What’s Available as a Tile Alternative? Here is AdvisoryHQ’s Review of the Best 5 Tile Tracker Alternatives
Over the last five or six years, item tracking devices have been growing in popularity. They help us keep up with everything from keys and wallets to kids and pets. Tile is one of the most well-known brands, but not everyone likes it, and instead searches for a Tile tracker alternative.
According to ABI Research, the personal GPS device tracking market is expected to break $3.5 billion by 2019. It’s a world-wide market, showing we all have something in common, we don’t like losing our stuff!
While Tile may have a good percentage of the market, that’s quickly changing as others like TrackR and TrackR competitors carve out their space. With the main drawback being Tile’s built-in 1-year lifespan battery, it’s leaving a big opening for Tile Mate alternatives.
In this AdvisoryHQ article, we’ve researched five Tile alternative tracker devices. While on the face they may look very similar, we’ll go into the things that make them different.
Each Tile alternative Bluetooth device does similar things but they’re not all created equal, as you’ll see.
For each Tile alternative, you’ll learn how they differ in range, their battery life comparisons, and what people say about them. We’ll also touch on the iTunes and Google Play ratings for each Tile app alternative, plus a whole lot more.
See Also: Tile GPS Tracker Review | The Truth about Tile’s Locator Bluetooth Tracker
AdvisoryHQ’s Overview of 5 Tile Alternative Item Finding Devices
Everyone’s hopping on the item finder bandwagon lately. And there are increasingly more Tile alternative tracker products to choose from each year.
Before we get into the details on the Tile tracker alternatives, we’ll give you an overview of which ones we’ll be highlighting and why people look for a Tile app alternative.
Tile Alternative Tracker Products:
- Cube
- Lapa
- MYNTracker
- TrackR
- Wistiki by Starck
Why Are People Looking for an Alternative to the Tile Tracker?
An obvious question is, “Why do people want a Tile Mate alternative?”. While the sleek looking device does have a lot of fans, it’s also got one major drawback that causes consumers to seek out a Tile alternative Bluetooth device.
Tile has approximately a 1-year battery life and the battery cannot be replaced. For many people this is a non-starter. They find it too expensive to replace the gadget every year, even at a discount.
A few other reasons people state for seeking out Tile alternatives are a hard to hear tone and a “find my phone” feature that doesn’t always work. Color options are also limited.
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What’s the Same with Most Tile Tracker Alternatives?
Nearly all item trackers work using the same main idea. Where Tile, TrackR, and TrackR competitors differ is in the execution and the size and style of the device.
How popular the Tile alternative tracker is can also impact the size of their community of users, which is important because that’s how you find an item out of your own finder’s range.
The Main Way Item Finders Work:
- Attach the tracker to your device
- Download the app and pair it with the device
- Press a button on the app to have it sound a tone, within your range
- Use the map on the Tile Mate alternative app to see where your item was last located
- Out of your range, send out a request to be notified if another user’s device finds your item
- Most Tile alternative Bluetooth devices can also be used to find your phone
We’ve also found that in order for tracking to work on Tile and Tile alternative finders, the app has to be running in the background and Bluetooth needs to be enabled on your phone.
There’s been quite a few reviewers of Tile, TrackR, and TrackR competitors that weren’t happy about not realizing that until it was too late.
Related: TrackR App Review: Everything You Need to Know about TrackR Bravo App
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Tile Tracker Alternatives | Everything You Need to Know
Let’s get into the main details and everything you want to know about Tile tracker alternative products. You’ll find out where each one came from and the main points about how each alternative to the Tile tracker works.
Cube – Tile Alternative Overview
There is a lack of “about us” information on this Tile alternative tracker, but we did find that the trademark was registered in 2017. The website is available in both English and German, which points to a potential European manufacturer.
Here are the main stats for Cube:
- Range: 100-200 feet
- Battery replaceable: Yes
- Battery life: up to 1 year
- Number of models: 1 (+1 coming soon)
- Weight: 0.32 ounces
- iPhone app score: 2.9 out of 5
- Android app score: 2.8 out of 5
- Waterproof: Yes (IP67 rating)
- Color choices: No
- Price: $24.95
Something unique about this Tile tracker alternative is the ability to use Cube as a shutter button for your phone.
One positive Amazon review for Cube mentioned they thought it slightly edged out Tile due to the replaceable battery. A negative review for this Tile app alternative mentioned that the device pairing doesn’t always work correctly.
Lapa – Tile Alternative Overview
Lapa was created in 2013 by Lapa Studio, based in Portugal. This Tile tracker alternative came about when two researchers in the areas of electronics and robotics joined forces to create a solution to the global issue of losing stuff.
Here are the main stats for Lapa:
- Range: 200 feet
- Battery replaceable: Yes
- Battery life: up to 1 year
- Number of models: 1
- Weight: 0.16 ounces
- iPhone app score: not rated
- Android app score: 4.2 out of 5
- Waterproof: No (water resistant)
- Color choices: Yes
- Price: $29.81
Something unique about this Tile Mate alternative is the design that allows it to easily slide onto a pet collar or a wrist strap to use as a child tracker.
A positive Amazon review for Lapa mentioned the convenient ability to ping their phone from the Tile alternative device. Some negative reviews mentioned that the device did not always track very well.
Popular Article: TrackR Bravo Reviews | The Truth about TrackR Bravo GPS Keychain Locator
MYNTracker – Tile Alternative Overview
MYNTracker has offices in Silicon Valley and Beijing. This Tile tracker alternative company was started by a group of entrepreneurs that enjoy working with smart wearables and connected home devices.
Here are the main stats for MYNTracker:
- Range: 150 feet
- Battery replaceable: Yes
- Battery life: up to 1 year
- Number of models: 3 (1 is available in China only, coming soon to US)
- Weight: 0.48 ounces
- iPhone app score: 4.8 out of 5
- Android app score: 3.6 out of 5
- Waterproof: Yes (Ip43)
- Color choices: Yes
- Price: $19.99
This alternative to the Tile tracker is award winning. It’s won both an iF Design and Red Dot Design award.
Positive Amazon reviews for MYNTracker say it works perfectly, just as advertised. Negative reviews for this Tile tracker alternative mention a shorter than expected battery life.
TrackR – Tile Alternative Overview
The TrackR company was founded in 2009 after two University of California, Santa Barbara engineering students lost their keys during a surfing trip and never wanted to have to deal with looking for keys again.
Here are the main stats for TrackR:
- Range: up to 100 feet
- Battery replaceable: Yes
- Battery life: up to 1 year
- Number of models: 2
- Weight: 0.32-0.64 ounces
- iPhone app score: 2.3 out of 5
- Android app score: 2.6 out of 5
- Waterproof: No (water resistance)
- Color choices: Yes
- Price: $24.99-$29.99
Some things you’ll find with the TrackR that all the other TrackR competitors don’t offer is a free replacement battery, 1-year warranty, and 30-day money back guarantee.
Positive reviews for TrackR on Amazon mention the great free replacement battery that can be ordered right from the app. Negative reviews for this Tile tracker alternative complain about a much shorter than expected tracking range.
Wistiki by Starck – Tile Alternative Overview
Wistiki is made in France and was started by three brothers and their cat. In 2014, while searching for their lost cat, they came up with the idea of an easier way to keep track of pets along with everything else.
Here are the main stats for Wistiki by Starck:
- Range: up to 328 feet
- Battery replaceable: No
- Battery life: up to 3 years
- Number of models: 2 (+1 coming soon)
- Weight: 0.39 ounces
- iPhone app score: not rated
- Android app score: 3.5 out of 5
- Waterproof: Yes
- Color choices: Yes
- Price: $30.00
Just looking at the stats, this Tile tracker alternative stands out way ahead of the others in both battery life (3x that of the others) and range, which is over 100 feet farther than other Tile alternatives.
People that like this Tile alternative Bluetooth finder say it has great features and is very easy to use. Negative Amazon reviews mention that it’s not always reliable.
Tile Alternative Trackers | AdvisoryHQ Conclusion
When it comes to keeping track of your wallets, keys, luggage, or kids, there have never more been choices for personal tracking devices. As technology evolves, so does our ability to make our lives easier and less stressful.
Whether you’re a fan of a longer battery life, wearables, or multiple colors these Tile alternatives give you plenty of options for keeping up with all your important items – while doing it with style!
Read More: TrackR vs Tile: Everything You Need to Know | Which One is Best, TrackR Bravo or Tile?
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Image sources:
- https://www.cubetracker.com
- https://findlapa.com/images/press/finais_compressed/DSC03034.jpg
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