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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Tile to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a set of Tile Bluetooth trackers that are designed to help you keep track of your most precious and essential items.

Tile makes small Bluetooth enabled tracking accessories that you can put on anything that you don't want to lose, from keys and wallets to your phone, your camera, your watch, your purse, or anything else you don't want to lose.


The idea is that you attach a Tile to something like your keys, and then if and when those keys are misplaced, you open up the Tile app and use the Bluetooth connection between the Tile and your phone to see a map with the location of your keys and to play a sound on the Tile itself. If you lose your phone, you can tap on the Tile and it'll ping your phone, so there's two-way tracking available.

Tile makes a whole range of trackers for different items and purposes. The Tile Pro, for example, is Tile's most advanced tracking accessory. It has a Bluetooth tracking range of 300 feet and it's 3x as loud as other Tile trackers, so it's best for your most valuable items.

tilepro.jpg

With Tile Pro's long tracking range and loud volume, it's appropriate for your purse, your camera bag, your laptop bag, and other things you want to make sure you can keep an eye on and protect from being lost or stolen. Tile Pro is Tile's most expensive tracker at $35, but discounts are available for multi-pack purchases.

Tile Mate is similar to the Tile Pro, but it's a bit more compact and it's more affordable at $25. Tile Mate, like Tile Pro, has a user replaceable battery so you can use it indefinitely. Tile Mate can work from up to 150 feet away over Bluetooth, and 1.5 times louder than other Tile products.

tilemate2.jpg

Tile Slim, priced at $30, is Tile's slimmest Bluetooth tracker that's perfect for tucking into a wallet, a passport, or sticking onto the back of a device like a laptop or iPad. Tile Slim has a 100 foot range and it's not quite as loud as the other Tile trackers, but it's still perfect for items where thinness is key.

tileslim.jpg

All of Tile's trackers, from the Pro to the Mate to the Slim will last for one year with the original battery that ships with them. On all trackers but the Slim, you can replace this battery when the year is up, a feature that was added to Tile trackers last October. If you don't want to hassle with battery replacements, Tile has a premium program that offers free battery replacements along with a detailed location history and unlimited sharing, so you can let friends and family help you find a misplaced item.

tile1.jpg

Tile's trackers are designed to locate your devices close by when they're in Bluetooth range, but the Tile app has a Community Find feature that leverages all the Tile trackers out in the wild to find a lost item if it's not in the vicinity of your own phone, which is a useful bonus.

tiletracking.jpg

For MacRumors readers, Tile is offering two tracker bundles that include four Tile Pros, four Tile Mates, and 1 Tile Slim so you can add Bluetooth tracking to all of your important belongings. To participate in the giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Tile
The contest will run from today (March 22) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 29. The winners will be chosen randomly on March 29 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Article Link: MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Set of Bluetooth Trackers From Tile
 

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2008
806
370
Can anyone give me their experience with previous generations of these Tile trackers?

Mine gave me fits so when the batteries died (they were a gift - set of 4) I just didn't replace them. This was about a year and a half ago so maybe they've improved. They just weren't reliable for me so it was extra frustrating when they did not work and I couldn't find an item (keys, etc.) that had a tile on them.

Of course, others may have a different experience with them, but this was mine. I wanted to love them as I am the perfect candidate for this type of device. Find my iPhone has been a beautiful thing for yours truly.
 
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Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
10,477
Slapfish, North Carolina
Mine gave me fits so when the batteries died (they were a gift - set of 4) I just didn't replace them. This was about a year and a half ago so maybe they've improved. They just weren't reliable for me so it was extra frustrating when they did not work and I couldn't find an item (keys, etc.) that had a tile on them.
What wasn't reliable? The location ability? The sound? The bluetooth range? I'd like to know before I buy a set.
 

jazz1

Contributor
Aug 19, 2002
4,348
17,494
Mid-West USA
I've owned several generations of Tile products. They have saved me so many time I can't even count. Keys, and wallets need this tech.!
 

bkaus

macrumors 6502
Sep 26, 2014
309
362
Tile is ok for short range tracking (20ft or so). Can search a house by walking around.

But for finding things lost out in the wild (dropped in store, lost on walk) it really isn’t very useful.

It’s way over hyped (to sound like a fully connected god tracker) in my opinion. They must have quite a good referral bonus.
 

jazz1

Contributor
Aug 19, 2002
4,348
17,494
Mid-West USA
Tile is ok for short range tracking (20ft or so). Can search a house by walking around.

But for finding things lost out in the wild (dropped in store, lost on walk) it really isn’t very useful.

It’s way over hyped (to sound like a fully connected god tracker) in my opinion. They must have quite a good referral bonus.

I'm not sure if you own a Tile? Yes, it isn't like GPS, but it does let you know where the last place your iPhone, or iPad was in contact. So it does narrow the search.

Yesterday, my iPhone wasn't in range, but my Tile app. told me that my iPad was. Granted it was in the house, but at least it seemed to make a referral to the other device that did work out for me finding my wallet under blankets on the couch.

IMHO, it is better than not having the service. Also, the Tile app. allows a re-buy at a discount. I think they also offer a version that allows for a battery change.
 

bkaus

macrumors 6502
Sep 26, 2014
309
362
I'm not sure if you own a Tile? Yes, it isn't like GPS, but it does let you know where the last place your iPhone, or iPad was in contact. So it does narrow the search.

Yesterday, my iPhone wasn't in range, but my Tile app. told me that my iPad was. Granted it was in the house, but at least it seemed to make a referral to the other device that did work out for me finding my wallet under blankets on the couch.

IMHO, it is better than not having the service. Also, the Tile app. allows a re-buy at a discount. I think they also offer a version that allows for a battery change.
Used one for a while. Older larger one.

It does have a good use, I just feel they mislead in their ads.
 

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2008
806
370
What wasn't reliable? The location ability? The sound? The bluetooth range? I'd like to know before I buy a set.

The sound was fine, but for us they were just terribly unreliable (location, bluetooth) even when the batteries were brand new in them. They did send us a couple of replacements early on free of charge with the return of the problem tiles. Maybe we just had bad luck with the ones we were shipped, but our frustration was high enough to not give them another try after the batteries died on the replacements (they had a trade in program that may still be running). I've heard others (similar to some of the posters, above) who have had an overall good experience with them and if their return policy is decent I don't want to completely deter you from trying them.

After reading your questions I approached my wife and said, "Do you remember why the tiles didn't work out for us?" just to confirm it wasn't just poor memory on my part. She used some 'offensive language', which reinforced my sentiments (and made me laugh).

Sometimes when the tile was in range (according to the app) it still wouldn't ping the tile - or show it at all. There were also times where we would hold the tile next to the iPhone and it still wouldn't pick up the tile and other times it worked just fine with the same exact tile. I contacted customer support and went through trouble shooting exercises a few times to ensure it wasn't user error. We could just never get them to work as advertised.

I hope this helps.
 
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doctor-don

macrumors 68000
Dec 26, 2008
1,604
336
Georgia USA
Can anyone give me their experience with previous generations of these Tile trackers?
Just before Christmas past, I ordered a set of 4 Tile Mates- they only function once the app is on my phone. I bought that version because the battery is replaceable. Connection is sometimes slow. Sound is not as loud as I would like. Their thickness makes them impractical for some uses, and the Tile Slim would be better for placing in a wallet - except that it would be difficult to hear it AND its battery is not replaceable.
 
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