work with the device turned off. Even if it was, the app may have told us it is at the airport in a lost and found storage facility where there are thousands of items in every size, shape and description. Few, less than 10% ever are returned to their owner. $500 later after purchasing a new iPad, we learned we needed to do something to hopefully prevent this from happening again. We ended up subscribing with eIDtag out of Los Angeles, a simple label tracking service I believe to be sufficient for our needs.
Today, there are three basic categories for tracking methodologies- label tracking, bluetooth and GPS.
At the simplicity end of the scale, there are companies such as eIDtag who have tracking labels with coded IDs that you register with the company. These simple labels can get your items identified while protecting your identity. Finders can anonymously contact the company to make arrangements to get the lost items back to their owner.
Away from home, at the airport for example, things can get complicated. It is difficult to generalize the procedures for claiming lost items, because each airport is governed by state and local laws. If you’ve left something on a plane, here’s how it should work. Found items are normally logged in a database and held at the airport for about two weeks. The process is fairly logical with the airline noting which flight the item came from, the time, the date and a detailed description. Then the item is sent to a warehouse at the airline’s headquarters. So if you’re flying on Delta Air Lines, your missing device will be taken to Atlanta. And guess what, your smartphone, tablet or whatever is now in a mountain of similar items.
Here is where two more sophisticated tracking options are gaining traction along with labeling- bluetooth and GPS. Bluetooth enabled tracking devices operate by you reporting a missing item on their app, and it sends a command to beep or alert the owner on where to find it. Typically these devices are sold along with a subscription for the service.
Our problem with bluetooth tracking devices are they may be good for finding your smartphone or keys under the couch cushion, but what about in another city? The tracking devices uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which maxes out at about a 330 foot range. So if your lost item is miles away, one must rely on a network or community of other users of that same brand tracking company to help find your stuff. That doesn’t sound promising to me.
The last category is GPS tracking, the most sophisticated and expensive. These allow the location of an item (or person) to be displayed against a map backdrop either in real time or when analyzing the track later, using GPS tracking software.
GPS devices, at a higher cost, are capable of tracking location activities of almost everything. From electronic devices, luggage, children, hikers, vehicles or whatever. One must decide how much tracking they need.
But here is a trade off. GPS tracking devices are larger therefore not appropriate for small items. Plus, with higher technology generally comes lower battery life. Personal use trackers can have batteries that only last days of a couple weeks. Larger, more expensive units primarily used for vehicles can last a few years but these are quite costly.
In summary, if you want to up your probability of finding a lost item in the most simple and economical way, we believe eIDtag (eidtag.com) offers the most bang for the buck.
For bluetooth enabled trackers, tile (thetileapp.com) has the largest community of users which is vitally important when your lost item is miles away.
It’s really impossible to favor one GPS tracker as the needs vary from focusing on your child’s whereabouts, personal possessions to companies tracking a fleet of vehicles.
Thanks for reading and again, welcome to eIDtag.com
eIDtag is an automated lost & found service providing secured messaging & convenience 24/7 for you a
