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The longtime winner
Tile Mate (2024)
$15 $25 Save $10
The latest iteration of the brand that came first, the 2024 Tile Mate still does the best an Android user can ask of a Bluetooth tracker. It’s not exactly feature-packed, but it works reliably and improves the performance of anything using Google’s network.
Pros- Can successfully track lost belongings
- Pings with impressive frequency in urban areas
- Integrates with Works With Google setups
Cons- Non-replaceable battery means it’s done after 3 years
- Needs a subscription for peak effectiveness
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Frustratingly unhelpful
Pebblebee Clip Universal
$28 $35 Save $7
The Find My Device network’s rollout across Android was problematic, to say the least. First, it took years, then saw several delays, and finally became a reality —only to not actually work at tracking lost belongings. At this point, it’s hard to even hope the FMD network improves.
Pros- Loud and reasonably durable
- Can switch between Android and Apple networks
Cons- Takes forever to ping
- Provides comically large aggregated search areas
- Lost features by dropping Pebblebee network support
Android users have spent the last few years gazing longingly into Apple’s walled garden at its wildly popular AirTags. While not meant to serve as anything remotely like a GPS or other live location tracker, Apple’s powerful smart tags work so incredibly well, they’ve given us all likely false hope in Android’s attempts at mimicry. Indeed, after reviewing several third-party Bluetooth trackers approved for Google’s Find My Device, the network implementation dooms most non-Apple smart tags, despite how good some look on paper.
Surely, though, access to a worldwide network of millions of phones has to count for something, right? There’s no way that, in 2025, a standalone Bluetooth tag from a relatively small vendor with a proprietary app could compete with the global juggernaut of Google. That would be absurd, right? Well, get ready to read something ridiculous.
Price, availability, and specs
The same technology in similar form factors
No Bluetooth trackers cost much, and the entry-level Tile Mate is among the cheapest. It lists at $25, but it’s no stranger to discounts from either the manufacturer or third-party vendors, including Amazon and Best Buy. Pebblebee set the Clip’s MSRP at $35, and it also periodically sees minor discounts from the company and other major vendors.
The 2024 Tile Mate is named clearly, so there shouldn’t be any confusion, but take a second look when considering a Pebblebee Clip (or either of the other models). The Universal series is the only one that supports both the Apple and Google networks. The manufacturer no longer sells the previous model, the Pebblebee Clip for Android, which connects to your choice of the Find My Device network or Pebblebee’s own network. But you might see it at some third-party retailers, so take special care you’re getting the right one. Also, take note that it’s not the best idea to look for the older model in hopes Pebblebee’s network performs better than Google’s. It does offer a couple more features, but the actual Bluetooth tracking basically doesn’t work at all.
Read our review
Review: Tile’s revamped Mate reminds us why it’s the reigning Android tracker
Plus, it comes in jazzy new colors
Read our review
Review: Pebblebee’s new Universal trackers still aren’t right for Android users
Pebblebee has given up on its network
Design
Two reasonably durable, straightforward keychains
The 2024 Tile Mate is a 38mm square keychain, just a hair under 8mm thick, with a key ring attachment built into a corner. The Pebblebee Clip Universal sports a circular design 38mm in diameter (except the plastic key ring portion) and a smidgen over 8mm thick. They both weigh 8g, or next to nothing. Neither is bulletproof, but both held up reasonably well to daily carrying. We wouldn’t be worried about common wear and tear putting either out of commission in the foreseeable future.
The Mate does take a decent lead out of the gate, though, with an IP68 rating that indicates neither dust nor immersion in water will end it. Pebblebee’s keychain offers only IPX6 protection, and that’s accurate: I lost an identically rated Pebblebee Tag when the dog wearing it took a four-second swim through a river.
However, the Tile achieves that impermeability by sealing the battery inside permanently. Unlike the 2024 Tile Pro, which lasts a year before the battery needs replacing, once the Mate dies, it’s done. There’s no changing the battery, and it becomes e-waste.
The Pebblebee Clip Universal, like the Pebblebee Clip for Android before it, boasts a USB-C rechargeable battery, ensuring it won’t end up in the trash anytime soon. That is, provided it’s actually good at tracking via Bluetooth connections and, therefore, worth keeping.
Features and tracking
Here’s the part that makes us sad
The only time Google’s network alerted me to an unknown tracker, it was talking about one already paired with my phone.
We waited a long time for Bluetooth trackers that take advantage of the world’s most popular operating system. Google probably didn’t need to tease the Find My Device network to drum up attention. As the claimed release window approached, things started looking odd as delay after delay crossed the news desk. After the rollout finally began, we waited for Google’s word that it was operational to review any FMD trackers.
It wouldn’t be unrealistic to accuse me of periodically taking potshots at Google for killing features or botching an update rollout here and there — who doesn’t like a little low-hanging fruit? But the truth is, everybody wanted Android’s new Bluetooth trackers to work, not least of all us. So we were, and are still, disappointed at the FMD network’s often unstable performance.
Put simply: the technology is there, but the implementation isn’t. Surrounded by the dense population needed to extract a location ping, Google FMD places Pebblebee trackers somewhere in a search radius that’s laughably unhelpful where there’s more than one busy street (think a 200m-radius circle in a metropolitan traffic jam). At the other end of the spectrum, you might wait days to see a single location ping after leaving the Pebblebee Clip at a suburban strip mall.
Extensive Chipolo testing proved that other FMD trackers suffer similar fates. It’s not Pebblebee’s fault the whole operation is a failure in many regions, but it is Pebblebee’s problem to deal with. It tried: The initial Clip for Android dropped off the shelves months after launch, replaced by the Clip (and Tag and Card) Universal. The only problem? It wasn’t universal, with Pebblebee giving up on its network and, ostensibly, the potential for useful features like Left Behind notifications and geofencing. The Google FMD network could theoretically support such features, but there’s no convincing sign of progress.
Tile’s network, on the other hand, works
The first Tile trackers came well before AirTags perfected the concept, so it shouldn’t be entirely surprising they do what they say they will. Nonetheless, many people didn’t expect the comparatively small network to perform anywhere near as well as it does. Tile trackers of various levels regularly delivered location updates multiple times per hour, even in sparsely populated areas where Google’s network was apparently radio silent.
To get the most out of the Mate, consider a subscription. For $3 per month or $30 per year, you’ll get Left Behind notifications and a month of location history. The fee also assures up to $1,000 in reimbursement for lost items. However, looking into the terms and conditions makes it clear most people won’t ever be able to meet the extremely specific circumstances required.
So, how does the Mate achieve this feat when hundreds of millions of Android phones exist across North America, and Tile has only sold tens of millions of trackers over five years? People-tracking company Life360 purchased the brand in late 2021, eventually enrolling subscribers to its more full-featured service in the Bluetooth tracking program. Because tracking is the only thing that Tile and its parent company do, it makes sense they got it right.
How did this happen, and what’s next?
Google’s fate may have always been sealed
While AirTags are the golden children of item trackers now, they still see some scrutiny due to stalking incidents. Since the beginning, Apple has continued implementing checks and controls to mitigate unwanted tracking. Courts dismissed most of the claims in a 2023 suit alleging Apple’s design harms consumers, but the tech giant could still face repercussions for violating California law. Google and its broadly more accepting ecosystem possibly never stood a chance, as even a fraction of AirTag’s alarming headlines could have put the kibosh on the whole project.
Tile has its own scandals, of course. Shortly after Tile’s 2021 sale, journalists uncovered Life360’s unauthorized sale of precise location data to a slate of companies the company wouldn’t fully reveal, citing confidentiality issues. Tail between its legs, Life360 axed all but two contracts, putting anonymization, restriction, and opt-out procedures into place moving forward.
In 2023, a group of alleged stalking victims hit Tile with a class action lawsuit over enabling their stalker and refusing to provide police with important evidence. As recently as December 2024, the plaintiffs’ demand for action against their alleged stalker’s account was redirected to arbitration, while their claims against Tile and Amazon (which aided via the Sidewalk connectivity network) will proceed to litigation.
As if that weren’t enough, a data breach hit Tile in mid-2024. For what that’s worth, the company appears to have shored up security since. Plus, Bluetooth trackers aren’t the most privacy-oriented gadgets in the first place. The fact remains that, despite their shortcomings, Tile’s trackers outperform Google FMD trackers by leaps and bounds.
Alternatives to the Tile Mate and Pebblebee Clip
Other choices exist, but not many
You don’t have many other options unless you plan to jump to iOS just for a tracking keychain. The Moto Tag exists, and the Rolling Square AirNotch and AirCard Pro supposedly will someday, but don’t expect them to work any better than Pebblebee or Chipolo units.
The card-shaped Tile Slim is similar to the Mate, with its slightly less rugged and versatile form factor being the main difference. The Tile Sticker is smaller than a bottle cap but relies on adhesive that might not stick to everything. Life360’s big winner has been the top-level Tile Pro, with unmatched range and volume and a replaceable battery.
Samsung users, however, have a better solution. The Galaxy SmartTag 2’s limitation to Samsung devices doesn’t pose a big problem in the brand’s many popular regions, which includes the US. If you use a Samsung phone, that’s the one to get. It will almost certainly continue to perform better than any FMD tracker until Google makes drastic improvements or shutters the whole operation.
Should you buy the Tile Mate or Pebblebee Clip?
Unless something big changes, most people have a clear choice
The 2024 Tile Mate works significantly better than any Pebblebee tracker. What’s more, Pebblebee appears to have put its proprietary tracking goals on hold for now. However, rumor has it we’ll learn more about the company’s upcoming tracker accessory plans in the near future (potentially at one of 2025’s rapidly approaching trade shows).
Even though Tile trackers may never quite match AirTags in Bluetooth tracking performance, they’re the best a non-Samsung Android user can do for now. Tile expressed in a 2024 earnings call the intent to add satellite connectivity. Regardless, the latest Tile Mate does work well and can reliably find your lost stuff. It doesn’t require a subscription, but you get worthwhile features for $30 per year. The reimbursement increase offered by the higher subscription tier isn’t likely to come into play for most people.
Top pick
Tile Mate (2024)
$15 $25 Save $10
Always the first, and still the best, the latest Tile Mate provides reliable location updates whenever it finds somebody else using the Tile or Life360 apps. For most Android users, the Mate and its siblings are the only choices.
But the Pebblebee Clip Universal isn’t a useless hunk of plastic and microchips. Users in some regions, such as Brazil, testify that Google Find My Device trackers work fine where they live. We had a different experience, but it may not be everyone’s use case.
I used the Clip Universal’s built-in alarm to locate my keys underneath a pile of laundry just last week, and my dog now wears a Pebblebee Tag attuned to Apple’s more capable network. So, you may find uses if you’re cautious and lucky. Only time will tell what new technologies and gadgets the small company will roll out next. Hopefully, any projects in its pipeline rely on in-house implementations.
Not now, or maybe ever
Pebblebee Clip Universal
The Pebblebee Clip does essentially half of what it set out to. If your keys are lost in a couch, it’ll help you find them. If they’re outside on the ground somewhere, you’re probably out of luck.