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GlocalMe KeyTracker: 30-second review
Apple has had great success with its AirTag (check out our Apple AirTag review), and Android users have a wide selection of similar devices that do much the same job. However, most Android tracking devices can only be located if your phone is within Bluetooth range. Apple has a mechanism that if its AirTag comes within Bluetooth range of an iPhone (typically 50ft), then its location will be updated based on where that phone is.
The GlocalMe KeyTracker goes significantly further, using one of six possible mechanisms to identify its location. Then, it uses 350+ mobile carriers in 200 countries to relay that information to the owner.
It comes with a waterproof case and a strap to secure it inside your luggage, a critical shipment, pet or person, and a free month of the GlocalMe positioning service.
The device costs $49.99 for the standard model, but it’s also sold with a special waterproof case for pet use for $54.99. The ongoing costs are dependent on how accurate you want the location information to be. GlocalMe has three tiers that start with a basic service for only $1.58 a month, moving up to $4.92 if you want limited real-time tracking and $8.25 for unlimited tracking.
Depending on how important the vehicle, person, pet, or property is, protecting it with a device like the GlocalMe KeyTracker might be worth the investment.
GlocalMe KeyTracker: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? $49.99
- When is it out? It is available now
- Where can you get it? You can get it directly from GlocalMe and also online retailers.
Direct from GlocalMe, the KeyTracker costs $49.99, but it’s also available via Amazon.com for ten dollars less. In the UK, the cost via Amazon.co.uk is £44.99, and €44.99 in Europe.
That makes the KeyTracker more expensive than the Apple AirTag, which typically costs $35 or £35 and can be bought in four-packs, reducing the cost to $30 a unit.
GlocalMe has price reductions for Enterprise purchases, so it may be that with sufficient numbers, the KeyTracker might approach AirTag pricing.
It’s worth mentioning that the KeyTracker has the means to relay its position in more situations with greater accuracy and without the help of friendly iPhones, so the extra cost over the AirTag isn’t unreasonable.
However, depending on the accuracy you want, a subscription service is required for the device, which could cost twice what you paid for the hardware each year.
However, a basic service that you get a free month of trial is much cheaper and can be paid on a monthly basis.
Those that use the most expensive $8.25 per month subscription, “Advance Positioning”, and pay annually do get a free annual replacement of the KeyTracker.
GlocalMe KeyTracker: Specs
|
Feature |
Spec |
|---|---|
|
CPU: |
UNISOC 8910 |
|
WiFi: |
2.4GHz |
|
Mobile Comms: |
4G LTE CAT1 |
|
Frequency band: |
B1/2/3/5/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28 |
|
Location Technology: |
GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, AGPS, LBS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi |
|
Bluetooth: |
BT 5.0 |
|
Battery: |
960mAh (TYP) |
|
USB Interface: |
USB-C |
|
Dimensions: |
84x 46 x 9.2 mm |
|
Weight: |
45g |
GlocalMe KeyTracker: Design
- Larger than an AirTag
- Battery life could be better
- Superior location technology
For those coming from the Apple AirTag, the KeyTracker is a much larger device; at 45g, it’s more than four times the weight.
That said, it isn’t anything that would likely take you over a weight restriction for flying with a suitcase, and it is small enough to be placed in a backpack or even on a dog’s collar relatively easily.
It’s a little on the large size to be connected to some keys so you can’t misplace them, which begs the question of why they called it a KeyTracker.
Included in the box with the KeyTracker is a waterproof case and a Velcro strap that passes through some loops on that enclosure. If you don’t use the case, a small elasticated loop is on the KeyTracker that could stop it from moving around inside a piece of luggage.
There are two buttons on the KeyTracker, and once powered, two LEDs display the battery level and show that the Wi-Fi is active.
The simple nature of the hardware shouldn’t be taken as a basic device, as running the GlobalMe application on your phone or tablet makes this obvious.
In essence, the KeyTracker has the capabilities of a small 4G-capable mobile phone minus the screen, making calls, and installing applications.
The snag with having all the mobile communications power available is that, in normal use, the battery will only last about nine days, assuming it was fully charged when activated.
It’s easy to look at this and wonder why this device lasts only nine days, and some AirTag-like devices claim a whole year before the battery needs to be charged or replaced.
In this context, these aren’t apples-to-apples comparisons (sorry, about that pun). Because most of these devices exclusively use Bluetooth in low-power mode to extend life, and that has a range that can only be guaranteed up to 50ft, even if some claim 500ft.
Apple circumvents this limitation by using code embedded in its phones. This code allows the AirTag to signal the phone and send its location through the next mobile data transfer from the iPhone.
The catch with the AirTag is that it assumes an iPhone will come along within its radius of operation, whereas the GlocalMe KeyTracker uses six different technologies to work out where it is located and 4G mobile comms to relay that back to the phone app.
Given that it doesn’t need a specific brand of phone and has a much greater selection of countries where it would work reliably, the GlocalMe KeyTracker is an impressive device, even with the caveat of limited battery life.
Design score: 4/5
GlocalMe KeyTracker: In use
- Phone application
- Multi-tracker support
Along with the hardware, the other critical component of this solution is the mobile application, and this is where the GlocalMe KeyTracker truly shines.
Because this is a multi-functional device, it is possible to configure it to work in different ways for various scenarios. These include pet tracking, item tracking, and personal location guarding.
Depending on which of the three tiers of service you have chosen, the GlocalMe KeyTracker can send out real-time information or establish its location every 45 minutes. You can also create ring fences, where you are alerted if an item or person leaves a specific locale.
There are also some subtle app tricks. One is that you can send the tracker into Airplane mode, where it shuts down for a set period of time while it flies on an aircraft, waking up when it arrives at its destination.
As you might expect, the app also enables you to change the subscription service should the one you have not met expectations for.
The software is available for iOS and Android phones and can provide maps, a tracking history, and battery warnings.
There is also support for multiple trackers, should you be wanting to know where multiple vehicles, packages or people are at any one time.
Exactly how many this app could handle before it becomes impractical is difficult to assess, but it’s not meant to be used to track a fleet of vehicles.
Within the context of the personal tracking scenario, the application is servicable, but it might have been nice to have a web-based version for use on a computer.
GlocalMe KeyTracker: Performance
- Practical test
- Some limitations
I’ve not provided a performance test for this device since how well it works when not within Bluetooth range is entirely dependent on the quality of the 4G LTE service where you are using it.
A few smaller countries are without any 4G services at all, mostly in Africa, but a bigger issue is that mobile mast coverage isn’t 100%, even in some of the more densely populated parts of the world.
The SoC chosen for this hardware doesn’t support 3G, but that’s primarily been superseded in most locations.
What I did explore was how good, even with the lowest tier of the subscription, the service can track a package from one part of the UK to another. Having armed the KeyTracker, I placed it in a box of review hardware and returned it to Future Publishing. Then, I waited for the courier service to tell me that it had been delivered before reviewing its progress on the GlocalMe app.
I don’t live in an area with great mobile coverage, so the device wasn’t able to accurately differentiate my home from my neighbours, but these homes are only a few metres apart.
Once the package left Peterborough, I could see that it travelled a particular route to a location near Lutterworth. After an overnight stay, it then travelled down the M1 towards London.
It’s worth saying that when moving through a country with such a dense mobile network, this device should have worked well, and it did.
How accurately it might work in places where there isn’t full coverage is less certain, but at least it doesn’t assume a friendly Apple iPhone will come along and relay its position to you.
The Apple AirTag can work well in the USA because that brand is dominant, making it more than likely that a nearby phone is made by Apple. However, outside the USA, the odds of that being true drop dramatically to less than 10% in South America or Africa.
Because the KeyTracker doesn’t rely on friendly phones, it should work better in those locations. And, even if the tracker is taken somewhere with no service, like the Kalahari Desert, if the tracker emerges to somewhere with service within the nine days or battery life, then that new location will be relayed back successfully.
Overall, the KeyTracker does what GlocalMe claims. The only better scenario would be a device that could use a global satellite service, like Starlink, which might reduce the battery life even more.
GlocalMe KeyTracker: Final verdict
With the possible exception of battery life and some issues regarding the global limits of 4G, the GlocalMe KeyTracker is an impressive solution that should work well for most people travelling internationally. It’s probably overkill for finding lost keys, and an AirTag-type device would do that without a subscription and be cheaper to buy.
However, one elephant in this room needs to be mentioned: Can we rely on GPS, BeiDou, and GLONASS going forward?
The problem here is that each of these services is controlled by a different global power. The USA controls the Global Positioning System (GPS) via U.S. Space Force, BeiDou by the China National Space Administration, and GLONASS by the Russian Federation.
Therefore, for the rest of the world outside the USA, China, or Russia, none of these services can be relied on in the long term. And, if you are in any region, such as the Middle East or near the Black Sea, where spoofing of navigation systems has become common, you can’t rely on it already.
While it might work fine if you live in one of those regions now, and it might also work well in Europe today, there isn’t any guarantee that any of them will remain useful in the future.
That’s potentially problematic, but it’s the reality of our current global dynamic, where you need to consider if something that works today will still be working a week from now.
The GlocalMe KeyTracker is a highly useful device that is better than the Apple AirTag or an Android equivalent and is perfect for tracking the movement of luggage, people, pets, and packages.
Without satellite communications, there are blind spots where the tracker might go where it can’t send back its location, but achieving that capability with the physical size, battery life, and subscription cost may not be practical.
Should I buy a GlocalMe KeyTracker?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
More than an AirTag but worth the extra |
4/5 |
|
Design |
Simple design that’s easy to deploy |
4/5 |
|
In Use |
Mobile app has all the tools to hand |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
Even on the lowest tier this works well |
4/5 |
|
Overall |
Works well if the GPS and other services aren’t spoofed |
4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
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