Tile Pro

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Tile ProFor the past few years I’ve been using my Trackr devices, like the Bravo and Pixel, to keep tabs of my keys, my wife’s keys, and my daughter’s keys and purse. Well, I should say I’ve been attempting to use them to track my keys. Lately it seemed like every time I actually tried to actually use the Trackrs, the battery was dead (and hadn’t alerted me) or had lost its pairing for some reason. And when/if they did work, I couldn’t hear the tiny little speaker.

Late last year, Trackr re-branded itself as Adero and is now producing “smart tags” so I decided to try Tile instead.

The Tile Pro has a water-resistant case, replaceable CR2032 battery, and sturdy metal ring to attach to your key ring. It also has a decent-sized button (the tile logo) that you can double-click to find your phone (that’s a nice improvement over the Trackr Pixel’s tiny button that required a fingernail to press). Pairing the Tile to the phone was simple: launch the app, click the Add button, then click the button on the Tile itself. I use a common IoT account/login so I was able to install the app on my wife’s and daughter’s phones and they could use the app to find the Tile devices too.

The speaker on the Tile Pro is definitely louder than the Trackr Pixel and it’s nice that you can select from several different “ringtones” too. Even with my daughter’s car keys stuffed into her purse back in her bedroom we could hear the ringtone from the kitchen. You can also set up custom Siri commands so I can ask her to “find my daughter’s keys.” The same goes for the Tile Alexa app. Once the devices are named in the app, you can say “Alexa, ask Tile to find my daughter’s keys” or “ask Tile to find my phone” and the appropriate device will ring. Like the Trackr, Tile has a “community find” feature where Tile devices will “check in” with other people’s phones running the Tile app to assist with finding a lost item.

Tile does have a “premium” service: for $30/year (or $3/month) you get additional services like smart alerts (for when you leave without your phone or without your keys … this was a free option with the Trackr but I never used it), 30-day location history, free battery replacement (CR2032s aren’t that expensive), an extended 3-year warranty, and premium customer support. I’m not interested in paying for another monthly service so I’m going with the basic free service for now.

One of the Tile Pros in my 4-pack had a dead battery and wouldn’t turn on. I simply replaced the CR2032 battery but I wrote to Tile because I thought it was odd. They said they couldn’t send me a new battery but would just send me a new Tile device instead. Once it arrives I have to send back the “defective one” (which isn’t really defective since all it needed was a new battery). Anyway, I have to say at least support was responsive.

Like with any tracker, I can’t tell if it’s going to be useful until I actually need it. My problem with the Trackr Pixel was that whenever I did need to use it, the battery was dead and I never got an alert/reminder to check the battery. I’ll have to see if the Tile is better about this. So far my basic “find my keys (or phone) in the house” tests have worked, but that’s not a substitute for a real-world situation. And the Tile Pro definitely feels more sturdy than the Trackr Pixel. I’ll update this review as needed if I run into issues for sure!

If you decide to get a Tile yourself, feel free to use my referral link!

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