A 10-Year Battery for AirTag

I know this is useful (for something), but I'm stuck on the plot holes in the motivating story...

Why didn't they replace the battery when the app complained?

How long would a thief really keep the AirTag anyway?

If the thief did keep the AirTag and you tracked them down, then what? A confrontation has a fairly high chance to have a worse result than losing some equipment. You could try to get the police to do it, but that's going to take more time, during which the thief is even more likely to ditch the AirTag.

Anyway, you're really swimming upstream trying to think of aigtags as an antitheft device. They're really for something lost, not stolen. Generally, they are specifically designed to not work well in adversarial situations.

I've retrieved stolen bikes, one because of an airtag. Showed up with a couple friends standing by but not trying to be intimidating. It's mostly about staying calm and telling the person this is mine, I'm taking it. They always say "no it's my friend's, you're gonna piss him off" or "I just bought this" or something. Maybe you offer some fraction of a "reward" to smooth it along and cut your losses. Don't try to start a fight and it generally goes OK. Also, try not to accuse them of stealing, they'll just get defensive. "It's someone else who is screwing us both, but this is mine sorry."

If it’s left anywhere in the open at anytime, you can repossess it legally as well. This happens with auto repossessions all the time. You don’t owe anyone an explanation as it’s yours - just take it if you can do so safely.

Just be careful! In SOME jurisdictions, you can get in trouble for 'stealing' if you take back something that was stolen. Possession vs Ownership are 2 different things. For instance, the thief may have stolen something, sold it to someone who bought it in good-faith, and you take it back from that person, it's technically theft!

File a police report, go through the right channels. If you know its yours, call the police department non-emergency and explain the situation

This is the most useful advice: call the police non-emergency number, explain concisely, and ask them what to do.

A bunch of the other suggestions, here on HN Streetwise ProTips, can get self and/or friends beaten, stabbed, and/or arrested.

No, THE most useful advice is not to take legal advice from cops.

How do you think the police will give bad advice, if you call them up and ask what to do?

There are countless examples of police not knowing the law.

If you talk to them in person, it should be to get an idea of what they'll do, which may or may not have something to do with what's legal.

If you want legal advice, ask a lawyer with experience in the relevant area.

You don't want legal advice. You know where your stolen bike is, so you call the police. I think that's the usual process.

Probably they will verify that the bike is yours, and retrieve it, or they will say that they don't have the resources.

Are people imagining that the police will say that you can go take the bike, but then turn around and arrest you for theft?

Of course, if the police tell you "finders keepers; it's in the Constitution", then you can seek legal advice.