Lost and Found

Josh Valcarcel/WIRED

Everyone alive has misplaced their keys, phone, or wallet. If you’re lucky, a few minutes of modern archaeological digging between couch cushions or underneath the car seat will turn up your lost artifact. If you’re less fortunate, your misplaced item may require some traveling.

Tile, which began its life last summer as a very successful Kickstarter campaign, will help in both cases. This small, square-ish device can be placed in, or affixed to, any item you want to keep tabs on. It will attach to a keyring, sit in a wallet, or stick to just about anything—from a laptop to luggage. Using a Bluetooth LE signal and a companion app on your iPhone or iPad, you’re then able to track your item’s whereabouts.

Set-up is simple. Download the free app, press a hidden button on the Tile unit, and place it on top of your iPhone screen. The app recognizes and IDs your Tile. You can assign it to a specific object in the app. All told, you can do this with up to eight Tiles, giving each a name (like “Wallet”) and photo in the app. Once it’s secured to its corresponding object—I chose my wallet— you can visit the app to check where it’s located on a map. Simple.

If the Tile-equipped thing is somewhere in your house, and you can’t find it, you can tap “Find” in the app, and it will emit a melody until you’ve successfully located it. The app also shows you visually if you’re closer or further from the Tile when you’re in range.

In range? Normally, you only have a 50 to 150 foot radius for locating your stuff, since the device operates over Bluetooth LE. So if you leave it on the bus, you’re SOL. Well, kind of. If another Tile user happens to be near your Tile, the system can borrow their Bluetooth connection to update your item’s location for you. In fact, part of the promise of Tile is that as more people adopt it, everyone will get more ubiquitous location tracking. Even if there aren’t other Tile users near your item, the app automatically records where your Tile was when it was last in range.

Tiles won’t last forever though. The battery is designed to last about a year, according to the company, and you’ll get a reminder to order a new one around a year after you activate your new Tile.

If you’re prone to losing things at home or in the office, a device like Tile will certainly make life easier. I tossed it in my wallet, and then basically forgot about it unless I couldn’t remember which room I’d left it in last. Depending on the item(s) you tend to lose, the Tile’s form factor may still be a bit big (it’s far too big to discreetly stick to a pair of sunglasses, for example). Still, $20 is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with being able to track down your misplaced gear. Just don’t lose your iPhone or iPad.