TrackR

Key finder

This article is about the key finder. For the police dog, see Trakr.

TrackR

Company type| Private
Founded| 2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Founders| Chris Herbert
Christian Smith
Headquarters| Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Website| thetrackr.com

TrackR was a commercial key finder that assisted in the tracking of lost belongings and devices.[1] Trackr was produced by the company Phone Halo[2] and was inspired by the founders' losing their keys on a beach during a surfing trip.[3]

The founders of Phone Halo began working on TrackR in 2009. In 2010, they founded the company and launched the product.[4] In Winter 2018, TrackR rebranded itself to Adero, as part of changing its focus to other uses for its tracking technology, taking TrackR beyond the Bluetooth fobs that had been the core of its service.[5] TrackR shut down its services and removed its apps in August 2021.[6]

## Overview[edit]

The device contains a lithium battery that needs to be changed about once a year by the user. It communicates its current location via Bluetooth 4.0, to an Android 4.4+ or iOS 8.0+ mobile device on which the TrackR app is installed and running. This feature is referred to as "Crowd Locate", since each device will report its location to all other TrackR devices in range, including those that are neither owned nor registered by the user. This feature is useful because the app must be installed and running on a nearby Bluetooth enabled device for any device's location to be relayed.

As of August 2017, over 5 million TrackR devices had been sold.[3]

As of August 2021, the official website stated that the manufacturer has discontinued App support for both Apple and Android devices.

## Technical data[edit]

For Trackr Bravo, the producer published the following data as of August 2017:[7]

Specifications

|  | TrackR  | Tracker  | tile  | Slightech  | Chipolo  | XYFindit[8] | Lapa  | PebbleBee

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| Wallet (TrackR) | Bravo G1 (TB001) (no ringer hole) | Bravo G2 (1 ringer hole) | Pixel  | Sticker[9] | tile G2 (3 ringer holes) | mate [10] | slim [10] | MYNT [11] | Chipolo [12] | Chipolo Plus  | XY3  | Lapa (G1)  | Lapa 2 [13] | PebbleBee [14] | PebbleBee Stone [15] | PebbleBee Finder [16]
Sold since  |  | ca. Jan 2015[17] | ca. Oct 2016  | <= Aug 2017  | ca. Jul 2014  | ca. Oct 2016  | <= Aug 2017  | <= Aug 2017  | discontinued  |  |  | <= Aug 2016  |  | Mar 2016  | ca. Oct 2014  | ca. Mar 2016  | ca. Dec 2016
Case material  | black plastics  | colored anodized aluminium  | black plastics  | black plastics  | white plastics  | white plastics  | white plastics  | colored  |  |  | colored  |  |  |  |  | white or blk plastics in metal cylinder
Diameter  | 65x40 mm bowed rectangular  | 31 mm (1.22") \+ eyelet  | 26.2 mm (1.03") | 24 mm (0.98") | (>34x>34 mm) square + big hole  | 34x34 mm square + hole  | 54x54 mm square (no hole)  | oval + eyelet  |  |  | hexagonal  |  |  |  | triangle round  | ca. 25 mm
Thickness  | 4 mm  | 3.5 mm (0.14") | 5.6 mm (0.22") | 4.1 mm (0.16") |  | 4,65 mm  | 2,4 mm  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | pebble-like + silicon sleeve[15] | ca. 10 mm
Weight (incl. batt.)  |  |  |  |  | 4.5 g (0.15 oz) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Attachment  |  | bent eyelet  | loop (thread)  |  | big hole  | smaller hole  | (no hole)  | eyelet  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | thru cylinder
Battery type  | 2x CR2016  | CR1616  | CR1620  | CR2016  | CR2016  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | CR2032
Battery life  | 2 years  | 1 year  | 1 year  | 1 year  | 1 year  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Battery exchange  | by user  | by user  | by user  | by user  | by user  | not discounted exchange of device | ?  | ?  | ?  | by user  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Bluetooth  | 4.0  | BLE 4.0  | BLE 4.0  | BLE 4.0  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Bluetooth range  | up to 30 m (100 ft)  | less than G2  | up to 30 m (100 ft)[18] | up to 30 m (100 ft)  | up to 30 m (100 ft)  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Device Ringer Volume  | Up to 92 dB  | less than 2nd ed.  | Up to 82 dB  | Up to 90 dB  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | "loud"
Remarks  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tile has 5 mio. units sold[19] | MacOSX 10.10+, water sleeve  | remote camera shutter; App off: iOS is active[20] |  | water resistant  |  |  |  |  | heavier, long range
CR1620 (16 mm diameter, 2.0 mm height); G1 = Generation/Edition 1, ...
Further or older editions: tile SPORT; Pebble Bee: Honey, Finder; key finders: https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-key-finders

## See also[edit]

* Key finder
* Tile (company)
* AirTag

## References[edit]

1. ^ "TrackR Bravo". PCMag.
2. ^ Gibbs, Mark (12 November 2013). "Phone Halo's TrackR devices make it harder to lose your stuff". NetworkWorld.
3. ^ a b Horvath, Balint (2017-08-16). "How a hardware startup's product goes viral, with Christian Smith of TrackR, USA". The Hardware Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
4. ^ "Download. Attach. Find. Keep track of everything with TrackR". TrackR.
5. ^ "TrackR is rebranding to Adero as it looks beyond small devices to track lost items". TechCrunch. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
6. ^ "TrackR website".
7. ^ Technical Specifications thetrackr.com, retrieved 29 August 2017.
8. ^ xyfindit.com
9. ^ "Tracker Sticker - Official Video". www.youtube.com. 2014-07-31.
10. ^ a b "Tile Mate (2016) and Tile Slim - 4 Pack (2 x Mate, 2 x Slim) - Discontinued by Manufacturer". www.amazon.com.
11. ^ ModernDayFamilyMan (15 December 2016). "MYNT - Not just a TRACKER - unboxing and first look". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 - via YouTube.
12. ^ "Tile vs Chipolo vs TrackR Comparison Test". 31 August 2016.
13. ^ ModernDayFamilyMan (19 March 2016). "Lapa 2 Bluetooth Item Finder - unboxing and first look" - via YouTube.
14. ^ ModernDayFamilyMan (3 October 2014). "PebbleBee Bluetooth Personal Lost & Found Finder" - via YouTube.
15. ^ a b ModernDayFamilyMan (1 March 2016). "PEBBLE BEE STONE - Unboxing and Honest First Test" - via YouTube.
16. ^ ModernDayFamilyMan (6 December 2016). "PebbbleBee FINDER - unboxing and first look". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 - via YouTube.
17. ^ TrackR bravo is claimed to be the thinnest item-tracking device ever newatlas.com, 13 June 2014. retrieved 30 August 2017.
18. ^ TILE vs. TrackR Bravo - Distance Testing - 2nd Generatiosn 21 October 2016
19. ^ "Top 10 Key Finders of 2018 - Video Review". wiki.ezvid.com.
20. ^ ModernDayFamilyMan (1 December 2016). "THE IMPOSSIBLE FEATURE THAT NO OTHER BLUETOOTH TRACKER HAS". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 - via YouTube.

## Further reading[edit]

* Martin, Jim (January 12, 2016). "Attach a TrackR to your keys and you should never lose them again". PC Advisor. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
* "the-trackr-bravo-keeps-you-from-misplacing-your-valuables". TechCrunch. March 23, 2015.
* "trackr-bravo-no-pierdas-y-localiza-objetos-importantes". PC World España. (in Spanish)
* "trackr-bravo-review". PC Advisor.
* "alexa-where-are-my-keys-trackr-syncs-with-amazon-echo-to-help-you-find-your-stuff". CNET.
* "tracking-your-assets-through-peer-peer-iot-networks". EE Times. 14 April 2016.
* "tech-tools-to-keep-you-from-losing-your-keys". Kiplinger. 7 June 2016.