Review: Switchbot Wallet Finder is a very useful accessory for tracking your wallet on your iPhone

There is an air tag on the keychain. I track the key, but obviously the air tag is too big to fit the bulky in my wallet. That’s what Switchbot Wallet Finder is about.

The Switchbot wallet finder, thin and disguised inside the credit card form factor, connects to find my app on your iPhone, so you can trace its location. Inevitably you’ll get lost somewhere in your home. Please read my review…

setting

The setup is very simple. It ostensibly supports its own apps and Android, but I used the apps to be embedded in my phone via Apple alone. I didn’t download the Switchbot app at all. To set up, open my search, add an item, and hold the button on the wallet finder card for a few seconds.

Next, select the name and emoji icon to identify it later. By default I suggested “Benjamin’s Key” but renamed “Benjamin’s Wallet”, select one of the available emojis, continue and I’m done. Then simply slide into one of the empty card pockets in your wallet.

How to track location

As a reminder, I can see that my accessories don’t have GPS. Instead, it broadcasts a low-energy Bluetooth signal that nearby Apple devices such as IPHONE, iPad, Mac, etc. will pick up. After that, the location is sent safely and personally to find my network, so I hope I can find and get lost items.

No matter how many miles you are, as long as there are people nearby who have an Apple device, the wallet will be located on a map to find my app. Also, there is no continuous subscription or other costs (unlike some competitors).

As demonstrated by the success of AirTags, Find My Network works very well, and the Switchbot wallet finder is just as effective. If the item is still and is one of the billions of iOS devices in the world nearby, it won’t take long for the location to appear in Find My. However, if an item is moving, location updates are slightly delayed in real time.

You can also find my app and mark the item explicitly as lost. After that, if someone else finds your wallet and wants to return it to the legitimate owner, they will provide the identified item feature to present your contact information to the point of view. Can be used. Future iOS 18.2 updates will add the ability to create shareable links that can be sent to others to help track lost items.

Use the speaker to find the area

Unlike AirTag, the wallet finder does not have an ultra-width band radio built into it. This means that there is no precision search function that AirTag provides when it is in close proximity.

However, the integrated speakers in the wallet finder are enough to find a lost wallet. In the Bluetooth range, the card emits a rather large tone. It’s slightly louder than the sound the airtag makes, and naturally a little muff when you enter a closed wallet, but it’s still heard and enough to hear it from quite a distance.

For the (embarrassingly common) case of abandoning my wallet somewhere in the house, I now find my app, press “play sound” and immediately decide which room it is in You can ask.

For even more convenient convenience, work with Siri Voice Assistant. For example, you could scream, “Where is my wallet?” In my home pod, it starts pinging it for me.

Safety and Tracking

Like AirTags, wallet finder is sold as a device to help you recover lost items. It is not designed to address theft issues or to track others negatively. If the card has been separated from the owner for a while, the speaker emits noise and makes people aware of its existence. It also triggers “Unknown Items that Work with You” on your nearby iPhone.

It is also worth pointing out that by pressing a button in a specific shutdown sequence, someone else who owns the card can detect my connection.

Conclusion

When used for the intended purpose, the Switchbot wallet finder is extremely effective and of great value. It’s obviously designed to be stored in your wallet, but if you want to slide it with some kind of strap or keychain, it has built-in hole cutouts. Highly recommended.

Perhaps the only downside to recognize is that there is no way to replace the battery with the wallet finder card. This is a single use consumable, assessed for approximately 3 years of use. However, the contents of the wallet are well worth it, so simply buying another one when you finally dies makes it probably economical. Regarding environmental waste, you have to be fine on your own.