Proximity Alarm - alternatives to MI-Zone

[stain356]

I have a Galaxy S4 Android 4.3

I travel every day to work by train/public transport/etc and this involves carrying a laptop regularly. I have already fallen foul of leaving this in a train station cafe but got away with it this time.

This got me thinking that some kind of security device that could communicate with my android phone, should the laptop ever be out of a certain range, would be a good idea.

I see that there is an MI-Zone security tag (this would be put in the laptop bag) and app on the market but the few reviews out there are not particularly positive. iPhone users seem to have Hipkey but this is not available on Android.

Is anyone aware of any alternatives available that could be used with an Android?

Ideally, any system that could alarm if the phone itself is also out of a range, would be excellent too (just in case someone nicked my phone) and, best case scenario, one that could support more than one security tag, such as a keyring tab.

 

[someguy01234]

My answer might not going to be too helpful because its probably for intermediate users, but I looked at the product you mentioned and it appears to be just a Bluetooth tag. This process can be duplicated using Tasker if your labtop have Bluetooth as well, no need for the tag or extra app (besides tasker).

I'll mess with this concept when I have a chance.

sent via tapatalk

 

[stain356]

Firstly, my work laptop is an old machine (still Windows XP) and bluetooth capability may be limited. However. I would guess the suggestion above requires the laptop to remain switched on. I switch the laptop off when not in use and this would include when travelling. So a more flexible solution would be desirable.

Also, a bluetooth tag could also be used for tagging hand luggage etc if required. Simply dropping some form of tag in luggage (laptop bag or otherwise) seems the best option. However, it may be that there is no reliable solution available.

 

[someguy01234]

Here is the profile for downloading: View attachment tasker_bluetooth_detection.zip

http://youtu.be/ONsyqc0QgAI

What it does is: If your phone detects it lost Bluetooth connection with the connected device, it will:
-Take up to 30 seconds (or a specified time) to get a GPS fix, but will continue to next task if a fix is made sooner.
-Turn on WiFi, wait 2 seconds, take up to 10seconds to get the WiFi location.
-Vibrate the phone, make a notification sound, display a notification of the time the connection was lost.
-Pop up a message with these info: date time, gps and wifi location
-Also write all those info into a text file called "BluetoothConnectionLost.txt" located in your sdcard.
-Open Google Maps, search and pinpoint the previously acquired GPS location.

You just have to install Tasker, then copy the "userbackup.xml.txt" and "userbackup.xml" file into the "Tasker folder" in the phone (If you already have a previous backup, be careful not to overwrite it.) Then do a "Restore" in Tasker.

For the profile itself, you need to setup which Bluetooth device you want it to detect, otherwise it'll do it for any devices. Remember to make text file called "BluetoothConnectionLost.txt" in your sdcard (or just delete or disable that specific task from the profile if you don't like it). Just edit it to your liking.

One important note, after Android 2.2 you can't get Tasker to auto enable GPS. You'll need root, install Secure Settings and also install it's "Helper" from within the app. Even then it doesn't seems to work on KitKat any longer, so you'll just have to leave GPS turned on.

You can see the obvious problem with this profile for your application though, because when you walk away from a bluetooth device, it takes time for the phone to know it lost connection. The profile needs to be fine tuned as well, because if you just turned on the phone it will automatically initiate the "not detecting bluetooth device process", which is why I set the profile to only launch during specific day and time (work hours) and only if Bluetooth is already turned on. However, this profile might be useful for other things such as locating your car. If the phone is connected to the car's bluetooth, turning off the car means the GPS will kick in, just give it a few seconds to get the location automatically so you can find the car afterward.

Also I found the app Bluetooth Auto Connect to be helpful, it also acts as a Tasker plugin.