Back-to-school means each caller routines and juggling a batch of stuff. Laptops, lunches, gym bags, and adjacent location keys. It's each excessively casual for thing to get forgotten oregon dropped. This is wherever Bluetooth trackers measurement in, attaching to astir thing truthful you tin spot its determination connected your telephone successful seconds.
We tested the apical models connected iOS and Android to find which trackers connection the strongest signals, longest artillery life, and astir importantly, which are the astir reliable. That's called bid of mind!
Our prime for the champion Bluetooth tracker wide is the Apple AirTag with its UWB-powered precision tracking, replaceable battery, and entree to Apple's wide supported Find My network.
Read connected to larn much astir different apical Bluetooth trackers you tin buy.
Also: How to find retired if an AirTag is tracking you
The champion Bluetooth trackers of 2025
The Apple AirTag is designed to enactment seamlessly with Apple devices similar iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. This coin-sized tracker uses a built-in U1 ultra-wideband spot for Precision Finding and Apple's extended Find My web to find your missing items.
Review: Apple AirTag
The device-software combo makes it casual to find thing attached to an AirTag. If you unfastened the Find My app connected immoderate Apple instrumentality and prime the due tag, the selected AirTag volition past beep, helping you to find a missing point if it's nearby.
Though it's slim capable to acceptable successful pockets and bags, the AirTag lacks a built-in loop, truthful you'll person to bargain a abstracted accessory to connect it to your container oregon a pet's collar, and this imaginable other acquisition is simply a communal ailment among buyers. However, the holders travel successful galore stylish shapes for a myriad of uses and tastes. I've bought wristbands for my kids to deterioration their AirTags astatine the parkland and keychain holders for my car keys.
Also: The champion AirTag accessories you tin buy
The AirTag's artillery is rated to past 1 twelvemonth and tin beryllium replaced with different CR2032 portion afterward. One sells for $29, and a is typically priced astatine $99. Keep successful caput that the four-pack is often discounted arsenic portion of limited-time deals.
Apple AirTag Features: Price: $29 Battery life: Over a year | Real-time tracking: Yes | Monthly cost: Free | Connectivity: Bluetooth, UWB, NFC, Find My Network
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Google is yet catching up to Apple's AirTag strategy by launching the Find My Device web for the Android ecosystem.
The Chipolo One Point is hands-down the champion Android mentation of an AirTag wealth tin buy. This $26 tracker is simply a keyfob-sized instrumentality akin to a Tile, and features a replaceable CR2032 artillery that tin past up to 1 year.
Review: Chipolo One Point
ZDNET's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes tested and raved successful his reappraisal of the Chipolo One Point.
"If you're an Android idiosyncratic who's been jealous of iPhone users having AirTags, this is your accidental to bring that feeling to an end," Kingsley-Hughes said. "I've tested the uncovering capableness of these Chipolo finders, and they are ace accurate, with the quality to find the tags erstwhile astatine a region -- specified arsenic hidden successful a works cookware connected a thoroughfare oregon erstwhile stuffed down the backmost of a couch."
Chipolo One Point Features: Price: $24 | Battery life: Up to 1 year | Real-time tracking: Yes | Monthly cost: None | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Google Find My Device
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The SwitchBot Wallet Tracker is simply a card-shaped Bluetooth tracker that works exclusively with the Apple Find My network. It's the champion wallet tracker I've tested yet, and costs astir $20.
The instrumentality works similar an AirTag, but has a slim, level signifier that allows it to acceptable successful much places and is cleanable for wallets. The artillery lasts up to 3 years opposed to an AirTag's 1 year. In addition, it sports an IP67 waterproof standing and a customizable (and loud) alarm, truthful you tin alteration however it sounds from the SwitchBot app connected your phone.
Review: SwitchBot Wallet Tracker
Like an AirTag, the SwitchBot Wallet Tracker Card lets you cognize erstwhile you've near it down to forestall imperishable loss. You tin usage the Find My app connected your iPhone to rapidly hunt for it successful your surroundings oregon spot a representation for its location. You tin besides usage the Tracker Card to ringing your iPhone erstwhile you can't find it, adjacent if it's connected soundless mode.
SwitchBot Wallet Tracker Card Features: Price: $18, presently connected sale| Battery life: Up to 3 years | Real-time tracking: Yes | Monthly cost: Free | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Apple Find My network
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The Tile Pro's tracking scope extends to 400 feet, treble the scope of Apple's AirTag and the Samsung SmartTag. It besides outreaches its sibling, the Tile Mate.
Its elongated signifier houses a larger-than-average talker for a much discernible alarm, which is peculiarly convenient for its tracking range. The instrumentality besides has an IP67 to support it from particulate and rain, arsenic good arsenic a replaceable CR2032 battery. It besides has a spread astatine the apical of the tile, truthful you tin easy connect the tag to your keychain.
A Tile Pro tag costs $35, which is good worthy the wealth if you privation the astir extended tracking range. That said, unreliable charging remains 1 of Tile Pro users' biggest complaints. The Tile Pro works with the Tile app, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home.
Tile Pro Features: Price: $35 | Battery life: Up to 1 twelvemonth | Real-time tracking: Yes | Monthly cost: Premium subscription disposable | Connectivity: Bluetooth
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The Samsung SmartTag2 is astatine its champion erstwhile paired with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The Galaxy SmartTag2 is simply a formidable Bluetooth tracker with a large speaker, a replaceable battery, and a rugged build.
Also: The champion Samsung phones
The SmartTag2 Bluetooth tracker is thinner than its predecessor, with a bigger keyring and a metallic insert wrong that provides greater durability. Beyond its caller design, the SmartTag 2 increases its artillery beingness to 700 days. It besides has caller features similar the Power Saving Mode, Lost Mode, and an improved Compass View implicit its anterior iteration. Customer reviews are mixed connected artillery life, but the SmartTag has a replaceable CR2032 battery.
Unlike the picks above, the SmartTag2 tin besides trigger astute location automation. Press the tag to crook connected lights, kickstart aerial conditioning, oregon adjacent unfastened the store door. However, it's lone compatible with appliances successful the SmartThings ecosystem, which is much constricted than the Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Home Kit ecosystems.
This tracker typically sells for $30, but it's presently connected merchantability for $27 done Samsung's website.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 features: Price: $19 | Battery life: Up to 2 years | Real-time tracking: Yes | Monthly cost: Free | Connectivity: Bluetooth, GPS
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The Apple AirTag is the champion Bluetooth tracker for its Precision Finding, agelong artillery life, and entree to the dependable Apple's Find My Network feature.
We besides reviewed different large options to acceptable a assortment of needs. The Tile Pro's 400-foot scope is fantastic if you privation a long-distance tracker, portion the Chipolo One is cleanable if you're an Android idiosyncratic looking for a reliable tracker.
This array tin assistance you comparison the champion Bluetooth trackers based connected pricing and peculiar features:
Bluetooth trackers | ZDNET's take | Price | Special features |
Apple AirTag | Best overall | $29 | Precision Finding, one-year artillery life |
Chipolo One Point | Best for Android users | $23 | Google Find My Device, splashproof |
SwitchBot Wallet Tracker Card | Best for wallets | $25 | Compact size fits successful astir wallets, up to three-year battery |
Tile Pro | Best for long-distance tracking | $26 | Always-on connectivity, 400-foot range |
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 | Best for Samsung users | $19 | Compatible with astute location devices, scratch-resistant design |
*Price astatine clip of writing. Please enactment that prices alteration based connected retailer and disposable promotions, sales, oregon discounts.
The main origin to see erstwhile buying for a Bluetooth tracker is compatibility, arsenic the AirTag and SwitchBot Wallet Tracker Card lone relation with Apple devices. For much versatility, we'd urge looking into Tile's Bluetooth offerings.
It besides helps to cognize what you're tracking. Coin-shaped trackers volition enactment for keys and smaller items, but we urge card-shaped options for belongings similar wallets and passports.
Choose this Bluetooth tracker... | If you want… |
Apple AirTag | Best wide for precise determination tracking and a artillery that'll past a year. |
Chipolo One Point | The cleanable tracker for Android devices with a replaceable battery. |
SwitchBot Wallet Tracker Card | A bladed Apple-integrated tracker for your wallet. |
Tile Pro | Long-distance tracking with a scope of 400 feet and a large alarm. |
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 | A Samsung-compatible tracker that tin treble arsenic a astute location button. |
Our champion picks tick each 4 boxes and past some, but each are distinguished by unsocial selling points that marque each perfect for circumstantial uses. If you privation a Bluetooth tracker connected your pet's collar oregon request 1 that works with your Samsung ecosystem, look for models that champion enactment these features. When selecting the champion Bluetooth trackers, we considered the pursuing cardinal factors.
- Precision: How close and accordant the instrumentality is astatine uncovering our items, from adjacent and acold distances.
- Battery life: What's the constituent successful investing successful a Bluetooth tracker erstwhile it tin dice connected you erstwhile you astir request it? Within the list, we considered artillery beingness and noted each device's durability truthful you tin confidently marque your pick.
- Speaker volume: Nothing is worse than knowing an entity is nearby, but you can't find it. This is wherever the talker measurement comes in: If a tracker's measurement is excessively low, you won't beryllium capable to find your device. If a tracker has a large volume, you tin astatine slightest perceive it beeping truthful you tin travel the sound.
- Tracking range: Bluetooth devices similar these trackers trust connected awesome spot (RSSI) to estimation the device's locations oregon items. We considered the scope to find however reliable these devices tin beryllium successful a clip of need.
At ZDNET, we travel a broad investigating method to measure Bluetooth trackers and supply insights into their show and reliability to assistance buyers take the champion 1 for their circumstances.
We trial Bluetooth trackers by noting the full experience, from unboxing and setup to features and performance. This involves evaluating whether the determination tracking for a Bluetooth tracker is close erstwhile compared to its existent location, monitoring awesome spot erstwhile trying to find a tracker, and assessing however reliably it connects and reconnects to your main device, which is commonly a smartphone.
During testing, we besides measure the maximum awesome range, the app experience, and the effectiveness of proximity alerts, measurement the artillery life, execute driblet tests, and trial however each Bluetooth tracker performs successful areas with a batch of Bluetooth interference.
Latest quality connected Bluetooth trackers
Pebblebee's Clip conscionable got a information boost with a caller Alert Live instrumentality that lets you stock your existent clip determination successful an emergency. Read much astir the upgrade here.
Most Bluetooth trackers person replaceable oregon rechargeable batteries. If a tracker lacks a replaceable battery, its shaper often incentivizes trade-ins with discounts.
Many batteries past betwixt 1 and 2 years. Your shaper volition supply this accusation successful the owner's manual and connected its website truthful you tin program erstwhile to regenerate it.
A Bluetooth tracker either attaches to a idiosyncratic point similar a backpack, oregon it tin reside wrong an point similar a wallet.
Next, you alteration determination tracking by connecting the tracker via the manufacturer's app. This mode you tin person a ocular of your item's location. Bluetooth trackers person a constricted range, with an mean of 200 to 300 feet. This means you indispensable beryllium wrong the awesome scope to person close information.
Some items, specified arsenic Wi-Fi speakers, mightiness interfere with the signal, truthful usage the devices successful an country with little imaginable interference truthful you tin person the strongest signal.
Both the Tile Pro and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 assertion a maximum scope of astir 400 feet.
Latest updates
- August 2025: Refreshed retail links and merchandise pricing and edited to align with ZDNET's latest benignant guide.
Other Bluetooth trackers to consider
If you privation to cognize whether you're being tracked, cheque out How to find retired if an AirTag is tracking you.