One of my favorite tech gadgets prevents me from ever losing my phone, wallet, or keys — and it only costs $35

Tile Style

I've been using three Tile devices for about a year.
They've helped alleviate one of my biggest frustrations — losing things — while simultaneously being the most low-maintenance tech gadgets I use.
Tiles never need to be charged, and their locations are automatically updated by the Tile user community.
The two types of Tile devices I use — the Tile Mate and Tile Style — cost $20 and $35 respectively.

I hate to lose things.

That probably says something about my personality (Type A) and the level of attachment I have to my possessions (high, it seems).

But the fact remains that whenever I lose something, I feel frustrated at myself for being so careless. So over the course of the last year, I've been using a couple of Tile devices to keep track of my things.

Tile has been around awhile at this point — in fact, the company launched five years ago. But for those who have never used one, Tile works like a tiny tracking device. You can attach it to you keychain, slip into a pocket, or toss it in the bottom of your suitcase. You'll need to pair it with your iPhone or Android phone, and then you can basically forget it exists.

At this point I have three Tile devices. I use two $20 Tile Mates — one attached to my house keys and one attached to the luggage tag of my suitcase. I also have a newer $35 Tile Style, a fancier-looking and more powerful Tile that lives in a pocket inside my work bag. Tile Style has a longer range, it's waterproof, and it's twice as loud as Tile's older devices. While my Tile Mates work just fine, the Tile Style is my personal favorite.

Tile's battery lasts for about a year. Once you set up each tracker in the smartphone app, you basically never have to think about it again. That is, until you lose something.

Tile

Tile essentially does crowdsourced location tracking. Every Tile app is able to recognize every individual Tile out there in the world, even if its not one of yours. Each time an app detects a Tile nearby, it automatically updates that Tile's location. That way, if you lose something, any Tile user could anonymously find it for you.

There's one other major Tile perk: because Tile pairs with your phone, the lost-and-found system goes both ways. If you can't find your phone, just squeeze one of your Tiles and it will ring your phone, even if your device is on silent.

My Tiles are currently keeping track of four of the most important items I own: my phone, keys, work bag (which includes my wallet), and my luggage when I travel. Luckily, I haven't misplaced any of those things lately — but when I do, I'll have some help getting them back.

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