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Are you always misplacing your keys, wallet, purse or a child loosing their favorite stuffed animal? If so, you need to take a look at the Tile Mate. The Tile Mate is a small plastic tracker about the size of a key fob that syncs to your phone via Bluetooth and app on on your Android/iOS device.
Tile Mate Tracker – Features and Specs
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Information taken directly from the Amazon Sales Page.
- things: Use your smartphone to make your Tile Mate ring when it’s nearby but out of sight.
- Find your phone: Can’t find your phone? Simply double press the Tile button on your Tile Mate to make your phone ring, even when it’s on silent.
- Activate Community Find: If your Tile Mate is faraway, let other Tile community members help. The Tile app running on their phones can send location updates to your app.
- Mate has a replaceable CR1632 battery is guaranteed for one year from activation.
More information taken directly from the Tile Mate Website.
- Weight: 7.5g
- Size: 34.7mm x 34.7mm x 6.2 mm
- Sound: 1.5x Slim
- Range: 150 ft / 45m
- Battery life: 1 year Guaranteed
- Battery Type: Replaceable coin-cell (CR1632)
- Keyring hole: Yes
- Technology:Bluetooth LE
Tile Mate Tracker – The Review
About a year ago my wife gave me a Tile Mate Tracker for Christmas. It was actually a gift from one of her marketer friends from work. Its was even personalized with the business name! This particular model was one without a replaceable battery. But now Tile Mate has decided to be like other tracking tools and added a replaceable battery.
This year I purchased a 4 pack to give away as gifts (Wife, Father, Mother, Bother). I had the chance to inspect and install the one of them for my father. Its the same one that I am reviewing just updated with a battery. Later on the review I will talk about the other models.
The Tile Mate Tracker is a small device that syncs to your phone and can be attached to your keys (or anything else) so you can keep track of them and track them down when you loose them.
The basic Tile Mate itself is made well and should last you at least a year under normal use. Its a hard plastic shell with seams glued shut (I think). The non removal battery model has the battery soldered to the circuit board and the new model with the removable battery has a sturdy battery door that slides off and the battery sits in place. Its similar to a watch battery case.
Both Tile Mates work great and worth the purchase. Make sure to check prices. You can pick up the new models around $15 to $20 on sale and the old units are either discontinued (no longer on the website) or about to be. So these should be cheaper than the new ones.
How To Configure Tile Mate Tracker To Your Phone
Configuring the Tile Mate to Your Phone is easy. At some point, I will write up a short tutorial but for now follow these step. On your Android or iPhone device go to the app store and download and install the app. Once installed create an account and make sure to fill out your profile.
Next, at the top of your phone click the the plus sign. There you can select add Tile or another device you have that works with the Tile tracking software.
As to your Tile click Tile Family and select the your Tile model. Then follow the instructions. You will click the Tile logo. It should play a tune. Next place your phone near by and turn on your Bluetooth. If its already on, it should connect automatically. If it doesn’t connect try again. It took me 2 tries to link the new model to my dad’s iPhone 6s and 1 try to connect my older style Tile with my Android LG G4.
Make sure to name your device and make it something you will remember. This could be the make of your cars (one for each car), camera gear, wallet, child’s toy or whatever you want to keep track of.
Once you finish all the steps you are done.
How to Use Your Tile Mate Tracker
Your tile tracker works both ways. If you lost your phone, just press the Tile logo twice and your phone will start to ring. It doesn’t matter if the ringer is off, the device is in do not disturb, or on vibrate. The phone rings until you unlock it or open the app.
If you lost your keys or other items, then open your app and click the find button for the missing item. The Tile Mate will ring. If you are out of range to click on the map and check its last known location (you need to allow location tracking on your phone for this option). If someone else has a tile and the app is active nearby the their phone will help you pin point a location for your tracker. And don’t worry your data is always kept private, and you will never know who helped you and they won’t know either. They just get an in app message that says that someone thanked them for helping find their missing tracker.
Back to the Review
Both the configurations and tracking system is easy to use and takes only a few minutes to configure (per device) and learn how to use the app. I found the tracking service to be helpful and the map is accurate up to the building you are in. Once in the building it doesn’t work well. It will give you a general direction and you can see where you are verses the last known spot. Its designed to get you close enough to get you connected to the app once back in range and hear it go off when you hit the tracking button.
When the Tile Mate Tracker first came out I wasn’t interested in purchasing one even though I kept loosing things. Coming from someone whose prefers not to throw tech thing in the dump or have to send them off to tech recycling centers, this product wasn’t for me or my wife.
But once we received one as a gift and using it for a few months we decided it was worth it to have one of these. In the last year I lost my keys and cell phone at least 10 times. Sometimes it was in the car, sometimes in the seat cushions, sometimes it was left in a random place in the house that I forgot about it. In almost every case, I was in a hurry and had to get out the door quickly. The Tile Mate Tracker helped me find my devices in a matter of minutes and saved me from being late.
I decided that once my Tile Mate Tracker died and was out of warranty, that I would replace mine with a Tile Mate Pro tracker and purchase a Tile Mate Slim for my wallet, couple of regulars now that they have the regular Mates with replaceable batteries for my wife and my computer bag, and camera bag.
How the Warranty Works
The customer service team was great. I had an issue with my tile about 8 months into my usage. It stopped tracking. Even though I didn’t purchase this (it was gift) they still replaced it no question asked. All they wanted me to do is was discount bluetooth, restart the phone, and try tracking again. It did not work. With in 24 hours of a couple of back and fourth emails customer service sent me a new tracker without packaging for free!
Once the replacement Tile arrived I looked over the old tracker and I found a small dent on the back of the tracker. I think my keys may have smashed against the case damaging the internals.
The tracker arrived and I now have a brand new tile and year of service for free. It looks like my warranty even started over.
Tile Mate Tracker Bundle Options
I would only purchase a single tracker if you only need one or just want to test it out and see if this something that will work for you. If you need more or want to purchase some for gifts, stocking stuffers at Christmas, or want to split a pack with a friend then purchasing a multiple tracker bundle is your best option.
You can buy a 4 pack or an 8 pack from Amazon, Best Buy or From the Tile Mate store. Currently buying the bundles is a lot cheaper than buying a single tracker. If you purchase from the Tile Mate store you can even get individual wrappers for each tile in the package (looks like this deal was only during the Christmas season)! My suggestion is to check what deal Amazon has, what the store has, and your local store has and what the current combo deal is. Sometimes the various stores may offer a Google Home Mini or an Alexa Dot with the purchase of a bundle.
If you loose your wallet or tend to leave it some where other than in your pocket or purse, then you need to check the Tile Mate Slim. Its about as thick as a credit card and can fit into one of your credit card slots.
If you want a nicer looking tracker, you need to check out the Tile Mate Pro. It has a nice look to it plus it has a longer distance on the tracker.
Final Thoughts
Overall I think the Tile Mate Trackers are a great product. Their customer service team will work with you to sort out your issues. I feel these devices are important and anyone who loses items or doesn’t want to risk loosing an item, this is a great way to keep track of items.
If you loose an item and someone finds it and doesn’t turn it in or if its stolen and your nearby, you might be able to get it back. If you need help from the authorities, they may not help you out unless they come to your aid. If you loose the item and you are far away, you might be able to call the store and have an employee track it down. But if its stolen, you may not get back. So keep that in mind, when purchasing your trackers. These aren’t 100% retrieval devices but its close.
Another cool feature of the tile is you can get free tiles by giving you a personal link to the Tile Mate website. If someone purchases from your link, then they give you credits towards a new one.
Please Note: if you click a link on this article that points you to the Tile Mate Website and you purchase from the site, you will be helping get me a free tile.
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