TrackR Bravo key tracker review
TrackR Bravo Bluetooth tracker
£25
Pros
- Good size
- Looks good
- Intuative app
- Replaceable battery
- Range of colours
Cons
- Not waterproof
- Seperation alarm didn't trigger
- Gave wrong location
Over the last few weeks my bass has been looked after by the TrackR Bravo.
You might have seen that I have tested two types of Tile, now it’s the time of the TrackR.
There is a fair range of Bluetooth tracking gadgets out there. I can see why though. Just think, for a rather modest outlay you can keep an eye on where your valuable or essential kit is.
I have them on my house and car keys and even have one in my car. As I’ve had a couple of gigs this month, I’ve attached the TrackR Bravo to my bass case.
TrackR Bravo design
The Bravo is a neat looking thing.
The one I have been sent to review is black but there is a multitude of colours to chose from.
It is definitely fob-friendly at 31mm in diameter and just 3.5mm thick.
This tracker has an almost special power – you can replace its battery! Just flick open the side tray and there you have it.
So, unlike many other trackers, the Tile for instance, the Bravo is not a disposable device. This does mean that the Bravo is not waterproof though.
TrackR Bravo performance
The setup process will be familiar process to most people.
Set up with the TrackR app
Download the app and then follow the wizard.
This will take you through the step-by-step set up routine.
Once you’ve successfully connected your Bravo to the app you will be then taken through some tests.
The first one is a range test. Place the TrackR a few feet away and then the app will test the distance.
According to the app my Bravo enjoys a 30 foot range. Yes, there’s the usual walls and tech caveat.
After this it’s time to test the bleeper.
The app says the ringer on the Bravo is around 82 decibles. It certainly does cut through the background noise pretty well.
Using the TrackR Bravo
The app is central to the Bravo.
Through this you can name the tag, which is handy if you have more than one.
It also should show you the position of said tag. This is dependant on having your Bluetooth switched on your phone.
The functions all worked as expected. I was able to ping the TrackR from my phone, as well as the other way around. Handily, your phone will ring the TrackR tune even when on silent.
The Tile’s stronger signal meant its app could ‘see’ it from about 50 feet away when inside a house with me standing outside. With the Bravo, the connection was made only when I stepped indoors. This is not a real worry as it should still let me know where the Bravo was last ‘spotted’.
There is also the added bonus of separation alerts. There are two options: your phone can ring when it moves away from the TrackR and / or the TrackR can beep when it is separated from the phone.
I do like the option to use sounds or music from your phone as the alarm. To do this, just select ‘Set Custom Alarm Sound’.
Although, the separation alarm doesn’t seem to trigger.
This also brings me on to another sticking point.
Where’s my gig bag?
As I mentioned earlier. I’ve had a couple of gigs with my lovely band this month. I attached the Bravo to one of the external D-rings on my Gruv Gear GigBlade.
I have my Bluetooth on as I use it for hands free as well as music in my car.
The bass complete with Bravo was on the back seat, so within a few feet of my phone.
I arrived at the venue at 6pm, The Horn in St Albans, set up, hung around, soundchecked and then chilled. We played and watched all the other bands (as everyone should).
Breaking down our gear and loading up the car again I decided to see where the app said my beloved bass was.
Unfortunately, over all those hours of travelling, playing and gear lugging, the app still thought my bass was in North East London.
I realise that the screen grab above has the app ‘Searching’ for my gig bag, but it did this for a while and, when it had stopped, it was still convinced it was in Walthamstow. More concerning was that the last time it updated was that morning.
I checked Google Maps on the same phone just to check if my GPS was being daft. Well, it knew where I was.
Crowd GPS
Just like the ‘other’ tracker, you can call up on other Bravo owners to help you find your lost kit. with ‘Crowd GPS’.
This allows you to employ all the other people running the TrackR app to keep tabs (anonymously) on other TrackRs.
So if you drop your keys and somehow miss the separation alerts, there’s a chance another TrackR user will come within range of your Bravo.
If that happens, you’ll get an alert showing its rough location.
There appears to be a decent number of users in the vicinity (whether that number is for where I am at work or at home, I’m not sure).
I live and work in London so I am guessing that these numbers may well be lower out in more rural areas.
TrackR Bravo review conclusion
I intend to continue testing the Bravo but, on first round of testing, it seems that there may be some niggles.
Whether my Nexus 6P isn’t playing nicely with the Bravo or it just doesn’t update as regularly as I expect, I hope to find out.
At this point though, I am afraid that the Bravo hasn’t performed as expected, and that’s a real shame.
I like the idea of the replaceable battery. It looks good and the size is handy.
I am really hoping that it suddenly kicks in to action.
TrackR Bravo price and availability
You can buy a pair of Bravos from Amazon for £40.
There is a range of multi-buy options as well as a choice of colours: black, rose gold, blue or ‘steel’.
You can also find them as single units for £25 at Argos, Very and John Lewis.
