Tile finds your keys and now your phone, too

Attach the small device to something you need to keep track of and when it’s lost, just fire app the companion Tile app to help find the item. T-Mobile is also giving away some new Tiles in celebration of the second generation Tile going on sale at Magenta.

Unlike other services which are restricted by Bluetooth’s connectivity range, Tile’s range can go beyond that by using the Bluetooth connections of nearby smartphones running the app. Now Tile has received an update that adds a few new features to make it even more helpful than before. The phone will ring, even if it is on silent or vibrate.

If you’ve lost both your phone and Tile, say because you left them in the same bag, then you can use Tile’s newly redesigned website to find both of them. Pricing for the Tile is $24.99 for a single unit, but if you’d like to buy several, you can get discounted pricing from Tile’s online shop.

The latest generation of Tile hardware produces a louder alert than its predecessor, and an upgrade to the app allows users to turn their Android and iOS devices into Tiles themselves, complete with the ability to ring the phone or see its location on a map. Among the changes include increasing its volume by three times, making it easier for you to hear/locate missing items that Tile is attached to. It now beeps at 90 decibels, so even if your keys (or whatever your Tile is hooked to) are at the bottom of a backpack with a sweater stuffed on top, you will have a better chance of hearing the beeps than before. The compatible app for iOS and Android is free.