A friend gave me a TrackR Bravo device to test. They said they were having trouble getting them to work.
The first thing I found on the TrackR Bravo I was given was the battery was dead. The TrackR Bravo devices had recently been purchased so the batteries should have worked. In the past I've found newly purchased devices have had flat batteries. One device even had corroded batteries, indicating the device had been sitting around on a shelf for a long tie. It's a good idea if the device isn't responding to first check the battery.
The next issue I found when testing the unit was the amount if time it took to find a device, even though the device may be sitting right next to you. If you're walking around the house looking for the TrackR Bravo this time delay means you'll probably walk straight past the device and won't know it's there.
Using the TrackR software in a certain way made the problem much worse. Before opening the TrackR software make sure Bluetooth is turned on. If you enable Bluetooth after the TrackR software has started, using the Enable prompt, that's when I found the software would often not connect, or take an extraordinary amount of time to connect to the device. Both situations means you probably wouldn't find your device. There were a few times even when Bluetooth was started first the TrackR Bravo device wasn't found.
Generally, if I was in the room where the TrackR Bravo device was located, BlueTooth turned on and then started the TrackR software, the TrackR Bravo device connected without a problem.
Overall, I felt in the limited testing, the variability of whether or not the TrackR software would find and connect to the TrackR Bravo device disappointing. I'd probably say not acceptable.
The second problem I feel people will have is understanding how the device works. The TrackR Bravo is marketed as helping you find your lost or stolen items. People may not realise when you're out of range of the item you need to use the "crowd" to find your item. If it is in your house and you're not there, the range of the TrackR Bravo means it probably won't be found.
When the TrackR Bravo connection worked, it worked well. When the TrackR Bravo didn't connect it really was frustrating. So much promise that isn't delivered.
There's one more test I want to perform. That is to use the "crowd" to locate a bicycle which will be locked up not too far from Melbourne's main train station, Southern Cross Station. Using the "crowd" to find a lost or stolen item to me is one of TrackR Bravo s main features. A TrackR Bravo as a single one off purchase for Australians isn't cheap at around $40 AUD plus delivery. If the "crowd" feature doesn't perform well, you might as well buy one of the cheaper Bluetooth locator devices that you can use to find your item using your mobile phone. These devices can be purchased for $10-$15. Let's see how the "crowd" test goes.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Update: 24 October 2017
It's now been 12 days since I left the TrackR Bravo located in the city. The crowd feature has not reported the device's location.
Based on this test so far it would appear the crowd sourcing of the location of a lost device may be little to no value. It makes sense. If you have one of these devices do you leave the software on all the time in the background. I suspect most people will launch the software when they lose whatever the device is attached to. That means there will be very few people who will pass within range of your lost item to let you know where you lost it.
TrackR's sound like a good idea in theory, but in practice these costly items really probably aren't worth the money. For items you want to find close to you, much cheaper options are available.
Update : 4 November 2017
I must admit I'd given up on the TrackR ever locating the device, however today at 5:43 pm on Saturday the 4th of November the device was located at the right location. This has taken 23 days.
In fairness to TrackR this means the TrackR Bravo device has worked as promoted. I now have to retract some of my earlier comments above and give credit to TrackR. Whilst I could have edited out my negative comments above, I much prefer to leave them as this may reflect the experience others may also go through.
As long as you know what to expect with the TrackR Bravo device, you can determine whether or not the TrackR Bravo is right for you.
The first thing I found on the TrackR Bravo I was given was the battery was dead. The TrackR Bravo devices had recently been purchased so the batteries should have worked. In the past I've found newly purchased devices have had flat batteries. One device even had corroded batteries, indicating the device had been sitting around on a shelf for a long tie. It's a good idea if the device isn't responding to first check the battery.
The next issue I found when testing the unit was the amount if time it took to find a device, even though the device may be sitting right next to you. If you're walking around the house looking for the TrackR Bravo this time delay means you'll probably walk straight past the device and won't know it's there.
Using the TrackR software in a certain way made the problem much worse. Before opening the TrackR software make sure Bluetooth is turned on. If you enable Bluetooth after the TrackR software has started, using the Enable prompt, that's when I found the software would often not connect, or take an extraordinary amount of time to connect to the device. Both situations means you probably wouldn't find your device. There were a few times even when Bluetooth was started first the TrackR Bravo device wasn't found.
Generally, if I was in the room where the TrackR Bravo device was located, BlueTooth turned on and then started the TrackR software, the TrackR Bravo device connected without a problem.
Overall, I felt in the limited testing, the variability of whether or not the TrackR software would find and connect to the TrackR Bravo device disappointing. I'd probably say not acceptable.
The second problem I feel people will have is understanding how the device works. The TrackR Bravo is marketed as helping you find your lost or stolen items. People may not realise when you're out of range of the item you need to use the "crowd" to find your item. If it is in your house and you're not there, the range of the TrackR Bravo means it probably won't be found.
When the TrackR Bravo connection worked, it worked well. When the TrackR Bravo didn't connect it really was frustrating. So much promise that isn't delivered.
There's one more test I want to perform. That is to use the "crowd" to locate a bicycle which will be locked up not too far from Melbourne's main train station, Southern Cross Station. Using the "crowd" to find a lost or stolen item to me is one of TrackR Bravo s main features. A TrackR Bravo as a single one off purchase for Australians isn't cheap at around $40 AUD plus delivery. If the "crowd" feature doesn't perform well, you might as well buy one of the cheaper Bluetooth locator devices that you can use to find your item using your mobile phone. These devices can be purchased for $10-$15. Let's see how the "crowd" test goes.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Update: 24 October 2017
It's now been 12 days since I left the TrackR Bravo located in the city. The crowd feature has not reported the device's location.
Based on this test so far it would appear the crowd sourcing of the location of a lost device may be little to no value. It makes sense. If you have one of these devices do you leave the software on all the time in the background. I suspect most people will launch the software when they lose whatever the device is attached to. That means there will be very few people who will pass within range of your lost item to let you know where you lost it.
TrackR's sound like a good idea in theory, but in practice these costly items really probably aren't worth the money. For items you want to find close to you, much cheaper options are available.
Update : 4 November 2017
I must admit I'd given up on the TrackR ever locating the device, however today at 5:43 pm on Saturday the 4th of November the device was located at the right location. This has taken 23 days.
In fairness to TrackR this means the TrackR Bravo device has worked as promoted. I now have to retract some of my earlier comments above and give credit to TrackR. Whilst I could have edited out my negative comments above, I much prefer to leave them as this may reflect the experience others may also go through.
As long as you know what to expect with the TrackR Bravo device, you can determine whether or not the TrackR Bravo is right for you.
