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Keyfob tracking options?

3K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  GregBrew 
#1 ·
We thought we had lost one of our EUV keyfobs. Only had the car for a month and arggg looked everywhere for it. Called a couple of places we had visited and asked them to check their lost and found. No luck...told the wife she needed to get to dealer and order a replacement. She procrastinated and luckily the keyfob turned up. Was it in her bottomless purse after all? One will never know... LOL.
So now I want to be more proactive as "we" have misplaced keyfobs in the past.
Any suggestions?
I was looking at Tile but than found this comment in another thread here...
Just to be clear, for those unaware: Tile devices are range-limited to Bluetooth distances (200 feet). For a more distant loss, they depend on other people having a smart phone, that they have the Tile app installed and running on their phone, their Bluetooth is enabled, and they need to be within Bluetooth distance your Tile device.

I wish I had a dollar for every person who is under the false notion that they use cellular tech, and can find your device anywhere. They can't.

So anyone with experience using some sort of tracker?
I did notice on Tile website a QR code sticker option. Wonder if I just added a label with REWARD and our phone number on it might help if found be someone?
 
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#2 ·
...I was looking at Tile but than found this comment in another thread here...
Just to be clear, for those unaware: Tile devices are range-limited to Bluetooth distances (200 feet). For a more distant loss, they depend on other people having a smart phone, that they have the Tile app installed and running on their phone, their Bluetooth is enabled, and they need to be within Bluetooth distance your Tile device...
Tile is still useful for letting you know when your phone last saw your keys, assuming you install the Tile app and keep bluetooth turned on. That should cover most typical situations where you leave your keys somewhere, since you'd most likely also be carrying around your phone.
 
#3 ·
I use an Apple Air Tag on my keychain. I can be across country and find its location as long as it is BT distance to ANY iPhone, no optional apps required. Apple surpassed 50% US market share in the past year, so pretty good bet someone with an iPhone will find it for me!

I understand Google is expected to launch an Air Tag competitor, will follow Apple's suit pretty closely I imagine.
 
#4 ·
Anker's Eufy makes a "not-an-AirTag" that seamlessly incorporates into the iOS FindMy app. It's stealthier than an AirTag and has a hole in it to directly attach to a ring and the fob. I use them on my key fobs.

 
#5 ·
Hmmm we use Android phones. Apples network seems to have way better coverage at this time?

From the article you linked "Also, as this story originates from Android Police, you’d be correct in assuming Google’s smartphone platform is covered as well. Although, obviously, without the Apple Find My network in the mix."
So for Android users wonder if the Eufy or one of the Tile would be a better option?
Are there monthly fees for these trackers?
 
#6 ·
I've used the Tile, and the BT distance hasn't been a real life limitation. The problem I've had is that on the cheaper models, the sound is not very loud, and fairly high pitched. If you have normal age related hearing loss, it might not be for you. Over the years, they have improved the volume, especially on the larger (pro) models.

I may try out the airtag at some point, but since Tiles have a replaceable battery (now) I have less reason to toss them.
 
#10 ·
I did not have luck with the replaceable battery Tiles. They worked for about a year with the original batteries. However, when I replaced the batteries the Tiles only worked for less than a week. Put in new ones again. Different battery brand purchased from different store. Dead again in about a week.
 
#7 ·
I bought my wife a Tile because someone is always misplacing her keys or phone. She insists it's not her doing it. We've found her keys in purse, yard, car, couch, bathroom using it. It will also ring your phone if you push the button on the tile itself. While not as sophisticated as airtags they are still handy.

There rumblings that Google is working on a AirTag style tracker.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I have been using Air Tags quite successfully. There is no subscription. Your iPhone can always tell you when it last saw the Air Tag and what the address was. If your phone goes out of range of the Air Tag you get an alert saying you left it behind. If you have a new enough iPhone, and you are at the same address as the Air Tag, then in the FindMy app you can pull up a compass that points at the Air Tag. Super helpful when your Air Tag is lost in your house, it can find it if it’s down the couch cushions or whatever. If the Air Tag is lost somewhere out of range of your phone, it will talk to strangers phones and tell the mothership where it is, and you can get the address that way

The Air Tag has a replaceable battery, lasts about a year. It’s a coin battery. Some brands of coin batteries have a bitter coating, to prevent kids swallowing. This coating makes them not work in Air Tags so you have to find some uncoated ones.

Also note that an Air Tag can only be linked to one phone. For privacy reasons, if your Air Tag travels away with someone else, and stays with that person when your iPhone is not also with them, their iPhone will notify them that a strange Air Tag is following them. The Air Tag will also chirp now and then. This is good to prevent stalking but has made my use case difficult. My mom has dementia. She keeps hiding her own purse, then she can’t find it and she freaks out. I put an Air Tag on the purse and linked it to my own iPhone, so we could find it. But she got upset by the messages on her iPhone, saying a strange Air Tag was following her. And the chirping drove her to locate the Air Tag and detach it. But when the Air Tag is linked to her iPhone (thereby stopping the chirping and the notifications), and her iPhone is in her lost purse with a dead battery (sadly frequent) we cannot track the purse with it. Ultimately I linked the Air Tag to my dad’s iPhone. They are never apart long enough for those messages/chirping to start. But it means that whenever the purse gets lost, I have to walk them through using FindMy, since he hates technology and always relied on her to do this stuff, and she can’t remember how anymore.

I have also put Air Tags on their car keys, and tied them to my dad’s phone. The remaining thing that keeps getting lost is the checkbook but I have not been able to find an acceptable Air Tag checkbook holder and they won’t tolerate a checkbook with a lanyard or an inelegant bump. I keep looking. There are a bazillion Air Tag keychains but I caution you to avoid the stretchy silicone ones, the Air Tags keep falling out.
 
#13 ·
AirTags are great…. but you need to be in the Apple universe to make use of them. I have a few Tile devices around the house… like on remote controls and such. They‘re okay, but Apple’s AirTag system is directional… to it will point like a compass once you’re within 30 feet or so. The other day, I was trying to find my daughter’s AirTag bracelet that she wears when biking through the neighborhood. I thought it was in her room, and it was kind of taking me in circles, then it said “AirTag maybe on a different level.” True enough. It was in the basement below her room. Those things are fantastic. My son‘s ike had a bell with a hidden compartment inside for an AirTag. I have one on my bike as well. I have 8 of them on various objects.
 
#16 ·
FYI I have a cell-service-based tracker for my daughter with a disability. It's range is as wide as any cell phone's, and doesn't depend on other people. But it's not cheap - about $150 and then a monthly service fee of about $15, and some other brands are more. That's why all the cheap item trackers like Tile use bluetooth instead.
 
#17 ·
It all depends on the use case. The cellular ones are great… especially since there are plenty in the $15 to $30 range now. Of course there are the monthly fees, but obviously that’s worth it for keeping your kid safe. As long as you live in an area will good cell coverage, you’re going to be pretty well covered.

I like Apple’s location sharing. My wife and I can see where we are. I don’t have to call to see if she has left work yet. She knows if it’s too late to add something to the grocery list. It’s real-time, so you can actually watch the dot move on the map as the other person walks or drives around. Pretty cool.

Tile is good as a cheaper way of finding something in your house. Yes, they have crowd-sourced tracking like AirTags, but with only a small fraction of participants. I have one stuck to the TV remote and it comes in very handy. The beauty of Tile and AirTags is that the battery lasts 1 to 2 years.

Each device has its own purpose. None are perfect, but they can all be very useful if used properly.
 
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