Chipolo One review: Free features and flashy colors for everyone

Bluetooth trackers have a moment, and who can blame them. We all lose things every now and then, so why not make life a little easier? The problem is, most of the options come in gray, black, or white – not exactly exciting hues for most people. Now Chipolo is here to shake things up with his vibrant One-Tracker as well as the Apple Find My-enabled One Spot. Find out how they stack up in our Chipolo One review.

See also: The best Apple AirTag alternatives

• Chipolo One (one pack): $ 25 / € 25 / £ 22
• Chipolo One (4-pack): $ 75 / € 75 / £ 66
• Chipolo One Spot (One-Pack): $ 28 / € 30 / £ 28
• Chipolo One Spot (4-pack): $ 90 / € 100 / £ 90

The Chipolo One is a small, disc-shaped bluetooth tracker that you can attach to almost anything. It has a small hole that is perfect for key rings, pet collars, and even some camera straps. Although it has a lightweight plastic construction, the six color options are different from most you will find on competitors. You can buy the Chipolo One in black, white, red, blue, yellow and even green – or you can buy a multipack to combine.

Chipolo’s top competition comes from the Apple AirTag and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag, although it is most similar to the Tile Mate tracker. It’s not connected to Android or iOS, so download the app and share your account across both ecosystems. The companion app is the only accessory you really need for your tracker, and it’s your hub for everything Chipolo-related. You’ll need it to set up notifications, manage your ringtone, and register each new Chipolo you pick up.

Once you’ve set up your Chipolo One, you can press it twice to ring your phone. If you’ve misplaced your One, just go back into the app and hit the Ring to Find button. When you find your Chipolo, a single press will mute the ringtone.

There are actually two different versions of the Chipolo One to try out – the classic One, which uses the Chipolo community for tracking, and the One Spot, which accesses Apple’s Find My network for improved tracking. The latter is only compatible with Apple devices with the Find My app, such as iPhones and iPads. Unfortunately, the Chipolo One Spot is only available in black. Boo

The handy $ 25 Bluetooth tracker has an unrivaled two-year battery life, and you can replace the battery yourself. All you need is another CR2032 cell and you have years of more tracking to go. Overall, the Chipolo One sounds pretty impressive, so let’s put the claims to the test.

The all-plastic design ensures that Chipolos One feels light as a feather. It’s not much different from a large coin and it’s easy to forget you’re carrying it around. Another advantage of the plastic approach is the rainbow of color options. There’s nothing wrong with a simple black and white tracker, but it’s nice to show off a bit of personality every now and then. You can also remove the color of the rear battery and swap it with another Chipolo One for even more color combinations.

Chipolo’s free features are some of the best out there. You can access handy extras that some other third-party trackers like the Tile Mate would charge you for. The app pings you as soon as your Chipolo One falls out of range of your phone – especially useful if you are tracking car keys. The One even doubles as a camera shutter if you want the perfect shot without camera shake. Bring up the in-app camera and you can press twice to snap to your heart’s content.

One final feature that you need to control through the app is your ringtone. I currently have mine set to the Pixel Dance, which will fit my Pixel 5, and it’s a lot noisy. Chipolo claims the One can get up to 120dB of power and I can’t disagree. I had no problem hearing the chimes from a few rooms even after I threw the Chipolo One in my laundry basket. For comparison: AirTags and SmartTags are both rated at around 90 dB.

If you want to give your Chipolo One to a friend or family member, you can also remove it from your account with a few taps on the app – something you can’t do with a tile tag.

What’s not so good?

There’s a lot to love about the Chipolo One, but it’s not a perfect Bluetooth tracker. Chipolo claims the battery is replaceable – and it is – but it’s a little trickier than you might expect. You’ll have to pry off the entire back panel, which is difficult unless you have tiny fingers. This is easier with a small screwdriver, but there is a risk of scratching the plastic surface. With at least two years of battery life, you shouldn’t have to worry about that too often.

My other main criticism with the Chipolo One comes in the app. It’s not a bad app overall, but the ringtone options are very limited. While they’re free, three of your seven options are Christmassy. You may not mind if it’s December and you’re celebrating Christmas, but it severely limits your flexibility for the rest of the year.

The Chipolo One is advertised with an impressive Bluetooth range of 200 feet. However, that is almost impossible to achieve. They must not have any interference – no trees, rocks or walls. Once you introduce a barrier into the equation, the range drops to about 40 or 50 feet.

Chipolo also complicates things when it comes to anti-stalking features. The Find My-based Chipolo One Spot sends you a notification on your iPhone if an unregistered Chipolo tracker is in your area for a long time. This reflects Apple’s AirTags. However, there aren’t any anti-stalking features to speak of on the regular Chipolo One. A Chipolo rep noted on a Reddit thread that the omission “is something we need to prioritize” and suggested a firmware update, but also noted that there is currently “no set date” for upgrades this front there.

You should also be particularly careful with water, as the Chipolo One only has the IPX5 rating. It should handle splashes without any problems, but you can have problems if it falls into a lake or pool. Here the top tags from Tile and the AirTag offer a little more protection.

Chipolo One Review: Should I Buy It?

If you want a really flexible Bluetooth tracker, the Chipolo One should be at the top of your list. It combines great free features with remarkable battery life while offering a wallet-friendly price. You can’t get an AirTag in blue or a Galaxy SmartTag in green, but you can grab a Chipolo in both hues and more.

The Chipolo One is closest to the Tile Mate, but Tile only has one advantage when it comes to changing batteries. Finally, two minutes of inconvenience suggests annual battery changes and additional subscription fees every two years. Chipolo may not offer as many shapes or sizes as Tile, but the One is small enough and thin enough for most uses. Remember, Chipolo doesn’t tie you to Android or iOS like its competitors from Apple and Samsung – you can bring this tracker to any new device you grab.

The Chipolo One Spot is a fantastic alternative to Apple’s own AirTags. While you lose some functionality (especially no precise search or contact sharing in lost mode) due to a lack of hardware, the One Spot is louder and cheaper than Apple’s tags and still has access to the Find My network.

Those of you who dread Christmas music might think twice about it, but there are other ringtones that you can try. For just $ 25 (or just a few dollars more for the spot), this is a comforting feeling that most users are happy to pay for.