Originally Posted by
Koyote
Those trackers are bluetooth-based...So, once your bike is out of your phone's bluetooth range, you can't track it. There are a couple companies (like Tile) that use crowdsourcing to find your tracker, but that requires enough customers in your area with the app on their phones, and they have to be near your bike, etc. Seems unlikely to be a good solution.
Unless there is some other tracking device out there now?
I definitely wouldn't recommend Tile... my wife got me a few for Christmas one year (what do you get the guy who has everything? Something he has no use for, I guess).
Anyway, one significant limitation for Tile is that iphone users have to have the application open on their phone for it to "find" nearby tiles, so it won't just run in the background like it will on an android phone. That really limits the likelihood that crowd sourcing will find your missing item. That and the battery is not replaceable and only lasts a year... got another $40? Don't bother.