If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of losing your car or house keys and had spent minutes (or hours) wracking your brain and retracing your steps looking for them, there are more effective solutions than checking and rechecking couch cushions and muttering to yourself. With apps for multiple devices coming in many forms, the dog days of frustration may finally be in the past.
Smartphone Apps
For the tech savvy, there are many apps available and designed to work with your smartphone. These helpful apps operate via “tracking” and, depending on the model, allow users to literally track down their missing keys. There are a variety of options, each with a unique set of bells and whistles, including the Kensington Proximo Tab, which even alerts you if you leave your keys behind. The Proximo Tab is compatible with the iPhone 4S or later but, according to PC Magazine, “Kensington says an Android solution is in the works.”
Another iOS-compatible option is Tile, which comes in a multi-pack and can be applied to your keys (as well as any other object you wish to track). If you’ve lost your keys, just log in, click on the Tiled item you’re looking for and its current location will be revealed.
The Cobra Tag is another option and it works with Android and BlackBerry systems. Along with a separation alarm, if you misplace your Cobra-tagged keys the free app will generate a map leading you to the location where you left them.
For a more comprehensive list of smartphone-compatible key-locating options, click here.
Non-Smartphone Options
For relatively the same price as those smartphone apps, there is the “Sonic” key finding device, which attaches to your keys (or any other item you don’t care to lose). Press a button and the device on the other end emits an audible signal, thereby enabling the user to locate the item more easily.
If that’s still too complicated, and all you can do is whistle, clap, or shout to find your lost keys, there is the Simi Keyfinder Locator Whistle, also by Sonic. If you make a noise, the device will reply in kind with noise or flashing. No phones required.
Lost keys are a problem for many and thankfully, these devices are solutions. They can be applied to other items that frequently go missing such as your TV remote, cane or wallet as well. As each mobile device may have unique compatibility or app requirements, it will be necessary to research which device and app is best for you. But, if it saves you from losing your keys even once, that is time well spent.
— By Tim Alan
