I tested Apple AirTags and four other item trackers: Here's what I recommend

Your guess is wrong. Plus: Free seed packets, a super-cool retro label printer, and more!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included herein are affiliate links (usually those in bold type), meaning if you make a purchase via one of them, I may get a small commission. I promise you, now and forever, that I won’t choose deals based on whether there’s an affiliate option available.

Happy Thursday, amigos and amigas! Lots to discuss today, so let’s dive in with some quick hits:

🌺 Spring is coming, so it’s time to think about planting. Want to help out dwindling bee and butterfly populations without spending a penny? For a limited time, the Alt National Park Service is offering your choice of free Black-Eyed Susans or Butterfly Milkweed seed packets. I’d never heard of the latter; milkweed certainly doesn’t sound very appealing, but it’s actually quite lovely. And it looks like that’s the preferred option here in Michigan, which I learned after a visit to this pollinator-plant site.

This year I’ll be growing these free Butterfly Milkweed flowers!

📺 I’m late to the (Netflix series) 1899 party, but I see what all the fuss was about: Incredible show. The less you know about it going in, the better, and of course I’m not going to reveal anything. But if you like creepy mysteries (think: Lost) and stories that take lots of bonkers turns (think: Lost), you’ll like this. The internet rightly went bananas when Netflix canceled it after the first season, but I found the ending to be satisfying in its own way.

📺 I recently finished Kindred on Hulu; it ended on a major cliffhanger, and apparently won’t be getting a second season. (Ugh. Et tu, Hulu?) My understanding is these eight episodes covered only a small chunk of the story, so I’ll be picking up the book to get closure. Would I still recommend the show? Yes, because what’s there is good, but be prepared for a mostly unresolved plot.

📚 If you ever find yourself in Glen Arbor, MI, be sure to stop by the Cottage Book Shop (and buy something!). It’s as charming as the name suggests, and it yielded a great reading recommendation (thanks, Amy!): The Guncle, by Steven Rowley. I’m halfway through and enjoying it immensely; it’s a funny, poignant, insightful novel, exactly what I needed after a couple false starts. (Sorry, Horse and News of the World; I just wasn’t that into you.) What’s your favorite small-town bookstore?

This adorable retro label printer is just $41

Thermal label printers are a dime a dozen; regular readers may recall the cute bear-faced one I’ve shared a few times before. (Yes, it looked like the face of a bear. Don’t ask me to explain these things.)

If you prefer retro designs to cutesy ones, here’s something that’s been blowing up TikTok of late: The Niimbot B21 portable handheld thermal printer, which you can order from Aliexpress for $41.44. Price at Amazon and elsewhere: around $66. (IMPORTANT: Make sure to click one of the first three thumbnails of the dozen or so that are listed; you want the B21 Red, Green, or Black option.) Note that because this is coming from China, delivery could take up to a month.

Don’t want to wait? An eBay seller has the Niimbot B21 (new) for $51 shipped from the U.S., though I’m not sure if there’s more than one available.

This wireless, battery-powered printer pairs with a phone app to let you crank out just about any kind of label design you like: text, graphics, bar codes, etc. It includes a roll of 2” x 1.2” peel-and-stick labels, but there are other options available.

And look how freaking slick it is! I don’t have a ton of use for this myself, but I do think it’d look mighty cool on my desk. Your thoughts?

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AirTags and other item trackers: Should you even bother? (Yes, but do this.)

I just completed some extensive evaluation of Bluetooth item trackers from Apple, Chipolo, Eufy, Pebblebee, and Tile. Verdict: They’re all varying degrees of not-great. Even so, I think they’re worth having, and I think I have a good solve for one of the big problems.

This takes some explaining, so grab a beverage, find a quiet corner, and set aside a couple minutes.

How item trackers work

Let’s start with the Tile Pro, in many ways the single best tracker out there (especially for Android users, for reasons that’ll become clear below). After a simple setup process, it tethers to your phone via Bluetooth. Now you attach it to a keychain, toss it in a purse, or whatever. When you want to locate said item, you open the Tile app on your phone and tap. If it’s in range, it’ll beep-boop-beep. Range is key here: Tile promises up to 400 feet, but that’s without things like walls and floors in the way. Real-world, you might get 50-75 feet (and that’s about as good as it gets for any tracker).

This works in both directions: If you can find your keys but not your phone, just double-press the button on the Tile Pro and your phone will ring, loudly, even if it’s set to silent. That’s invaluable around these parts; Mrs. Deal Secrets relies heavily on this feature, and so does my mom.

If your item goes missing somewhere out in the world, obviously the Tile will be well beyond Bluetooth range — but if another Tile user comes within proximity of it, you can get a location update. (You can even enlist help in retrieving it.) It’s kind of a global mesh network, dependent on just how many “nodes” (i.e. other Tile users) are out there.

That all sounds pretty good, right? For the most part it is, and the Tile Pro is pretty reasonably priced at $35. Often it goes on sale for a few bucks less, and sometimes you can get better deals on multi-packs. (Best deal right now: A new, open-box Tile Pro 4-pack for $59.95.)

What about Apple AirTags and other trackers?

So where does the AirTag fit into this? And what about the Chipolo One Spot, Eufy SmartTrack Link, and Pebblebee Clip, similar trackers with similar prices? All these products support Apple’s Find My network, which is similar to Tile’s aforementioned network but much, much larger. Whereas only Tile users can help you find missing Tiles, everyone with an iPhone can help you find a Find My-compatible tracker.

This is a little complicated, and obviously not ideal for Android users, but there’s no debating that AirTags and the like are unrivaled at helping you locate lost stuff.

But! Here comes the but: If you use Find My, you lose out on two-way tracking. An AirTag, for example, can’t help you find your phone — a pretty big bummer I’m hoping Apple will address in the next iteration.

So here’s my recommendation: Use two trackers. Put a Tile on your keychain for that essential phone-finding capability, but also carry a Find My-compatible tracker (I like the Chipolo One Spot, but they’re all good) to leverage that incredible network. Presto: best of both worlds.

If you want to learn even more about item trackers (and get detailed recommendations), read my recent roundup for Yahoo.

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