Wallet card with Precision Finding?

[DominikHoffmann]

Are any of you aware of a wallet card (credit card form factor) that allows Precision Finding? I am currently using the Chipolo Card Spot, which does not.

As a follow-up question, I am wondering, whether perhaps Apple does not license Precision Finding to third parties, at all. In that case I would have to wait for a credit-card-shapped AirTag made by Apple itself.

 

[chabig]

I have the same card. I too, wish it supported precision finding, but I think that would decrease battery life. And they may have chosen not to include it for that reason, especially because the battery is non-replaceable. On the other hand, the very loud siren makes up for it a little bit.

 

[waw74]

I also have the chipalo, for me the beeper has been loud enough to find it, even with the card buried in my wallet.

I'm not sure I've seen a non-apple product with precision finding.

 

[JPack]

Apple hasn’t opened up their UWB chip to third parties. This is one of the reasons the Justice Department is building an antitrust case against Apple.

 

[DominikHoffmann]

Apple hasn’t opened up their UWB chip to third parties. This is one of the reasons the Justice Department is building an antitrust case against Apple.

In the case of third-party trackers they could keep the API on iPhones/iPads private. All they would have to do is publish the spec of how a device would have to respond to a signal.

 

[lostPod]

There are some 3D printed credit cards that have a spot for the tag. I tried them however my wallet is super thin — you may have a Different experience.

 

[DominikHoffmann]

There are some 3D printed credit cards that have a spot for the tag. I tried them however my wallet is super thin — you may have a Different experience.

View attachment 2334878

The thickness of the AirTag is the dealbreaker for me. A credit-card-sized mount won’t make it any thinner than it is. If Apple were to make a competitor to the Card Spot, I would purchase it.

 

[zinacef]

To the posters in this thread that have the Chipolo Card Spot, how is it? Do you like it? Any cons? I’m thinking of getting one.

 

[DominikHoffmann]

I have one, and the downside is that it needs to be replaced, when the battery dies. The other is the lack of Precision Finding. However, it would share that lack of a feature with all other card-sized locators.

When mine dies, I will try the SEINXON Ultra Slim.

 

[zinacef]

I have one, and the downside is that it needs to be replaced, when the battery dies. The other is the lack of Precision Finding. However, it would share that lack of a feature with all other card-sized locators.

When mine dies, I will try the SEINXON Ultra Slim.

Is the battery easily replaceable? Or does one have to purchase a new one when the battery dies?

 

[erihp]

To the posters in this thread that have the Chipolo Card Spot, how is it? Do you like it? Any cons? I’m thinking of getting one.

I prefer the Pebblebee Card, it can be recharged.

 

[zinacef]

I prefer the Pebblebee Card, it can be recharged.

I’ll have to check that one out, thanks!

 

[lostPod]

The thickness of the AirTag is the dealbreaker for me. A credit-card-sized mount won’t make it any thinner than it is. If Apple were to make a competitor to the Card Spot, I would purchase it.

Right. There are a few threads where some people have modified the air tag to make it much thinner. Before I got the chipolo card I tried that. I also tried having it attached to the wallet with a little string lol. The chipolo card has helped me out a lot.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

Are any of you aware of a wallet card (credit card form factor) that allows Precision Finding? I am currently using the Chipolo Card Spot, which does not.

As a follow-up question, I am wondering, whether perhaps Apple does not license Precision Finding to third parties, at all. In that case I would have to wait for a credit-card-shapped AirTag made by Apple itself.

Apple does not allow precision finding as others explained, unfortunately. But I do really like my KeySmart cards. They can be wirelessly charged and the company still has their sales page up https://www.getkeysmart.com/collections/holiday-specials-2023. I really like it and it does make a loud enough sound that I can find it in the house w/o precision finding.

 

[NYCValkyrie]

I’ll have to check that one out, thanks!

Also check out KeySmart. I love them.

 

[fischersd]

Also check out KeySmart. I love them.

I think my 3-pack is arriving today.

@zinacef - I found the Chipolo Card Spots to be horrible. Terrible battery life. If you put your wallet in your back pocket, good luck in finding a way to get the button not to press (many, many different configurations, between cards - was still problematic). Didn't update nearly as often as AirTags. Also had the battery die in them without any warning - just not updated in FindMy. Hoping the KeySmart work much better.

 

[erihp]

I think my 3-pack is arriving today.

@zinacef - I found the Chipolo Card Spots to be horrible. Terrible battery life. If you put your wallet in your back pocket, good luck in finding a way to get the button not to press (many, many different configurations, between cards - was still problematic). Didn't update nearly as often as AirTags. Also had the battery die in them without any warning - just not updated in FindMy. Hoping the KeySmart work much better.

Good to know. I've not had either problem with the Pebble Bee, and have yet to need to charge it since purchase in July. Very loud speaker too.

I do like the Keysmart wireless charging, that seems like a nice feature. Easy to misplace the charging clips.

 

[SCP]

To the posters in this thread that have the Chipolo Card Spot, how is it? Do you like it? Any cons? I’m thinking of getting one.

I have the AceCard, Chipolo, KeySmart, and pebblebee. Bottom line, Apple should have either selectively licensed out the precision finding to third parties *or* had a clue and designed their own wallet device.

• AceCard - can't recharge and only works for a few days before "being left behind" and never reconnects (unless deleted/repaired, then the same happens again, and again). NFC feature also doesn't work. AceCard support, terrible. I'm now in contact with the actual manufacturer trying to figure out what's going on.
• Chipolo - can't recharge and they crack.
• KeySmart - wireless charging, but, they originally claimed twelve months for battery when I purchased, now they claim five months, but I only see TWO WEEKS. I have emailed them three times and still waiting to hear back. Not sure if faulty device, but that drop from twelve to five is a 58.3% decrease in claimed battery life. Seriously? ...and it (at least mine) doesn't tell you when it's about to die and needs to be charged. Wish I had a clear answer to this but no phone number (found one but it's bogus) and still waiting on email response (first email sent two weeks ago).
• pebblebee - rechargeable but not wireless. Instead, it comes with a unique proprietary two pin magnetic charging cable for the wallet card that you won't find anywhere else. Time will tell what battery life truly is, but they claim "up to twelve months." While none of these give you a numerical battery charge value, at least the pebblebee has five leds on it that represent battery level.

I'll try to add some photos later tonight/over the weekend.

 

[erihp]

I have the AceCard, Chipolo, KeySmart, and pebblebee. Bottom line, Apple should have either selectively licensed out the precision finding to third parties *or* had a clue and designed their own wallet device.

• AceCard - can't recharge and only works for a few days before "being left behind" and never reconnects (unless deleted/repaired, then the same happens again, and again). NFC feature also doesn't work. AceCard support, terrible. I'm now in contact with the actual manufacturer trying to figure out what's going on.
• Chipolo - can't recharge and they crack.
• KeySmart - wireless charging, but, they originally claimed twelve months for battery when I purchased, now they claim five months, but I only see TWO WEEKS. I have emailed them three times and still waiting to hear back. Not sure if faulty device, but that drop from twelve to five is a 58.3% decrease in claimed battery life. Seriously? ...and it (at least mine) doesn't tell you when it's about to die and needs to be charged. Wish I had a clear answer to this but no phone number (found one but it's bogus) and still waiting on email response (first email sent two weeks ago).
• pebblebee - rechargeable but not wireless. Instead, it comes with a unique proprietary two pin magnetic charging cable for the wallet card that you won't find anywhere else. Time will tell what battery life truly is, but they claim "up to twelve months." While none of these give you a numerical battery charge value, at least the pebblebee has five leds on it that represent battery level.

I'll try to add some photos later tonight/over the weekend.

I have a MICFLIP (seems like acekard clone) and it does not exhibit this drop off issue.

My chipolo works fine and has not cracked, but would believe it can.

Eufy security card much like chipolo has worked fine, but not rechargeable.

My pebblebee has held up great and seems to have the advertised battery life. Really wish it was wireless charging because keeping a cable around is a pain. Happy so far though, my preference if I were to buy again.

The Orbit x Glasses works well and is super loud. Does require a charging cable and lasts 4-6 weeks. TINY!

Shame to hear about the keysmart. 2 weeks battery life sounds defective!

Agree that Apple should license precision finding!

 

[NYCValkyrie]

KeySmart - wireless charging, but, they originally claimed twelve months for battery when I purchased, now they claim five months, but I only see TWO WEEKS. I have emailed them three times and still waiting to hear back. Not sure if faulty device, but that drop from twelve to five is a 58.3% decrease in claimed battery life. Seriously? ...and it (at least mine) doesn't tell you when it's about to die and needs to be charged. Wish I had a clear answer to this but no phone number (found one but it's bogus) and still waiting on email response (first email sent two weeks ago).

This seems like a defective unit. I have 3 KeySmart cards and all of them still have full battery after 2 months. Even if 5 mo is the battery limit now, charging them takes like an hour on any wireless charger. I'll take it over the other options you listed any day.

 

[Truckondo]

I’ll have to check that one out, thanks!

I have had 2 of the Pebblebee wallet cards. They worked great at first and then the false alerts start popping up randomly. Nothing like seeing “wallet left behind” pop up on a CarPlay display and having to check your wallet to see if it’s really true. I eventually just took it out after it couldn’t track my wallet in my own home. Support was good replacing the first unit I bought but the new one started acting the same way about a month later.

 

[nateo200]

I have the same card. I too, wish it supported precision finding, but I think that would decrease battery life. And they may have chosen not to include it for that reason, especially because the battery is non-replaceable. On the other hand, the very loud siren makes up for it a little bit.

Very easily could have made a recharagable battery. I found a third party item tracker that is Find My compatible except it only lasts 6 months but it charges with USB-C in like 10 minutes or something like that. Precision finding is Apple AirTag exclusive right now though and Im not sure sure they want to change that. I save my Apple AirTags for things that are small enough to lose even when right in front of you and I use my 3rd party airtags without precision finding for larger items that are more obvious to find

 

[JPack]

link?

Already said there is no access to UWB by anyone but Apple.

The only way is to modify an AirTag by gutting it and putting the electronics onto a card.

 

[erihp]

Already said there is no access to UWB by anyone but Apple.

The only way is to modify an AirTag by gutting it and putting the electronics onto a card.

right but ive never seen that copy before so im wondering where it came from