Archive for Tile

Newer Entries »

So Why Wasn’t Tile Included In Apple’s Find My Network Announcement?

Posted in Commentary with tags , on April 8, 2021 by itnerd

Yesterday Apple announced Find My Network integration with third party products including products from Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof. But weird thing to many was that Tile who by far was the originator of creating trackers that can be found using crowdsourced info, and by far has the largest network to help you to find lost items if you use their trackers. You have to wonder why that was the case as surely there are tens of thousands of Tile users out there who would love to have this functionality. So why isn’t it there? Well, seeing as Apple isn’t the type of company to be forthcoming with this sort of information. So that leaves us to guess what the reason why this might be.

My first guess, and the most likely reason in my mind is this paragraph from Apple’s announcement:

Today Apple is also announcing a draft specification for chipset manufacturers that will be released later this spring. With this, third-party device makers will be able to take advantage of Ultra Wideband technology in U1-equipped Apple devices, creating a more precise, directionally aware experience when nearby.

Tile devices use Bluetooth. So it appears that based on the above, Tile devices won’t work with the Find My Network as they don’t support Ultra Wideband technology. At least not at present. Perhaps that will change in the future. And to add further weight to that argument, Chipolo has a new tracker that is shipping in June that supports the Find My Network. There’s few technical details that I can find about this tracker. But their existing trackers use Bluetooth so it suggests that this new tracker is Ultra Wideband enabled. Which also means that if Tile came out with an Ultra Wideband enabled tracker, they too could jump onto this bandwagon.

Now that’s the non-sinister reason behind this. Now over the sinister reason. Tile has accused Apple of anti-trust behavior because of some of Apple’s requirements that users give permission for the Tile app to track items in the background among other things. Apple may not have been thrilled about that and decided to exclude them from this announcement to send a message to Tile.

Finally a number of people online have suggested that Tile might have some sort of privacy issue that Apple wasn’t thrilled about. I did some research on this and didn’t find any evidence of this. For example, Mozilla has a privacy report that didn’t ring any alarm bells with me. So I doubt that’s the reason.

Whatever the reason, the omission of Tile is curious. And it will be interesting to see if Tile ever joins this program. This will be something that I will be be watching very closely.

2 Comments »

Not Picking Up The Phone Allows KeySmart & Tile To Create A Horrific Customer Experience For Yours Truly

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on March 23, 2021 by itnerd

For the last few weeks I have been working on a new version of my Every Day Carry setup. To that end, I have been spending time researching and buying products that would not only work for me. But I think that would work for other people. During my research, I zeroed on products from a company called KeySmart who among other things makes a product called the KeySmart Pro which not only organizes your keys, and adds a flashlight, but also has Tile integration so that you can keep track of them. My logic was that I could reduce the number of things bouncing around in my pocket, but still provide the functionality that I am used to. So I placed an order for one and waited two weeks for it to arrive so that I can set it up and review it.

Let me stop here for a moment. In the interest of full disclosure, I do get products for free from a variety of companies and PR firms. But I also buy products with my own money that I think would be interesting for you to read. That’s partially financed by advertising on the blog.

In any case, the KeySmart Pro arrived and that’s where my troubles began. After partially charging it as it has a built in battery to power the flashlight and Tile functionality, I tried to add it to my collection of other Tile products using the Tile app. It seemed to go through the pairing process fine. But after that, none of the Tile functionality would work. As in you couldn’t find it using the Tile app and you couldn’t ring it even if you were right next to the KeySmart Pro. That’s when I reached out to Tile support. Now according to this page, you can’t call them. Instead, if you aren’t a premium member which allows you to text message them via your phone, you have to use an AI driven chatbot who will then flip you to an actual human if required. Now I had to talk to Tile support three times. Here’s what happened on that front:

  • The first agent I spoke to claimed that I had not charged it enough. So he told me to charge it until the light on the KeySmart Pro turned green. If I had issues I was to reach out to them again.
  • I did what the first agent told me to do, but it still wouldn’t work. So I reached out to them again. This time they had me do some additional troubleshooting and concluded that the KeySmart Pro was defective. They then suggested that I reach out to KeySmart.

So I tried to do just that. Inside the documentation that came with the KeySmart Pro, I noted this piece of paper:

At the bottom, there was a number for their “technical support team” which I called. But all that did was play a message telling you to leave a voice mail or to email them if you want help. I have to admit that this is bizarre as the only reason why they would take that course of action is if they don’t actually want to talk to customers on the phone. After all, what kind of quality customer experience could you provide if you put a number in your documentation that tells you to leave a voice mail or email them.

So it was back to Tile to try again. I will admit that the third agent that I spoke to really did try his best to help me. But at the end of his valiant attempts to troubleshoot this issue, he sent me back to KeySmart.

Let me stop here for a second. While Tile did try and help me, part of the issue that I think that might have gotten in the way is that they insist on using chat as a primary means to support their customers. The top companies who provide technical support use inbound and sometimes outbound telephone support. It is often easier to support customers using that method because speaking to someone allows you to pick up nuances and cues that you would not get through typing. That helps to resolve issues quicker. Though in a Twitter exchange later in the day, they did say this:

That option is not listed on the the Tile website. So if customers don’t know about it, they won’t take advantage of it and become frustrated as a result. One last thing, Tile uses an AI chatbot as part of their support flow. While I know that chatbots are “the new hotness”, those tend to be useless and frustrate customers more often than not. So if I were Tile, I would dump their chatbot ASAP. Here’s why all of this matters. Apple is rumored to be coming out with a product called AirTags which is a tracker that is similar to what Tile sells. Though I don’t think it will have the level of success that Tile has because it will likely be an Apple only product unlike Tile that supports iOS and Android, which means that it has a broader reach. That may not matter though as Apple does industry leading support via a number of channels. Including inbound and outbound phone calls. Which means that if Tile is only offering text message and chat support rather than phone support, Apple will simply destroy Tile with ease as support is what keeps customers coming back to buy your product. And Apple does that better than most.

So now over to KeySmart. Since I can’t call them and I am forced to email them, I emailed them for a refund. Though that was a bit of a gong show as initially they wanted me to fill out a form that was meant for American based returns. When I pointed that out, and pointed out that I was going to go public with this, I got an email saying that they had processed a refund. That was followed up by an email telling me to dispose of this in an eco friendly way. Though I have yet to see the refund in my credit card account. Given what has gone on, I would not at all be surprised if it never shows up. And I am forced to update this story saying so giving KeySmart additional bad press.

One other thing about KeySmart’s refund process, if you have the KeySmart Pro paired to a Tile account and you return it, they will charge you a 15% restocking fee. Because apparently even if you have issues in the pairing process like I had that are not your fault, KeySmart thinks it’s your fault anyway. Though they say this:

I’m sorry. If your product has an issue that is due to the pairing process, this fee shouldn’t charged. But I guess KeySmart doesn’t see things that way. Clearly this is meant to dissuade you from doing a return.

So here’s the bottom line. This whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth because of the simple fact that neither Tile nor KeySmart really wants to pick up the phone. I might have felt better about this if one of them, specifically KeySmart picked up the phone. Though they did say this:

Right. Sure it is. The bottom line is that they didn’t pick up the phone and now we are here talking about it.

On top of that, I had purchased a few other items from KeySmart via their store on Amazon. Those are being returned to Amazon today and I have already found equivalent replacements for them so that I can use those as part of my upcoming every day carry story. Which means those companies will get a bit of a bump in sales from that story and KeySmart won’t. Proof positive that it never ends well if a company provides a bad customer experience. And that starts with not picking up the phone when a customer is in need.

Leave a comment »

Review: Tile Sticker

Posted in Products with tags on November 14, 2019 by itnerd

Tile has been the leader in item tracking for years now, and recently they have come out with a Tile device that’s in a form factor that will allow you to track almost anything. It’s called the Tile Sticker.

IMG_1389

This Tile is tiny. It’s about the size of a quarter and has the thickness of three quarters. But the real magic is that it can be affixed to anything using the adhesive (which was apparently co-developed with 3M) to anything and is waterproof. That makes the use cases for this particular tile endless. The fact that it is waterproof comes at a cost, which is that the battery unlike some other Tile variants is not replaceable. More on that in a moment.

The Tile Sticker claims to have a 150 foot range. I did real-world testing by going to a storage locker facility and placing it in a closed storage locker at the end of a long hallway that was about 100 feet in length. The iPhone app found it very quickly, and the built-in speaker was loud enough that I could hear the alarm playing.

Downsides? The battery lasts three years and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center.

The Tile Sticker goes for $39.99 USD for a pair. That makes them $20 USD a copy which is a fair price given the fact that the use cases are pretty much endless. That makes this Tile the best one that the company has come out with yet.

Leave a comment »

Review: Tile Slim

Posted in Products with tags on November 11, 2019 by itnerd

The people at Tile have been busy coming out with a bunch of new Tile products. Two of them in new form factors. The first of these new form factors is the Tile Slim:

IMG_1383.JPG

This is a credit card sized (though it is thicker than a credit card) Tile tracker that has the following going for it:

  • Waterproof
  • 200 ft range
  • Louder ring
  • Built-in 3-year battery that isn’t replaceable

The fact that this battery isn’t replaceable unlike many other Tile products may deter some. But the fact that it lasts 3 years can likely offset that. In terms of the 200 foot range, I was able to test this inside a storage locker facilely where I could find the Tile Slim anywhere on the same floor of the facility which is at least 100 feet in length. It will however not work between floors which makes sense seeing as this is a Bluetooth device and Bluetooth doesn’t work well or at all through floors. The ringtone is definitely loud as I could hear it down the hall with was in the storage facility that was testing in. This is why this Tile will be my choice for being in my luggage when I travel.

Downsides? The battery lasts three years and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center.

The Tile Slim goes for $29.99 USD for each one. It’s a bit expensive given that you can’t seem to get multi packs to save some cash. But if you’re like me and you need a tile that fits into a location where space is a premium and it has to be loud, then this may make it worth it for you. 

 

2 Comments »

Review: Tile Pro With Replaceable Battery

Posted in Products with tags on November 20, 2018 by itnerd

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Tile Mate which has a replaceable battery. At the time I said this:

Tile has finally addressed the number one issue that this product had which is the lack of a replaceable battery. That makes Tile products something that I can finally recommend without reservation.

The fact that the battery is replaceable is huge. But I wanted to get a version of the Tile that was more rugged for keys and the like. So I got my hands on this:

u%LzNqTgQX2cDovtiZVOgA

Meet the Tile Pro. It has the following in common with the Tile Mate:

1lIU1aEzRKCFdAeCc+iqVw

It has the long overdue replaceable battery. But unlike the Tile Mate which has a CR1632 battery which is not exactly common, it has a more common CR2032 battery. The reason for that is that it needs a bigger battery because it has a 300 foot range (versus 150 feet for the Tile Mate) and it is much louder than the Tile Mate based on my ears. It’s also is much more rugged than the Tile Mate so it should survive most things that it might be subjected to. Strangely, it doesn’t claim to be waterproof like the Tile Sport. I am guessing that the fact that you can replace the battery is the reason why.

Tile now has a Premium service which gives you the following features:

  • Smart Alerts: You’ll get pinged on your phone if you leave someplace without items that are deemed to be important.
  • Free batteries.
  • Location history of your Tile enabled objects
  • Unlimited sharing of your Tiles with others
  • A warranty increase from 1 to 3 years.
  • Premium tech support

All of that goes for $29.99 USD a year. While I personally don’t see enough value to fork out the cash, you might. It is very easy to set up, and you can use it to find your phone in a pinch. Not to mention that there are thousands of Tile users out there who can help you to find a lost item which while I’ve never had to leverage that is something that is nice to know.

Tile Pro goes for $35 USD or $60 USD for two, or $100 USD for four. While the Tile Pro isn’t waterproof, I can recommend this as a means to keep track of your stuff without hesitation.

 

4 Comments »

Review: Tile Sport & Tile Style

Posted in Products with tags on November 25, 2017 by itnerd

I have been using Tile products for a while now to keep track of various bags and luggage. To replace some Tiles that died (as they only last about a year), I got these:

5DDW1V1zSSaAjx3BxKky0w

On the left is the Tile Sport and on the right is the Tile Style which are brand new from the company. Both Tile products serve up a 200 foot range as well as being water resistant for up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes, and being twice as loud. You’re just making a choice between what look you want.

To test this out, I took along a Tile Sport on my most recent trip to India. I didn’t test how waterproof it was, but the extended range and sound came in handy upon my return to Toronto. There was so much luggage on the flight back that they used two luggage carousels. I was able to use to Tile app on my iPhone 7 Plus to figure out which carousel my luggage was going to be on by walking back and forth. Then I was able to figure out via the app when it was going to appear based on visual cues the app gave me. As an extra aid, I used the ringtone function (which can be customized for volume and for different ringtones) to ensure I could identify my bag and grab it. Now I was just able to hear it which was a new experience as I had never been able to hear a Tile that I’ve placed in a suitcase. But I will also say that I tried the same trick when I landed in India and I could not hear it. Thus your mileage may vary on this front.

Downsides? The two downsides with Tile that I see are the same ones from my other  reviews of the Tile:

  • The battery lasts a year and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center. I will be taking advantage of this to replace the original Tile. Then I will be following these instructions to swap it out in the Tile App. But they should really make battery user replaceable. Though I suspect that would interfere with their revenue stream if they did.
  • Price is the other thing. At $35 for each Tile Style orTile Slim, it’s a bit expensive. They do have multi-packs that can save you some cash though.

Tile works as advertised and works well. The fact that you now get more range, water resistant form factors, and louder audio helps with the value proposition that Tile offers. They are pricey though and you will be replacing them a year from now. But if you have to keep track of stuff you own, the Tile is a great way to do it.

3 Comments »

Review: Tile Mate & Tile Slim

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 6, 2016 by itnerd

Last year, I reviewed the Tile and tested it by sending it on a trip that my wife was taking. From there, it really helped me out when my flight from India back to Toronto this summer went sideways. But the Tile that I was using was dying as they only have a lifespan of a year. Thus I had to get a new one. Plus I wanted to get a few others for stocking stuffers. So I got two types of Tile products. The Tile Mate & Tile Slim. Here’s what they look like with the original Tile next to them:

IMG_0016.jpg

On the left is the original Tile. The middle has the new Tile Mate which is a touch smaller and a touch slimmer and lighter than the Tile. That makes it easier to put on a key chain or anywhere where a small Tile would be of value. On the right is the Tile Silm. It’s bigger than the other two.  But it is much slimmer than the other two which makes it perfect that you need a slim form factor Tile to keep track of your stuff.

What hasn’t changed is the fact that this is a Bluetooth LE device that you can locate via Bluetooth when you’re close enough, which is about 100 or so feet, and via a crowdsourced community of users and people that install the Tile app on their iOS or Android device. You activate a Tile by pressing and holding the “Tile” logo then pair it to your smartphone via the Tile app, then attach the Tile to whatever you want to keep track of. In my testing, I was able to find them easily using the Tile app by being close enough, issuing a command to make it play a musical tone, or by marking it as “lost” so that you can use the Tile community to help you find your stuff which is handy if you’ve got a lot of Tile users around you who are running the Tile app that you can leverage. You can also press the button on the Tile to make your iPhone ring. And this will work even if it’s on silent to enable you to find it if you misplace it.

The two downsides with Tile that I see are the same ones from my original review of the Tile:

  • The battery lasts a year and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center. I will be taking advantage of this to replace the original Tile. Then I will be following these instructions to swap it out in the Tile App.
  • Price is the other thing. At $25 for each Tile Mate and $30 for the Tile Slim, it’s a bit expensive. They do have multi-packs that can save you some cash though. 

Tile works as advertised and works well. The new form factors give you more options as to how to use Tile. It has come in handy for me and if you are prone to losing things around the house, or when travelling overseas, you may want to look at it to help you to keep track of your stuff. 

6 Comments »

Review: Tile

Posted in Products with tags on November 3, 2015 by itnerd

Do you lose your stuff? And you then spend a lot of time trying to find your stuff? The solution to keeping track of your stuff may be Tile.

IMG_1811

Tile is a small square Bluetooth LE device that can be attached to keys (or just about anything) and you can locate the Tile via Bluetooth when you’re close enough, which is about 100 or so feet, and via a crowdsourced community of users and people that install the Tile app on their iOS or Android device. You activate a Tile by pressing and holding the “e” then pair it to your smartphone via the Tile app, then attach the Tile to whatever you want to keep track of and forget about it until you need to find it.

To test this out, I decided to do something interesting. I installed the app on my wife’s iPhone, placed the Tile in a suitcase that she was planning to use on a trip from Toronto to Las Vegas, then from Vegas to Vancouver, then back to Toronto. The suitcase that she was using was one that looked like every other suitcase on the planet. Thus I figured she could see if the claims of being able to find your Tile equipped stuff anywhere were true. According to her, Tile works exceptionally well. She was able to not only find her bag when it was in range of her phone easily in the various airports that the flew in and out of among all the other bag that looked just like hers, but she could even find it when it was being loaded on the plane or being taken off the plane thanks to the Tile community. For example, when she got on her plane to fly back to Toronto, the app alerted her that her bag was found on the tarmac of Vancouver International Airport by using the “Mark As Lost” feature:

IMG_1780

She was able to track her bag on a map right up to it being loaded onto the plane. Another cool trick is that once she was within range of the Tile, she could have it play music to help her find it. The music sounds like something out of Mario Brothers and it is loud. Conversely, she could press Tile to make her iPhone ring—even if it’s on silent to enable her to find it. Finally, she was able to share the Tile with me so I can use it and track its location.

Downsides? I see three:

  • Using the crowdsourced community feature is likely going to be hit or miss depending on how many users are near wherever you lost your item. If there’s nobody running the Tile app near your lost item, you’re no further ahead in terms of finding your stuff. For the record, my wife noted that she saw between 200 and 400 people using the Tile app wherever she happened to be in either Las Vegas or Vancouver. So at least in the areas that she was in during her trip, she had a fighting chance to find her stuff.
  • The battery lasts a year and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term.
  • Price is the third thing. At $25 each, it’s a bit expensive considering the first two downsides that I mentioned. They do have multi-packs that can save you some cash though.

What’s my bottom line? Tile works as advertised and works well. But downsides above stop me from saying that this is a must buy. Instead I would say that I can see how this would be useful and may be worth having a look at if you are prone to losing things around the house, or in the use case above. If the price drops a bit, adoption of Tile increases to make it ubiquitous, and they do something about the battery life, I think it could be a winner.

2 Comments »

Newer Entries »