Tile Pro review

If, like us, you’re regularly prone to misplacing your house keys - or anything else you deem valuable such as your purse or backpack - a location tracker can be invaluable. Also known as a key finder, this clever device makes it easy to keep tabs on your personal things remotely via a dedicated app.

Tile has been making Bluetooth location trackers for eight years, and in our rundown of the best key finders we’ve highlighted the Tile Pro as our best overall. 

In the last year we’ve seen manufacturers such as Apple, Vodafone and Samsung launch their own versions however, and to find out whether the Tile Pro location tracker is worth considering over these other brands, we decided to put the smart little gadget through its paces here.

We were keen to assess its style, functionality and performance and actively went about throwing our belongings around the garden, just so we could find out how easy it was to retrieve them again with the help of the Tile Pro and its accompanying app. 

Keen to see how the Tile Pro matches up to the Apple AirTag? Read our review of the Apple AirTag. 

(Image credit: Emily Peck)

Tile Pro: Set-up and specs

• Tracking tech: Bluetooth up to 400ft / 122m 
• Size: H4.2 x W4.2 x D.65cm 
• Durability: Water resistant 
• Battery life: 1-Year Replaceable CR2032

While the Tile Pro is not the only offering in the Tile range, it is the most powerful and offers double the Bluetooth range of the less expensive and equally popular Tile Mate. You can also buy Tile Stickers that are designed to be attached to electronic items such as a tablet or TV remote, and a Tile Slim version, which is more suited to slipping into a purse than the Pro.

But we think that if you’re going to invest in a Tile, it makes sense to go for the version that offers the most features and adapt its design to suit you – like the Slim, the Pro can be fitted into our card holder with ease, for example. 

Once we had downloaded the Tile app, we found set up simple. There’s a button that lets you instantly pair your Tile Pro, and after entering our details and passing security with a confirmation email, we were good to go.

(Image credit: Emily Peck)

The app will record the last place the Tile Pro was connected to Bluetooth, so if you lose your belongings when you’re away from home, you’ll have to rely on the Tile community to help you track them down. You’ll need to tap notify when found in the app if you lose an item out of range.

Each time someone who has the app running on their phone goes near your belongings you will receive an alert on your smart phone with an updated map location. This is done without the other user knowing they’ve helped you, so you don’t need to worry about security or someone else finding your things before you go and retrieve them.

If your item is on the move – such as in a taxi – it may be a little harder to track down. This does mean you have to rely on the Tile community growing strong, but to date there are millions of users spanning 230 countries. While we were using the app, we located 430 other Tile users in our nearby town.

(Image credit: Emily Peck)

Tile Pro: Features

The Tile Pro has a powerful alarm that loops on repeat until you have found your belongings. It also has the loudest beeper we’ve found in our test. When we used it to track lost keys in the garden, the app played quite a shrill tune that was powerful and effective enough for us to hear it 20 feet away.

The app tells you to walk around to get a stronger signal, which changes from weak to strong and very strong depending on how close you get to the lost item. We also used the app to try and find the keys while we were upstairs in the house and it was all the way downstairs and buried deep in a handbag, and its ring really packed a punch.

(Image credit: Emily Peck)

What we particularly like about this location tracker is that you can also use it to find your smartphone, should it get misplaced - even when the phone is on silent. With one press of the Tile, our smartphone instantly started playing quite a distinctive tune again and again - annoying enough in fact for us to want to locate the phone immediately. 

The Tile Pro also has the ability to be linked to your smart home devices such as Amazon Alexa or Google Nest, so you can use your voice to find out where your Tile was last seen or get it to ring it for you.  

While we found the features on the Tile Pro more than sufficient for our key finding requirements, should you wish to upgrade the app f you can make use of extras. This includes a smart alert that instantly lets you know when you’ve left your something behind.

Tile Pro: Our Verdict

While it may not be as affordable as other location trackers such as the Tile Mate, the Tile Pro has a very impressive Bluetooth range and one of the loudest beepers alerts we’ve heard. It even has the ability to track your phone by pressing the button on the actual device – even when your phone is on silent – and we think that this alone makes it worth considering.

About our review

Emily is a lifestyle journalist who covers all things home and technology related for Livingetc. She has first-hand experience reviewing a wide range of lifestyle products – from small appliances such as cake mixers, gadgets such as smart-home cameras, home furnishings such as sofa beds and duvets, and everything in between. She’s even reviewed biscuits to scientifically prove which one is the best for dunking in tea – a tough job but someone had to do it!

All our reviews are based on hands-on experience of using the gadgets at home and on the go, which means we can assess how well they perform in a real-life context and confidently share our findings with you, our Livingetc readers. For this review, Tile provided the Tile Mate and the product was tested over the course of a week.