Thanks to the ingenuity of a user, it has become evident that it is possible integrate wireless technology ultra wide band -BUA- from an AirTag device, to a Tesla key fob for detect the precise proximity between various objects.
As they have shared since Appleosophythe developer Praveen Nagaraj ventured to put the AirTag inside the Tesla keychain, just those of the apple made public that third parties could take advantage of Find My Network and use Apple’s U1 specifications.
Nagaraj wanted to show that the Tesla is capable of integrating Apple’s U1 specifications into new Key Fobswhich would allow connect to Find My Network and be found with the effectiveness of Precision Finding.
Apple and Tesla together for an ingenious idea
The process, which is of course detailed on YouTube, began with the purchase of an AirTag which Nagaraj immediately began disassembling to assess which pieces would fit inside his Tesla Model X Key Fob.
The first thing was to notice that the dimension of the plate was enough to fit into the casing of the key fob with certain modifications. Apple’s AirTag uses CR2032 (3V) batteries, while the Key Fob uses CR2354 (also 3V) batteries. This first problem was solved by connecting both boards to work on the same battery cell (CR2032).
Next was to melt the plastic on the key fob shell with the idea of putting the AirTag board in place of the key fob battery. He connected the plates electronically and then used the AirTag battery as a power source. for both.
“I proved my theory! I proved that the AirTag inside the keychain was detected by my iPhone, while my Tesla was released thanks to the keychain. I replaced the battery in the keyfob with an AirTag battery, although it would have to be changed every few months and not every two or three years.” And he detailed:
“As there was only the AirTag board left, there was no way to secure the battery in place to prevent it from becoming disconnected. The solution was to take a large part of the battery holder on the original AirTag case and use plastic-bonding glue to attach it to the opening on my key fob…”_
The detail of the limited coverage
So Nagaraj put the rest of the keychain back together to live the exciting moment of opening the Find My app and starting the searchbut warned that due to the limitations imposed by the design, some details emerged that will have to be resolved.
On one side, the signal strength of the AirTag inside the Key Fob is low and Precision Finding covers just over three meterswhich frequently knocks down the signal, probably as a consequence of the integration of the plates.
Although he achieved his goal, the engineer also listed the main obstacles. Thus he warned that could not get NFC tag to read on other devicesso the obstructions due to the metal and the board of the keychain prevent the identification of the lost item.
In other words, the keychain still appears in the app above three meters, but the distance and the arrow do not appear..
“I had to walk around the house until I got within 10 feet before the arrow appeared, which means when you lose it, it makes it harder for the AirTag keychain to signal nearby devices to ‘Find my network” to drive the owner to the location.”
Finally, he pointed out that had to do without the AirTag board speakernot finding space to fit it in the enclosure of the keychain, a task that took more time than expected
In thanking the interest of his followers, Praveen Nagaraj advises those who want to emulate his initiative to do so at their own risk.. A warning that seems logical after seeing the step by step of the entire procedure.
Related topics: Apple AirTags
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