Our opinion on the Action AirTag, six months later
Quite convinced by the Action AirTags, and especially by their low price, we slipped several trackers into our everyday objects. We placed one tag in a bag and another, in credit card format, in our wallet. All the tags fulfilled their role by allowing us to keep an eye on the location of our belongings on a map…. exactly like the official Apple AirTag.
Six months later, the lack of precise location, a feature reserved for genuine Apple AirTags, hasn't been too noticeable. We haven't often felt the need to precisely locate one of the objects equipped with a tag. However, it did happen once with our wallet. We simply made it ring so we could get our hands on it. It's just as effective.
However, we noticed that the battery life of the Action tags was far from that of Apple AirTags. The tag we bought for the test last summer ran out of battery six months after purchase. Obviously, changing the battery was enough to solve the problem. As for the credit card-sized tag, we had to recharge it after three months. This tag format has a built-in battery, which can be recharged via cable. Despite these few flaws, the low-cost trackers sold at Action remain a good, lower-cost alternative. We recommend them, especially if you have several items you want to avoid losing.
Original article published in August 2024
Since their release in 2021, Apple's AirTags have enjoyed colossal success around the world. The Bluetooth tag sold more than 40 million units in 2022. These small accessories, adorned with the bitten apple logo, are designed to help iPhone users find their belongings, such as their keys, wallet, or even their backpack. Of course, the uses of an AirTag don't stop there. Some users slip an AirTag into their car to easily find it in a large parking lot or in their dog's collar, as their dog tends to wander off.
Unsurprisingly, the market was quickly flooded with cheaper alternatives. Apple has agreed to open its Find My network, which is the heart of how AirTags work, to third-party brands. It is therefore possible to use a competing tag, sold by a third-party brand, and locate it on the map in the same app that locates AirTags, as well as your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or AirPods. The Locate app, which is based on the merger of the Find my phone and Find my friends apps, brings together all of a user's devices and belongings.
Among these alternatives are the low-cost solutions from Sitecom, a Dutch company that emerged in the late 1990s. Specializing in electronic products, it sells a plethora of devices and accessories at bargain prices, such as card readers, USB adapters, cables, and Bluetooth beacons.
The brand's accessories are notably distributed by Action, the famous discount brand from the Netherlands. Very popular in European countries, Action sells several variants of the tag labeled "Fresh 'n Rebel" from Sitecom, which is presented as a lower-cost alternative to traditional AirTags. To find out what it was really worth, we tested it for several days.
Four times cheaper than an AirTag
The Sitecom tag stands out firstly thanks to its price. The tracker is available for €8.95 in Action stores in France. The AirTag, meanwhile, is priced at €39 each. Apple also offers packs of 4 AirTags for the modest sum of €129.
In any case, the Action tag remains much more affordable, especially since the attachment is directly integrated into the device. Simply unpack the tracker and use the metal attachment to add it to a set of keys. True to form, Apple sells the key ring separately from the AirTag, for prices ranging from 39 euros to 49 euros. Note that many third-party brands, such as the essential Belkin, have entered the market for accessories tailored for AirTags.
Inevitable concessions
Obviously, the manufacturer was forced to make concessions to bring the price of its accessories down. First of all, the design of the Smart Finder is far from being as premium as that of an AirTag. The accessory is built around a rather thin plastic shell, which is a bit reminiscent of a toy. For its part, the AirTag is covered in "engraved polished stainless steel".
Water and dust resistant, the AirTag is IP67 certified. This is probably not the case with the Smart Finder we tested. It only takes a few seconds to realize that the design of the device happily lets water through. There is indeed a small slot in the opening hatch allowing access to the battery drawer. We advise you not to immerse it in water...
However, it should be noted that there is an IP67 version of the beacon, not available from Action. More premium, the beacon is offered at the price of 14.99 euros on the site of the range "Fresh 'n Rebel". It is also available on Amazon France for 19.50 euros.
Simple, but less accurate
As promised, it is possible to locate the tag using the iPhone's Find My app. We were able to track the tracker slipped into our partner's bag (with her consent, of course) throughout the day. Mirroring an AirTag, the tracker can be renamed, and a small icon can be added to make it easier to find on the map.
Pairing isn't as intuitive as pairing with an AirTag, but the process is far from complicated. As explained in the included user manual, simply press the single button on the rectangular case to activate pairing mode. Once this is done, you need to go to the Find My app, installed by default on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, to connect the device.
However, the tracker is much less accurate than an AirTag. In fact, the tag purchased from Action is even regularly offline. You sometimes have to wait several dozen minutes for it to come back online. You find yourself unable to know where the tracker is for a very long time. Everything suggests that the accessory designed by Sitecom only connects to the network sporadically.
One evening, the tag was even completely offline for 45 minutes. Our companion, who was carrying the tracker in her purse, had crossed several cities and dozens of kilometers, while the tag still displayed its old position. Similarly, it is not possible to track the tag in real time. Typically, the tracker sends its position before going offline for about ten minutes. For example, the Smart Finder was located in a building along a road used by its user. In the middle of a trip, the tracker sent its position before going offline again.
According to our tests, an AirTag can also periodically go offline. However, this is much less common than with Action's low-cost alternative. Typically, simply going to the Find My app and refreshing the page will update the tag's exact position. In fact, an AirTag doesn't stay in an unknown location for very long.
Finally, it is not possible to locate the tag precisely. Armed with your iPhone, you can indeed detect the presence of an AirTag to within a meter. Apple provides a real detector that will guide you in the right direction to help you find your keys or wallet. The device vibrates and displays arrows to show you where to go. This is ideal for finding keys you've forgotten in your pants or jacket.
Unfortunately, Apple reserves this feature for its own accessories. Third-party brands can't take advantage of it. If you lose the item attached to your Action Tag, you'll have to make do with its address. This isn't very practical if you often lose things around the house. In this case, the app will reassure you by showing you that your keys or bag are at home, but you won't know where to look for them. You'll then have to make the tag ring by going to the Find My app. We'll come back to this feature a little later.
Protections against harassment
Apple has taken a mountain of precautions to prevent the AirTag from being used to track individuals. In fact, the Cupertino giant quickly responded to the numerous abuses reported shortly after the release of its Bluetooth beacon. Some individuals have used the accessory to track their spouse, a stranger they met in a bar, or to track a car without the owner's knowledge.
To prevent this, Apple hasimplemented a series of security measures for its beacons. For example, iPhones can notify their owner if an unknown AirTag is nearby. So, if you place a beacon in someone else's suitcase or bag, they will receive a notification on their iPhone. Furthermore, the AirTag will start ringing if it is separated "for a certain period of time from its owner", Apple says. According to the latest news, it should start ringing between 8 and 24 hours after the last contact with its owner. After a week of testing, the tracker hasn't rung once, which theoretically opens the door to abuse.
Furthermore, it's possible to make an AirTag ring to make it easier to find. Sitecom's Smart Finder is also equipped with a speaker for this purpose. You can play a ringtone on the accessory via the Find My app interface. Unfortunately, the beep that sounds is significantly less powerful than the ringing of a real AirTag. In a noisy environment, like an airport or a crowded restaurant, this feature may quickly prove useless. However, the beep of an AirTag may also be completely useless in these scenarios.
A convincing alternative
Despite its flaws, shortcomings, and shortcomings, the tag sold at Action remains a rather convincing alternative to AirTags. The tracker is simple and effectively allows you to track your personal items and belongings using Apple's Find My network.
We especially regret the device's lack of precision and the absence of precise search. These shortcomings lead us to favor the AirTag for locating small objects, such as keys or a wallet. To keep an eye on these objects, we prefer to have precise, reliable, and effective location technology. On the other hand, the Sitecom tag remains a good, low-cost alternative if you want to avoid losing a bag, suitcase, car, or even bike.
Finally, we believe that the tracker sold in the Action department remains an excellent complement to AirTags. By investing in one or two AirTags, and a range of Fresh 'n Rebel tags, you can keep track of all your belongings without emptying your bank account in the process.
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