The brand Tile has been a well-known tracking app to help you find your keys, bag or anything of value. In this review, we are covering the Tile by Life360, which is £27.98 on Amazon, Currys, & B&Q.  The Tile has a new look compared to older models and comes with a newfound option to send an SOS message to friends & family.

First impressions

The first thing I noticed is the tile; it does not come with a replaceable battery, but for the price, it’s not a shock. The tile is not large but is slightly larger than the 2022 model. This model comes with a useful lanyard hole top left, allowing you to attach things easily. Perfect if you are always losing your keys or bag. It’s a perfect Bluetooth tracker for finding it again. The only negative is that there is no GPS.

Design

The tile by Life360 keeps the basic design of the range but comes with rounded corners and a depressed button in the centre, and that hole at the top left allows you to attach it to attach to things such as your keys.  Now, as mentioned at the start of this review, Tile has that partnership with Life360, and on the tile, you can see the company’s swirly logo is displayed as well as the Tile wordmark.

 

On the rear is a small speaker grille and a QR code that, when scanned by anyone lucky to find your lost item it allows you to share location and put a small message and a send button.

 

 

The overall build is made of plastic and is lightweight, so you won’t notice it on your keys. The tile comes in 7.4mm thick and comes with an IP68 protection, so it can handle water or sand without failing.  Finally, the Tile comes in black, white, dark blue with an orange edge or cyan & yellow.

 

 

How does it work? 

 

The Tile by life360 acts like other Tile devices. You connect your Tile account using the Life360 app, and then it will broadcast its location to the Tile network. This means that if lost outside of your range, the Tile can use any other nearby phone linked to the Tile network to send a message through. The fact it’s not offering GPS and only Bluetooth means it’s less precise, but good enough to get you the general area, so you can set off its internal speaker by sound, so it will make a sound even in a different room.

 

Now Life360 claims 70 million users on its network, but the right person still needs to be near your lost item for this to work. In comparison, Find My Technology on an iPhone, like my Swithbot Wallet Finder, works better as more users are on networks like Apple and Android.

 

Tile also claims the range is 100m, which is an improvement, but when I tested that theory, you could hear it up to 50m.  The Tile does not like walls or background noise as it does its best to guide you toward it by making a sound rather than any directional finding. This is useful when you’re in an open area or quite close, but anything else it struggles.

 

Moving on to the software that makes this device work. You need to download the app to use the tile on either IOS or Android devices. The Life360 app gives you the SOS alert function. Using this app gives you a guide on how to set up the tile and allows you to set up an account, and provides you with a slideshow.

 

 

Once set up, a single click of the button on the tile is used to initiate setup to pair the tile to your account. So if lost the app, it gives you a rough location of the device you have lost, i.e. the last reported position. You then get it to play a tune through the built-in speaker to aid in locating your lost item, in my case, my keys. If you have misplaced your phone, two clicks locates it in the other direction, so you can use your tile to find your phone. It will still play a tune even if your phone is on silent.

Three clicks activate the SOS message service, which sends an emergency alert to pre-selected contacts via the Life360 app. Now you dont need to use the tile with a subscription, but having it unlocks location history so you can see where it has been rather than just its current location. If you did opt for the subscription, this provides you with a Tile reimbursement scheme, which gives you up to £75 back if you lose an item with the Tile attached permanently and set up. If you consider the premium pro tech plan (£99) the amount rises ten times if you put it on your suitcase.

Verdict

The Tile by Life360 gives you that peace of mind with the Bluetooth tracker that is discreet & robust and has a loop in the corner, perfect for placing on a key ring. The Tile has a reasonable detection range and the bonus it works on both iOS and Android.

The negatives are the non-replaceable battery, but at only £25 offering a 3-year lifespan limit, you can’t complain, especially when you compare to Apple Airtags. If you do want the battery replacement option, look at the Tile Pro. The other downside is the lack of Ultra-Wideband direction finding.

Looking for a device to help you find your keys, wallet, car, dog or cat and even your camera. And the two-way direction tool, you can even find your mobile phone. This device is for you and with its low price tag it’s well worth the investment.

The Tile by Life360 is available on Amazon for £43.78 for a pack of 2