[ale] Slightly OT: Android EUFY air tags limitations

[neal at mnopltd.com]

well,... 'cause their press releases, and the discussion on XDA 
Developers was... maybe intentionally misleading w.r.t. actual Android 
functionality?  I'll admit, there was a lack of adult supervision, but 
that appears to be across the board.

On 2023-02-10 14:40, Alex Carver via Ale wrote:
> Given the issues Eufy has had just recently with security cameras
> violating what they claimed in their own FAQs and marketing material
> why would you even bother with them in the first place?
> 
> On 2023-02-10 06:54, Neal Rhodes via Ale wrote:
>> FYI, there was a bit of a splash in the Android world when the EUFY 
>> tracker tags were announced.    "Works with Android AND iPhone".
>> 
>> We jumped on that, primarily 'cause we have an upcoming cruise and 
>> were hoping to give ourselves an edge if our bags were lost on the way 
>> to Galveston the day before embarkation.
>> 
>> Well, We've been attempting to test them these last few days, and have 
>> gone through 5 perky interchanges with their support people, who, 
>> while not strictly speaking "hostile witnesses", are really trying to 
>> not communicate the limitations.
>> 
>> To save fellow Android users, here is my last attempt to tease out the 
>> facts:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Ok, the limitations of the EUFY tag ought to be stated in a clear FAQ. 
>> My goal is simply to locate my two pieces of luggage after I land in 
>> Texas before I have to get on a cruise ship.
>> 
>> Here is what I am coming to understand:
>> 
>> A) For nationwide tag location, the android app is totally useless, as 
>> there are insufficient numbers of devices running the android app.
>> 
>> B) The EUFY tag can be loaded into an Apple IOS smartphone via their 
>> normal Find My capability.   This then makes use of a large number of 
>> iPhones in use. Their collective Bluetooth range is what makes tags 
>> viable.
>> 
>> C) There is NO LINK between EUFY cloud services and Apple Cloud 
>> services w.r.t. Tag location.
>> 
>> D) Your response below suggests that the EUFY app must be installed on 
>> an iPhone.   Installing a 3rd party app is a lot to ask of a friend. 
>> It is unclear what that EUFY app is going to accomplish.
>> 
>> Based on what I understand above, if all I want to do is occasionally 
>> locate airline luggage, then what I should do is give these two tags 
>> to my friend that has an iPhone, load them into Find My, and 
>> occasionally borrow them for trips.  Then if lost, I have to call my 
>> friend Max and say "Hey Max, where do you see my tags?".
>> 
>> You would have far fewer questions like this if you were clearer about 
>> the limitations up front.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 2023-02-10 06:07, eufylife support team wrote:
>> -- -- -- -- --[#TNP606069047]-- -- -- -- -- Dear nea***,
>> 
>> Thank you for your reply.
>> 
>> Sorry, I am a little confused about "I visit my friend and identify my
>> two tags on his iPhone". May I double confirm if you added the two
>> tags on your friend's iPhone? If that's the case, the tag's location
>> should be updated on your friend's iPhone. Also, please be sure to
>> check the following:
>> 
>> 1. Make sure the user's eufy Security app location permission is set
>> to "Always Allow".
>> 2. The Android system needs to ensure that the eufy Security App is
>> not under the battery optimization plan.The IOS system needs to ensure
>> that the background refresh witch of eufy Security App is turned on.
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