Why we love using Tile trackers

An interconnected web of location trackers keeps an eye on your valuables. Michael Murtaugh YOUR GUIDE Tim Barribeau This is [Julienne](. In addition to being elegant, fluffy, and a perfect housemate, she’s also exactly what people mean when they say “scaredy-cat.” She hid for almost a week when we first brought her home. Every time visitors come by, she silently squirrels out of sight. And when we moved houses, as soon as we put her down, she sprinted to find the smallest, darkest, safest spot, from which she didn’t move or make a sound until she felt completely safe. As a result, we’re terrified that if she ever runs off, she’ll be hiding in a bush six feet from us and we’ll never find her. She’ll stay a small, silent bundle—all but invisible. So, in my cat-dad paranoia, I hung a [Tile bluetooth tracker]( on her collar, and one has remained there for four years, through multiple product iterations and designs. Tiles are small [Bluetooth trackers]( that come in a variety of sizes, including a tiny dot, a little square, and a credit-card-sized option for your wallet. All of the different shapes do essentially the same thing. If you’re near enough for your phone to connect to them over Bluetooth, you can trigger an audio alarm to come from the tracker, so you can find the keys buried in yesterday’s coat. If you’re not close, the app will show you the last place your phone connected to the tracker. You can mark the Tile as “lost,” and the app will tap into its network of other users, alerting you if someone comes close enough to pinpoint your tracker’s location. “You place the Tile where you want and more or less forget about it.” Handily, you can also use a Tile to locate something that may get frequently misplaced—your phone. Simply press a button on the tracker to have your device squawk at you from across the room, since you can never remember where you put the damn thing. A [Tile Slim]( in my partner’s purse helped us find the bag when she left it in a café in Liverpool, England, even when we didn’t have local SIM cards. A [Tile Pro]( is discreetly hidden on the frame of my bike, in case anything happens to it (again). As for Julienne? She currently has a [Tile Sticker]( on her collar tag. Though we’ve never had to use it to find her, the Tile has been a convenient way to figure out which drawer of clothes she’s burrowed her way into this time. And because the Sticker is only about 5 grams, we’re not worried about it weighing down her collar. The Tile also suits our needs better than a [dedicated pet GPS tracker](. Those are more expensive, much larger and heavier, require tracking subscriptions, and need to be charged regularly. With a Tile? You place it where you want and more or less forget about it—at least until the battery runs out, which is definitely a downside. A GPS tracker will update more quickly, and it doesn’t rely on a network of other users to be near you—which makes it more suited to a far-roaming dog than to a lazy, housebound cat. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Learn More ›]( How it compares Apple recently announced its own take on Bluetooth trackers: [AirTags](. The biggest benefit to these is that millions of users with iPhones, iPads, and Macs around the world can anonymously help AirTag owners find their trackers through the “Find My” network. That’s led us to recommend AirTags as the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users. Tile isn’t completely irrelevant, though. - Tile Mate remains our Bluetooth tracker pick for Android users. It still has a robust number of users in its network, with more than 35 million devices sold. - Tile’s various models give it an advantage over Apple’s AirTag. The Sticker is still notably smaller than an AirTag, and the Slim fits into your wallet in a way the AirTag can’t. - Unlike AirTags, Tile Mate has a built-in keychain loop. Apple users need to either [buy an accessory]( or do some (highly discouraged) [cosmetic surgery](. - We were able to track down Tile’s Slim, Sticker, and Pro models at least 120 feet away. That’s a lot farther than the 30 feet of nearby-finding distance AirTags provide. Read more in our guide to [the best Bluetooth trackers](. Something to consider Tiles are not designed to last. Only two of the four models (the Mate and the Pro) have replaceable batteries. The Sticker and the Slim, which are the more useful versions for us, are hermetically sealed black boxes. Once the battery dies, that’s it, you have to throw them out. The company says the battery in the Slim 2020 will last three years, and the Sticker’s battery will last up to two years. The app will let you know when a battery is reaching the end of its lifespan. But if you don’t check on it every now and then, you might find yourself logged out of the app, and when you sign back in, the battery may already be dead. It’s a disappointing and frustrating design decision from Tile, and it contributes to yet more electronic waste. Hopefully the company will eventually change tack to make all of its products replaceable or rechargeable. When to buy We see deals on Tile trackers pretty regularly, but the best discounts usually come around Black Friday and Prime Day. The numbers $25 Average street price $15 Best price we've seen
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