![]() ![]() However, it comes without any case or clip, meaning if you want to attach it to anything (a keychain, for example), you'll need to buy an accessory. True to its Apple lineage, the AirTag is a small, shiny white disc - the smallest tracker in the group, in fact. If you're an Android user, you'll need to find something else because this is only for Apple users. The bad news: I said "iPhone" because that's where AirTag compatibility ends. The good news: Apple's AirTag is one of the most powerful trackers you can get, leveraging the iPhone like no other device can. $29 at Amazonīattery: Replaceable CR2032 (up to 1 year) Alas, it's one-way only and comes without a case or clip. if it's lost somewhere in the world, Apple's Find My network should help you pinpoint it. If it's within 30 feet, your phone will find it - right down to the centimeter. Here are my thoughts on the five I tested. But they're definitely better than nothing and very affordable to boot. Anecdotally, I've heard from other users who experience similar delays in receiving left-behind notifications.Īll this is to say that item trackers, while effective in some respects, aren't foolproof. ![]() I reached out to Apple for clarification on this, but at this writing have yet to get a response. Similarly, when I went out to walk the dog, there wasn't a single tracker peep until I reached the far side of the neighborhood.Ĭuriously, my Apple AirPods Pro also integrates with Apple's Find My feature, and I get notifications much sooner when I leave the house without them. I'm not sure whether these are triggered by the amount of time a tracker is out of range of your phone or the actual distance, but in nearly every instance, too much of both had elapsed.įor example, when I intentionally left the trackers at my home and drove off in my car, it would typically take 5 to 10 minutes - or up to 2 miles - to get a notification. Unfortunately, this never worked well for me in my tests, the notifications arrived far too late to be useful. Nearly every tracker here has a "left behind" feature, which will send an alert to your phone if you walk out without your key fob, bag or other item. (Surprisingly, no "buzz" error from the Pebblebee this time.) The Tile Pro was also easily located, but I couldn't hear it unless I cracked open the upstairs door. The Chipolo and Pebblebee were detected, and I could still hear them chiming, though just barely. Unsurprisingly, the AirTag remained out of range, and this time the Eufy failed to connect as well. The Chipolo, Pebblebee Clip and Tile Pro came through loud and clear, though the Clip stumbled a bit: The Pebblebee app said "buzz not available" when I tapped the Buzz button, serving as an out-of-range alert, but then it buzzed anyway.įinally, I moved upstairs, separating myself from the trackers by two floors and two closed doors. The Eufy was detected, but I couldn't hear its chime until I moved toward the basement door. Then I put them in the basement and moved up to the main floor. Although I didn't repeat these tests with an Android phone, in part because so many of these products lean heavily into Apple's Find My capability, anyone that's Android-compatible should deliver more or less the same results.įirst, I put each tracker at one end of the house, positioned myself 30 feet away in direct line of sight, then tried to locate and signal them. That said, I'm happy to report that all of them worked more or less as advertised, though you do need to keep your expectations in check (see "A word about range" above).Īrmed with my iPhone 13, I tested each tracker inside my two-story house. It's challenging to test Bluetooth trackers because there are so many variables that can affect performance: distance, obstacles, the age and capabilities of the Bluetooth radio in your phone and so on. ![]()
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