Tile Pro review: a durable Bluetooth tracker

Many people think that the original Tile Mate is an excellent Bluetooth tracker because it has simple controls and flexible support. However, the all-plastic design is not suitable for all adventures. This is where Tile Pro comes in. It should be loud, and the metal frame should be able to withstand more blows, but are these claims true? Find the answer in our Tile Pro review.

learn more: The best bluetooth tracker

• Tile Pro (1 pack): 34.99 USD / 34.99 Euro / 29.99 GBP
• Tile Pro (2-pack): 59.99 USD / 59.99 EUR / 49.99 GBP

Tile Pro is a Bluetooth tracker, you can connect it to your most precious items to track them. It is slightly larger than the original Tile Mate, but has almost the same design. It retains the corner mounting holes for easy installation, but it replaces the all-plastic structure with a stronger metal frame. Like Tile Mate, Tile Pro has also been updated in 2020 to keep up with Apple and Samsung products.

As far as these competitors are concerned, Tile Pro is at a slightly different level from AirTag and Galaxy SmartTag. It is $5 more expensive than both products, but it maintains the flexible approach that makes Tile so great. You can connect your Tile Pro with Android or iOS by simply downloading the Tile app.

Tile Pro is easiest to use black or white finishes, but you can purchase some special edition patterns directly from Tile. These tend to change throughout the year, but now you can choose Paradise, Spaceman, etc.

Of course, if you want full functionality, you must try Tile Premium. The service costs $2.99 ​​a month or $29.99 a year. It can serve as your access point to everything from smart alarms to free battery replacement. If you need location history data, Tile Premium is indispensable. You can check Tile Premium Protect at any time for more protection, and you can get up to $1,000 in project compensation for only $99.99 per year.

Tile Pro relies on simple controls to help you find lost items. If you ring from your phone, just gently squeeze the tracker and the ringtone will be muted. On the other hand, double-clicking on the Tile will make your phone ring to help hunt it down.

Now that you have mastered the basics, let’s take a look at the performance of Tile Pro in daily life.

Tile Pro is slightly larger than Tile Mate, but it still fits well in your pocket. The increase in size allows the use of larger speakers, which helps make Tile Pro the loudest of all trackers I have tried so far. Tile did a good job of scaling out the increased size, rather than making the Pro thicker, so it can still be used comfortably with my other buttons.

One of the most important changes that Tile has made to the Pro model is the metal frame. It’s not that Tile Mate feels fragile, but passing Tile Pro through the wringer will make you feel safer. Pro’s black surface treatment also seems to be better at dealing with wear and scratches than the bright white of the original tracker. It does require a CR2032 battery, but using the rear panel to replace it is as easy as ever.

Like other models, Tile does show the value of its flexibility. Although Apple and Samsung are trying to lock you in their respective ecosystems, Tile Pro is ready to play with Android and iOS. Just download the Tile app and you can log in on any device with the same credentials.

Without the app, you will not be able to really browse the world of Tile Tracker, but the interface makes life easier. Use the “Add tiles” button to easily add a new tracker, you can jump into the map tab to view your area at any time. Whenever you need to update settings, change ringtones or click on Tile Premium options such as smart alarms, the Tile app is your home base.

What’s wrong?

Tile Pro provides a great experience overall. It solves the durability problem of Tile Mate, but does not increase too much in terms of water resistance. If you want to keep your Pro in the next few years, you still want to avoid rain and random splashing.

We can admit that Tile Pro is not more waterproof than any other tracker, but the reliance on Tile Premium is even more worrying. This is already a $35 Bluetooth tracker, so an additional $30 per year can start adding up quickly, especially if you have a few tiles. This is especially true when you consider other trackers like Chipolo One, which works out of the box and provides similar smart alerts at no additional cost. It’s great to replace batteries for free, but you won’t need them often, and there are other economical ways to use batteries.

Another unfortunate reservation in the Tile application is that you cannot delete Tiles after activation. Of course, you can replace them or transfer them to friends, but the Tile will always remain active. Even if you hide the tile in your account, it is still active in the background.

Tile Pro also has an excellent 400-foot Bluetooth range. If this sounds too good to be true, it is. You need a clear area with no interruption between your phone and your tiles to achieve anything close to this range. Unless you live in an open area, you may only see a small part of that range.

Tile uses all of its trackers to form a network that constantly pings your device. It will work well if you live in a big city or near other users in the city, but you won’t know how many users there are around you until you buy the Tile and activate it. If you live farther away, you will find that the possibility of more than a few other users becomes smaller and smaller. AirTag and Galaxy SmartTag have an advantage here, because I know that there are many more iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users near me than Tile users.

Tile’s attempt to balance a smaller user base is in the form Amazon sidewalk Integration, at least in the United States. It combines Amazon Echo and Ring devices to provide you with more data points for tracking. However, Amazon users can opt out of the Sidewalk feature, so you may not see any tracking improvements.

Although Bluetooth tracking should be a one-way street between you and the tracker, the system is not perfect. Tile does not provide any real anti-tracking features, which means that a bad apple may try to track you with enough effort. On the bright side, fewer Tile users means fewer data points available to potential trackers. This is where the Amazon Sidewalk integration comes into play as a double-edged sword, because additional tracking points mean more opportunities for trackers to enter your location.

Tile Pro Review: Should I buy it?

Despite the problems, Tile Pro is probably the best Bluetooth tracker most people can buy. It is loud, sturdy, and offers operating system flexibility that Apple and Samsung do not have. If you are planning to go on an outdoor adventure, even if you need to pay, Tile Pro is a great alternative to the classic Tile Mate. It is 10 dollars more expensive than Mate and 5 dollars more expensive than Apple AirTag (29 USD) Or Galaxy SmartTag (29 USD), but it is worth the extra charge.

You can also take a look: The best Apple AirTag alternative

However, if you are not too worried about build quality, then dedicated Apple users may want to stick to AirTag. Even if AirTag sacrifices convenient hole design, it is difficult to surpass the huge ecosystem and accurately locate it.

The biggest question is whether you want to register for Tile Premium. It adds some important features, but other trackers offer the same options without an annual fee of $29.99. Tile’s lack of anti-tracking support also caused some problems.

If you float back and forth between Android and iOS, you might decide to be your next tracker between Tile and Chipolo. Tile Pro provides a very loud argument for your money, and multi-pack discounts are hard to reach the peak.