Buying guide for best luggage tracker
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Nothing ruins a trip like lost luggage, but adding a luggage tracker to your checked bags can give you peace of mind. While a luggage tracker can’t prevent your luggage from getting lost, the best trackers let you know where your bags are so you can get them back as fast as possible.
Baggage-check costs are high, and there have been notable incidents of baggage backups in the news. Given this, a luggage tracker makes sense. Most people who travel for work or pleasure would appreciate a small tracker that uses Bluetooth technology. For people who love to explore off the beaten path, a more robust GPS tracker may make more sense.
We surveyed item trackers and performed hours of research, including hands-on testing in the BestReviews Testing Lab. We found the best luggage tracker of 2024 for overall usefulness and convenience to be the Apple AirTag. Eufy’s SmartTrack Link tags are the best bang for your travel buck.
Which luggage tracker is best?
Apple AirTag
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 1.26” W x 0.3” D x 1.26” H | Battery Life: 1 year | Weight: 0.39 oz | Range: 30’
For most people, we believe the best luggage tracker is the Apple AirTag. We tested the Apple AirTag and found it reliable and supremely easy to set up. Just remove a plastic sticker, hold it to your iPhone and give it a name.
With a user-replaceable CR2032 battery that lasts about a year, the AirTag is barely bigger than a coin and can slip into a wallet, pocket or suitcase lining. If you remove the battery when the device is not in use, you won't have to replace it very often. It uses Bluetooth and ultra-wideband wireless (UWB) to connect to your iPhone and chirps if it’s away from you for more than eight hours (though you can disable this feature if you'd like). Its metal body is water-resistant to limited immersion and can be personalized on purchase.
Its biggest asset is Apple’s Find My network. Every Apple device with activated Find My software can act as a relay for an AirTag. Over a billion devices are estimated to be on the Find My network, and an AirTag can report its position in the vicinity of any in-network iPhone, iPad or Mac.
The AirTag isn’t flawless. It lacks a built-in connector or opening, so you’d need a separate accessory to hook it to your keys or the inside of your suitcase. AirTags only work with Apple’s ecosystem, so if you have an Android phone, you can’t use an AirTag. Most critically, item trackers like AirTags have been used to track people without their knowledge. iPhones automatically detect AirTags moving with you that you don’t own, but Android users must actively use an Apple safety app to do the same.
Eufy Security SmartTrack Link
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 1.46" W x 0.26" D x 1.46" H | Battery Life: 1 year | Weight: 0.32 oz | Range: 260’
For less than the price of an Apple AirTag, the SmartTrack Link from Anker’s Eufy Security brand duplicates the AirTag’s greatest strength and adds functionality with a simple, round punch hole.
The Eufy SmartTrack Link is made of plastic, unlike an AirTag. It’s water-resistant to limited immersion and lighter than an AirTag. Its effective Bluetooth range is 260 feet in an open area, which is estimated to be farther than an AirTag. But when it comes to tracking luggage, the Eufy SmartTrack Link is practically an AirTag’s equal since it also uses Apple’s Find My network. Anywhere an AirTag can track, a SmartTrack can, too.
It uses a replaceable CR2032 battery that lasts about a year. With its built-in hole punch connector, you can easily slip it onto a keychain or ring. Due to its Find My integration, its long-distance tracking features only work with iPhones. But the Eufy Security App is available for both iOS and Android, and you can track a SmartTrack Link within its Bluetooth range and press it to alert your phone, even in silent mode.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2
Best for Samsung Galaxy owners
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 2.06” W x 0.31” D x 1.13” L | Battery Life: 500 days | Weight: 0.8 oz | Range: 400’
If you’re one of the world’s estimated 1 billion Samsung Galaxy phone users, the Galaxy SmartTag 2 is the luggage tracker for you. It beats the Apple AirTag on battery life, effective range and number of features. It also comes with a large, circular opening that’s great for latching a carabiner.
The Samsung SmartTag 2 is bigger and thicker than an Apple AirTag or Eufy SmartTrack Link, resembling a small key fob. It boasts more than 500 days of battery life on a single, user-replaceable CR2032 battery. If you put it in power-saving mode, its battery life stretches to almost two years.
In open areas, its effective Bluetooth range is almost 400 feet. It uses UWB wireless for real-time locating with an augmented-reality image of your vicinity from your compatible (Galaxy S21 or later) Samsung phone camera. It can even control smart devices on Samsung’s SmartThings network with a built-in button.
Only about 70 million of Samsung’s billion-plus Galaxy users have opted into Samsung’s Galaxy Find network, which is similar to Apple’s Find My tracking service. But Samsung phones are more popular globally than iPhones, meaning there should be enough devices with Galaxy Find turned on to track your bags in most populated areas of the world.
Tile Pro
Best for Android
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 2.6” W x 1.54” D x 3.86” L | Battery Life: 12 months | Weight: 1.13 oz | Range: 400’
Tile was the most popular item tracker brand before Apple crashed the party, and its lineup of tracking devices still provides some of the best features and protection. Most notably, Tile trackers like the Tile Pro work on multiple devices, including iPhones and Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy devices.
The Tile Pro is Tile’s most powerful model. It’s the size and weight of a car key fob with a built-in opening for connecting carabiners, hooks or key chains. It has an effective range of 400 feet and a battery life of one year with a replaceable CR2032 battery. Its plastic casing is waterproof to 3 feet and comes in black or white. Tile notes that the Tile Pro’s ring notification is the loudest among its devices, which can be helpful if you’ve packed it deep inside your suitcase.
The Tile app works on iOS and Android, and it connects the Tile Pro to a worldwide network of potentially 80-million-plus devices for global tracking wherever there’s a Tile or Life 360 user nearby. That said, the Tile Pro is the priciest tracker on our list. What’s more, some of its features, like its 30-day location history and up to $1,000 item reimbursement, are only available on Tile’s Premium and Premium Protect subscription plans.
Tile Mate
Best Battery Life
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 1.49" W x 0.28” D x 1.49" L | Battery Life: 3 years | Weight: 0.3 oz | Range: 260’
The smallest and lowest-priced Tile device, the Tile Mate is similar to Tile’s original Bluetooth tracker and lives happily on a key ring with its small, light plastic design. Like other Tile devices, it works on iOS and Android phones and comes in three colors: black, white and blue.
It has an effective Bluetooth range of 260 feet and connects to the Tile/Life360 global network for worldwide location tracking. The Tile Mate uses the Tile app and offers a 30-day location history and free Tile replacements if you sign up for the Tile Premium subscription. Note that it’s water-resistant but not as waterproof as other Tile products.
The Tile Mate’s built-in battery is not removable. Once depleted, you’ll have to trash the whole Tile, which is a negative in the sustainability category. Until then, you can count on about three years of use, giving the Tile Mate the longest battery life in our lineup.
Tile Slim
Slimmest and Easiest to Hide
Product specifications
Tracking Technology: Bluetooth | Dimensions: 2.12" W x 0.1" D x 3.36" L | Battery Life: 3 years | Weight: 0.005 oz | Range: 260’
If you want a tracker you slide into a luggage tag or zipped pocket, the Tile Slim may be for you. It follows the CR80 standard size common to government-issued ID cards, driver’s licenses and credit cards worldwide. At just 2.5 millimeters thick, it fits in a standard wallet or luggage tag. It’s waterproof to about 20 feet, so it can withstand living in a wallet or bag. The Tile Slim’s card shape isn’t meant to work on a key chain or lanyard, so it doesn’t have a slot or hole for attachment.
The Tile Slim has an effective range of 260 feet. It also has the global Tile/Life 360 network on its side. Notably, its power comes from a built-in, non-replaceable battery. So, after about three years, you’ll have to junk it.
It works with iOS or Android, and if you sign up for Tile’s Premium subscription, you get 30 days of location history and free replacements when the battery runs out.
How we chose the best luggage trackers
When selecting the best luggage trackers of 2024, we researched what travelers need when it comes to tracking luggage and how item trackers can help them find and retrieve lost luggage. We examined the different technologies and networks that trackers used as well as battery life, durability, ease of setup and cost.
Once we identified suitable candidates, we evaluated them specifically for use with luggage. We paid attention to descriptions of actual instances where they were used to locate bags that had been stolen, left behind or misplaced during flight connections.
In addition, we tested our top pick, the Apple AirTag, in our Testing Lab. We graded it on the smoothness of its setup and use, range, effectiveness and the ease with which we could activate safety and security features.
What to consider when buying a luggage tracker
Connectivity and range
- Network requirements: Luggage trackers use Bluetooth, GPS or cellular networks to send location signals. Bluetooth trackers are the most common on the market today. They have a much longer battery life (measured in months and years) compared to GPS and cellular trackers, which may run out of juice in hours or days. Bluetooth trackers generally work without a subscription, although some trackers — such as those from Tile — offer extra features with a subscription.
Bluetooth trackers offer signals shorter than 400 feet, and obstacles can get in the way of their range. Farther out than about 400 feet, they depend on the networks of other devices to relay a location signal back to you. This means they work best when lots of other devices are nearby. GPS trackers, on the other hand, send and receive signals to GPS satellites, which means they can even work in the wilderness.
- Effective range: The effective range of a luggage tracker denotes how far it can send a signal by itself. A Bluetooth item tracker has a range anywhere from the Bluetooth standard of 30 feet to 400 feet. By comparison, a GPS tracker can send a signal to a satellite up to 12,000 miles away.
In practice, though, the effective range is limited by any and all obstacles between the tracker and its receiving device. So, if your Bluetooth luggage tracker is inside your big checked suitcase, it doesn’t matter if it can reach 400 feet.
At the same time, for anyone traveling in airports and densely populated areas, a luggage tracker doesn’t need thousands of miles of effective range. It just needs enough range to bounce or ping a signal off a device on its network.
Our top picks: Connectivity and range
- The Tile Pro and Samsung SmartTag 2 top our list with effective ranges of 400 feet in open areas. Notably, the active Samsung network is smaller than that of Tile or Apple.
- The Eufy SmartTrack Link, Tile Mate and Tile Slim have 260-foot ranges. They can connect to Tile’s 80-million-plus users and Apple’s billion-plus Find My network.
- Apple doesn’t list the effective range of its AirTag, but it’s assumed it has the basic 30-foot Bluetooth range. However, the AirTag also has the largest extended network with its Find My system.
Battery life and power options
- Battery type: Luggage trackers draw power from built-in or replaceable batteries. Bluetooth trackers, with their compact sizes and shapes, usually have built-in batteries or take coin batteries like the CR2032, which can be found in most supermarkets and convenience stores. Neither built-in nor user-replaceable batteries are rechargeable. So, if a tracker with a built-in, nonreplaceable battery runs out of power, it must be replaced.
Larger trackers, such as GPS trackers, often have rechargeable batteries. However, these bigger batteries may not be considered safe in checked baggage because they’re bigger than the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) minimum of 2 grams of allowable lithium. The tiny batteries in Bluetooth trackers are below this minimum and should be allowed by most airlines.
- Battery life expectancy: The battery lives of Bluetooth luggage trackers may be measured in months or years. GPS and cellular trackers tend to have a much shorter battery life, although some boast the ability to make a charge last weeks or months. Bluetooth trackers with nonreplaceable batteries offer the longest battery life, equal to the operating life of the tracker itself.
Expect a battery life of no less than one year from a Bluetooth luggage tracker, even with frequent travel that involves lots of “pinging” other devices. To minimize battery usage, you can remove the battery from your device when you aren't using the tracker.
Our top picks: Battery life and power options
- Our top picks for battery life are the Tile Mate and Tile Slim. Both feature nonremovable, nonreplaceable batteries. These trackers have charges that last about three years. However, once their batteries are drained, you’ll have to purchase an entirely new tracker.
- The Samsung SmartTag 2 beats the others by offering 500 days, or 1.5 years, of life on a replaceable battery and the possibility of almost two years in power-saving mode.
- The Apple AirTag, Eufy SmartTrack Link, Samsung SmartTag 2 and Tile Pro all use removable, replaceable CR2032 coin batteries. All boast at least one year of performance from a single battery and you can remove the battery when the device is not in use to extend its life.
Size, design and durability
- Compactness: When choosing a tracker, think about the bags you want to track and where you’d place the tracker. All the Bluetooth item trackers we’ve surveyed are small enough to fit in a pocket or wallet. You could conceivably toss a tracker into your suitcase and forget about it, but it’s better — and certainly neater — to place it where it won’t move around much. Some trackers easily attach to a chain, carabiner or lanyard, but others don’t.
You will likely want to place a tracker on your checked luggage. You might also want to add a tracker to items that could get left behind easily, like a passport wallet, water bottle or carry-on.
- Robustness: Trackers with flexible plastic bodies are less durable than those made of metal or hard plastic. Wear and tear occurs, and a tracker could be torn or damaged by rough handling.
Even if you pack your tracker inside a bag, water resistance is a nice-to-have feature. Most trackers in our lineup resist immersion for brief periods, but others can only survive splashes or a little rain.
Our top picks: Size, design and durability
- The Apple AirTag’s simple metal design is one of the most durable and compact designs available. It offers solid water resistance against brief immersion, and it’s small enough to go anywhere. It doesn’t attach to anything, however, so you’d have to get another accessory if you wanted to affix it to something.
- The Tile Pro is the biggest and thickest item tracker we looked at. It could easily replace a key fob. Keep this in mind, as it’s more noticeable to prying eyes than other trackers.
- The Eufy SmartTrack Link and Tile Mate are small and unobtrusive. They work well in small spaces where you don’t need or want them to be seen.
- The Tile Slim’s shape works well in many passport holders, wallets and luggage tags, although the latter are more prone to damage.
- The ring in the Samsung SmartTag 2 looks made for connecting to clips or carabiners. Note, however, that it’s a solid, sealed structure, so you can’t slide a key directly onto it.
Geolocation features
- Real-time tracking: The ability to see exactly where your luggage is, even on the other side of the plane, terminal or world, is one of the best things about today’s smart item trackers and luggage trackers. Most trackers, including GPS trackers and all selections in this article, connect to smartphones via apps that allow you to see where they are at any given moment. Several also include the ability to direct you to your item. Note: It is possible to experience tracking lags, which can be frustrating but are usually temporary.
- Location history: Another helpful feature is location history. You can tell where your bags have been, not just where they are now. For example, you will know if your checked bags were sent to Denver instead of Dusseldorf. Not all luggage trackers have this feature, but it’s a handy one to have.
Our top picks: Geolocation features
- Apple AirTags and Eufy SmartTrack Links don’t offer live location history. The AirTag does have one of the more robust implementations of live directions, though, and its ability to signal other Apple devices means it can be tracked through most populated areas of the world.
- The Samsung SmartTag 2 adds AR video to its real-time location directions. It shows you the direction you need to go and where to look. According to users, its real-time tracking is a little spottier than Apple’s Find My network, but it’s generally effective. It also offers location history in the SmartThings app.
- For Premium subscribers, Tile offers location history for up to 30 days. Its network and setup offer reasonably robust location tracking, although it’s not exactly “live.”
Our expertise
Jmar Gambol has written for BestReviews since 2021. Having traveled globally since childhood, he’s always interested in ways to make travel safer, more convenient and more fun. He prefers to check his suitcases whenever possible to avoid the hassle of lugging them around an airport, and he hopes he never loses his luggage in the process. He personally owns a Bluetooth item tracker for this very reason — and also to make sure he doesn’t lose his bear-shaped travel pillow.
