If you happen to’ve ever missed an on-time departure due to a set of misplaced keys or misplaced pockets, you’ll profit from a Bluetooth tracker. These small units connect to your stuff and use your smartphone to maintain tabs on the place they’re. AirTags are one of the best identified within the class, tapping right into a discovering community created by nameless iPhone pings within the space. Google now has an identical community utilizing close by Android telephones, and Samsung has its personal community that employs Galaxy telephones. Some third-party trackers work with both Google or Apple’s community and supply extra options in addition. We examined trackers from Apple, Tile, Pebblebee, Samsung and Chipolo, evaluating their discovering capabilities, sound ranges, reliability and design. We predict the Chipolo Pop is one of the best Bluetooth tracker for most individuals, however a number of different trackers have their deserves as effectively.
What to search for in a Bluetooth monitoring gadget
Bluetooth trackers are small discs or playing cards that depend on short-range, low-energy wi-fi alerts to speak together with your smartphone. Connect certainly one of these devices your stuff and, if it’s in vary, your cellphone can “ring” the chip so yow will discover it. These monitoring units supply different options like separation alerts to let you know whenever you’ve left a tagged merchandise behind, or the place a misplaced merchandise was final detected. Some may even faucet into a bigger community of smartphones to trace down your gadget whenever you’re out of vary. Relying on what you need the tracker to do, there are a number of specs to search for when deciding which to get.
Gadget compatibility
Like most issues from the oldsters in Cupertino, AirTags solely work with merchandise within the Apple ecosystem. Each Apple and Google have opened up entry to the Discover My and Discover My Gadget networks to third-party producers, together with Chipolo and Pebblebee. These two firms make device-agnostic fashions that can work with the bigger monitoring community from both model, so iPhone and Android customers can purchase the identical tag. Tile trackers work with both Android or Apple units, however use Tile’s personal Life 360 discovering community. Samsung’s newest fob, the Galaxy SmartTag2, solely works with Samsung telephones and faucets right into a discovering system that depends on different Samsung units to find misplaced tags.
Discovering community
Crowd-sourced discovering capabilities are what make headlines, with tales about recovering stolen equipment or monitoring misplaced baggage across the globe. Utilizing nameless alerts that ping different individuals’s units, these Bluetooth monitoring units can doubtlessly let you know the place a tagged merchandise is, even when your smartphone is out of Bluetooth vary.
Apple’s Discover My community is the most important, with over a billion iPhones and iPads in service all operating Apple’s Discover My app by default. So except an iPhone consumer opts out, their cellphone silently acts as a location detector for any close by AirTags. Apple not too long ago elevated the AirTag’s discovering energy by enabling you to share the location of a lost tag with a 3rd get together, get together, like an airline. Chipolo fobs that work on Apple’s community have the identical capability. Google launched its Discover My Gadget community in 2024 and it’s a detailed second for the most important within the US
Now that Google’s Discover My Gadget community is up and running, it’s a detailed second for the most important within the US. Like Apple, Android customers are mechanically a part of the community, however can opt-out by deciding on the Google companies choice of their cellphone’s Settings app and toggling the choice within the Discover My Gadget menu. Samsung’s SmartTag 2 and associated community additionally defaults to an opt-in standing for locating tags and different units.
Tile presents a big discovering grid that features Tile customers, Amazon Sidewalk clients and folks operating the Life360 community. Life360 acquired Tile in 2021, and, in response to the corporate, the Life360 community has greater than 70 million month-to-month lively customers.
In our exams, AirTags and third-party tags utilizing its community, just like the Chipolo Pop and Pebblebee Clip Common, have been the quickest to trace down misplaced gadgets. They provided practically real-time location knowledge in reasonably to closely trafficked spots round Albuquerque, together with a bar, bookstore and occasional retailers in Nob Hill, together with numerous outside hangouts on UNM’s campus.
Samsung’s SmartTags have been in a position to find our misplaced gadgets more often than not, although not with the identical precision discovering accuracy as AirTags. After we examined Google’s Find My Device network proper after launch, it was noticeably slower than Apple’s community when utilizing the neighborhood discovering function. Testing it once more in 2025, the time it took to find a misplaced merchandise was significantly improved, taking only a couple minutes for the neighborhood to trace a fob. In our exams, Tile’s discovering community wasn’t in a position to constantly find its misplaced fobs.
Separation alerts
Right here’s the place a tracker’s day-to-day utility actually shines. A separation alert lets you realize whenever you’ve traveled too far out of your tagged gadgets, which is beneficial if you wish to ensure that your laptop bag, or jacket or umbrella at all times comes with you whenever you go away the home.
These notifications work whenever you’re out and about too. If you happen to’ve bought a Bluetooth monitoring gadget in your pockets and stroll out of a restaurant with out it, the separation alert ought to kick in, leading to fewer misplaced gadgets. This function additionally tells you the place your tagged merchandise and cellphone have been final paired, permitting you to retrace your steps in case you occur to overlook the alert.
Every tracker handles left-behind gadgets in a different way. AirTags and third-party fobs utilizing its community (reminiscent of from Chipolo or Pebblebee) embrace the function by default. Tile trackers require a yearly subscription to allow the alerts (presently $30 yearly). Tags working with the Google Discover My Gadget community don’t supply the function in any respect, however Chipolo Pop tags can subject left-behind alerts utilizing its personal Android app. Each AirTags and Tiles help you flip off separation alerts at sure areas, that means you’ll be able to set your house as a “protected” place the place gadgets will be left behind, however alerts will nonetheless set off elsewhere.
In our exams, AirTags and others utilizing the Discover My community alerted us between the 600- and 1,400-foot mark. Tiles despatched a notification after about a median of 1,500 toes and have been extra constant when utilizing an Android cellphone than an iPhone. Chipolo Pop tags paired with an Android cellphone and utilizing its personal app despatched an alert once we bought round 450 toes away from our tagged merchandise.
Connectivity, quantity and design
The function it’s possible you’ll use most frequently is the important thing finder perform, which makes the tracker ring whenever you hit a button within the app. With Apple’s AirTags, you’ll be able to say “Hey Siri, the place are my keys?” and the assistant will ring the tag (assuming it does not mistakenly suppose you are asking for instructions to the Floridian archipelago). Asking Alexa or the Google Assistant to search out your keys will work with Chipolo, Tile and Pebblebee trackers linked to your Android gadget.
You probably have your tag however can’t discover your cellphone, some trackers will allow you to ring them to search out your handset. SmartTag2 fobs reliably rang our Galaxy cellphone once we double-pressed it. Tile trackers have the identical function. Chipolo Pop trackers can ring your cellphone, however makes use of the Chipolo app to take action, which may run concurrently with the Discover My or Discover My Gadget connection. AirTags and any third-party tags utilizing solely Apple or Google’s networks don’t supply this function.
The amount of the Bluetooth monitoring gadget might decide whether or not yow will discover an merchandise buried in your sofa cushions or in a loud room. AirTags have a repute for being on the quiet aspect, and that aligned with what we noticed (measuring roughly 65 decibels). Chipolo’s Pop tags and Tile’s Professional mannequin measure between 83 and 86 decibels on common. Pebblebee’s new Clip Common was the loudest of any tag we’ve examined, clocking in at 91 ear-splitting decibels.
Design will decide what you’ll be able to connect the tracker to. AirTags are small, easy discs that may’t be secured to something with out accessories, that are quite a few, however that’s an extra price to think about. Chipolo, Pebblebee and Tile supply trackers with holes that simply connect to your key ring, and all three firms additionally supply card-shaped variations designed to slot in your pockets. Pebblebee Clip Common tags include a useful carabiner-style key ring.
Batteries are replaceable for AirTag, Tile Professional, SmartTag2 and Chipolo Pop fobs and every ought to go for at the least a 12 months earlier than needing to be swapped. Tile Mate and card-shaped trackers don’t have replaceable batteries, which implies you’ll have to switch your complete unit at any time when it dies. Pebblebee trackers are rechargeable in each the disc and pockets selection. They’re additionally the one tags geared up with onboard LEDs.
Stalking, theft and knowledge privateness
AirTags have gotten a variety of consideration and even prompted some lawsuits for Apple on account of unhealthy actors planting them on individuals so as to stalk them. Whereas this reality might not affect your shopping for choice, any dialogue of Bluetooth trackers ought to be aware what steps Apple, Google and Tile have taken to handle the problem. Final 12 months, all the foremost gamers within the Bluetooth tracker enterprise teamed up to fight misuse and standardize how unauthorized monitoring detection and alerts work for iOS and Android.
Final 12 months, Tile launched a function referred to as Anti-Theft Mode, which lets you render certainly one of its trackers undetectable by others. Meaning if somebody steals your tagged merchandise, they gained’t be capable of use the anti-stalking options to search out and disable the tracker. That type of negates one of many main methods potential stalking victims can keep protected, so Tile hopes ID verification and a $1 million penalty will deter misuse. Individually, Tile was not too long ago hit by a data breach, elevating totally different privateness issues. The corporate issued a statement concerning the occasion, which it shared with Engadget:
Much like many different firms, Life360 not too long ago grew to become the sufferer of a prison extortion try. We acquired emails from an unknown actor claiming to own Tile buyer data. We promptly initiated an investigation into the potential incident and detected unauthorized entry to a Tile buyer help platform (however not our Tile service platform). The possibly impacted knowledge consists of data reminiscent of names, addresses, electronic mail addresses, cellphone numbers, and Tile gadget identification numbers. It doesn’t embrace extra delicate data, reminiscent of bank card numbers, passwords or log-in credentials, location knowledge, or government-issued identification numbers, as a result of the Tile buyer help platform didn’t comprise these data varieties.
We consider this incident was restricted to the particular Tile buyer help knowledge described above and isn’t extra widespread. We take this occasion and the safety of buyer data severely. We have now taken and can proceed to take steps designed to additional defend our techniques from unhealthy actors, and we now have reported this occasion and the extortion try to legislation enforcement. We stay dedicated to conserving households protected on-line and in the true world.
As a theft deterrent, a Bluetooth tracker might or might not be the most suitable choice. Anecdotal tales abound by which individuals have recovered stolen items utilizing a tracker — however different tales are more cautionary. Neither Apple nor Google promotes its trackers or discovering networks as a technique to cope with theft. GPS trackers, then again, are sometimes marketed for simply that goal.
How we examined
Earlier than deciding on which trackers to check, we researched the sector, taking a look at consumer critiques on Amazon, Greatest Purchase and different retailers, together with discussions on websites like Reddit. We additionally checked out what different publications needed to say on the matter earlier than narrowing down our choices to Apple AirTag, Tile, and Chipolo trackers. When Samsung’s SmartTag 2 got here out in October of 2023, we added that to our testing, together with Pebblebee’s rechargeable Clip tracker. After Google launched its Discover My Gadget, each Chipolo and Pebblebee launched trackers in 2025 that work with both community and we examined the Pop and Common key fob fashions and up to date our high picks accordingly.
Right here’s the complete record of each tracker we examined:
After buying the trackers, I examined every one over the course of some weeks utilizing each an iPhone 11 and a Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely. I recreated possible consumer experiences, reminiscent of dropping and leaving gadgets behind at house and out within the metropolis. I planted trackers at totally different spots close to downtown Albuquerque, principally concentrated in and across the College of New Mexico and the encircling neighborhood of Nob Hill. Later, I carried out exams within the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle. Every take a look at was carried out a number of instances, each whereas strolling and driving and I used the measure distance function on Google Maps to trace footage for alerts. I paid consideration to how simple the app was to make use of, how dependable the phone-to-tracker connection was and another perks and disadvantages that got here up throughout common use.
Different trackers we examined
Tile Professional and Tile Mate (2024)
Tile not too long ago got here out with a brand new suite of trackers, changing the Tile Mate, Tile Professional, Tile Sticker and Tile Slim with updated models. Along with enjoyable new colours for the Mate and Slim, Tile added an SOS function that may ship a notification to your Life360 Circle whenever you triple press the button on the tracker. It’s a intelligent addition that turns your keys right into a panic button, one thing provided by private security firms as standalone units.
There are a number of caveats: You and the individuals you need to notify in an emergency will want the Life360 app put in in your telephones. If you would like your Tile to additionally set off a name to emergency companies, you’ll want a $15-per-month Life360 subscription (that’s along with a Tile membership, which begins at $3/month or $30 yearly). And enabling the SOS triple-press disables the flexibility to ring your cellphone with the fob.
I examined the SOS function and it did certainly ship a textual content message to my Circle, with the message that I had triggered an SOS and a hyperlink to a web site that confirmed my present location. I assumed it odd that the hyperlink didn’t open the Life360 app (which exhibits the placement of customers’ telephones), however I wasn’t as a lot involved with Tile’s private security options as I used to be with the monitoring capabilities, which turned out to be lower than splendid.
For my exams, I planted Tile trackers in a densely populated space of Seattle (about 15,000 individuals per sq. mile). After setting the trackers to “misplaced” within the Tile app, I waited. After 4 hours, one of many trackers was not found by the discovering neighborhood, so I went and retrieved it. One other fob I planted alerted me that the tracker had been discovered by the Tile neighborhood after three hours — however the location it gave me was off by a 3rd of a mile. I then determined to plant a tracker in probably the most populated place I might consider — the dried fruit and nuts aisle of a Dealer Joes on a Friday night earlier than a serious vacation. It nonetheless took over a half an hour earlier than one other Tile consumer anonymously pinged my misplaced tracker.
In my exams with Samsung’s trackers and the fobs on Google’s Discover My Gadget community, it took round ten minutes for them to be found. AirTags took half that point and all have been examined in a far much less populated metropolis. 4 hours with no ping and over a half hour earlier than getting successful in a crowded TJs have been fairly lengthy stretches.
Our high decide, the basic Chipolo, has nearly no discovering community. However in case you’re getting a tracker for that function alone, it is best to go along with AirTags in case you have an iPhone or the Google-enabled Chipolo or Pebblebee trackers in case you use an Android cellphone. We choose the Chipolo as a result of it really works with both iOS or Android units, it rings loud, it’s fast to let you know whenever you’ve left it behind and it connects practically immediately whenever you’re looking for a misplaced tracker round the home.
Tile units additionally work with each cell working techniques and its newest fashions are certainly louder than they have been earlier than. However they aren’t as fast to attach and it is advisable pay for a membership to activate left-behind alerts. And whenever you do, these notifications don’t kick in as shortly as they do with competing trackers.
Bluetooth tracker FAQs
Which Bluetooth tracker has the longest vary?
Each the Tile Professional and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 declare a most vary of round 400 toes, which is longer than the 300-foot declare for Chipolo’s Pop tags. The Pebblebee Clip Common claims a 500-foot vary, although different trackers with a shorter claimed vary carried out higher in our exams. Apple doesn’t make vary claims for AirTags. Any Bluetooth sign, in fact, depends on a number of components. Obstacles like partitions and folks can block the sign, so a transparent line of sight is the one technique to obtain the utmost vary. Different alerts, like Wi-Fi, may intrude with Bluetooth connections. Even excessive humidity can have an impact and reduce the space at which your cellphone will hook up with your tracker.
Bear in mind, when contemplating the vary of Bluetooth trackers, the dimensions of the “discovering community” additionally comes into play. That is the variety of close by telephones that can be utilized to anonymously ping your tracker when your individual cellphone is out of Bluetooth vary. As of now, Apple AirTags have the most important community, adopted by Google’s Discover My Gadget, Samsung’s discovering neighborhood and Tile’s Life360 members.
What’s the greatest Bluetooth tracker for a automotive?
Bluetooth trackers are designed to trace small, private gadgets like keys, jackets, backpacks and the like. All trackers have safeguards to ban the tag from getting used to stalk individuals, so most will alert somebody if a tracker that doesn’t belong to them is detected following them. Meaning a automotive thief might get tipped off that there’s a tracker within the automotive they’re making an attempt to steal. That mentioned, you’ll see loads of stories about individuals discovering their automotive due to a Bluetooth tracker. Some police departments have even handed out trackers to fight excessive charges of carjacking. In most situations, the tracker of alternative has been AirTags due to their huge discovering community. If you happen to’re in search of a tracker in your automotive, it’s possible you’ll need to look into GPS trackers, a few of that are designed for simply that goal.
How correct are Bluetooth trackers?
Accuracy for Bluetooth trackers will be checked out in two methods: Discovering gadgets close by and discovering gadgets misplaced exterior your house. For close by gadgets, you’ll most frequently use the ring perform on the gadget to hunt it down. Two tags, Apple’s AirTags and Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag2, additionally use ultra-wideband expertise, which creates directional navigation in your cellphone to get you inside a foot of the tracker.
Precisely discovering misplaced gadgets exterior your house relies on the dimensions of the discovering community. Since this depends on the serendipity of a random cellphone passing inside Bluetooth vary of your tracker, the extra telephones on a given community, the higher. And since Bluetooth ranges and distance estimates are solely exact inside a couple of meter or so, getting pings from multiple cellphone will assist finding gadgets. Right here once more, it’s price noting that Apple’s Discover My community is the most important, adopted by Google, Samsung and Tile (each Chipolo and Pebblebee have fobs that work with the Apple and Google networks).
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/equipment/best-bluetooth-tracker-140028377.html?src=rss
Trending Merchandise
Sceptre Curved 24-inch Gaming Monitor 1080p R1500 ...
TopMate Wi-fi Keyboard and Mouse Extremely Slim Co...
