Review: SwitchBot Wallet Finder is a very useful accessory for tracking your wallet on iPhone Find My

I have an AirTag on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but apparently the AirTag is too big and bulky to fit inside my wallet. That’s what SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for. (Wallet finder is Currently 30% off on Black Friday, Therefore, the price is even better than usual. )

The SwitchBot Wallet Finder is hidden inside a thin credit card form factor and can connect to your iPhone’s Find My app so you can track its location. It also has a built-in speaker, so you can play a beep to help you find your wallet. When it inevitably gets lost somewhere in the house. Please read my review…

setting

Setup is very easy. Although it ostensibly supports its own apps and Android, I’ve only used it through the phone’s built-in Apple Find My app. I didn’t even download the SwitchBot app at all. To set it up, open Explore, tap Add Item, and hold the Wallet Finder Card button for a few seconds.

Then choose a name and an emoji icon to help you identify it later. “Benjamin’s Keys” was suggested by default, but you can change the name to “Benjamin’s Wallet”, select one of the available emojis adjacent to your wallet, press “Continue” and you’re done. Then slip it into one of your wallet’s empty card pockets.

How to track location

Please note that Find My accessories are not equipped with GPS. Instead, it broadcasts a low-energy Bluetooth signal that is picked up by nearby Apple devices like iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Your location information is sent securely and privately to the Find My network, so you can find and retrieve your lost items.

Even if you’re miles away, as long as someone with an Apple device is nearby, you can find your wallet on the map in the Find My app. You also don’t have to worry about ongoing subscriptions or other costs (unlike some of our competitors).

As the success of AirTags shows, the Find My network works very well, and the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is just as effective. If your item is stationary and near one of the billion iOS devices around the world, it won’t take long for its location to appear in Find My. However, if the item is moving, the location updates will lag slightly behind real-time.

You can also explicitly mark items as lost using the Find My app. Then, if you want to help someone else find your wallet and return it to its rightful owner, use Find My’s Locate Found Item feature and provide your contact information. You can present it and arrange for your wallet to be returned to you. The upcoming iOS 18.2 update also adds the ability to create and send shareable links to others to help track down lost items.

Search nearby using speakers

Unlike AirTag, Wallet Finder does not have built-in ultra-wideband radio. This means it lacks the precision search capabilities that AirTag provides in close proximity.

However, the built-in speaker in Wallet Finder is sufficient for the task of finding a lost wallet. The card makes a pretty loud noise when it’s within Bluetooth range. This sound is slightly quieter than the sound produced by the AirTag, and naturally a little muffled when you’re stuck inside a closed wallet, but it’s still plenty audible, even from quite a distance.

In the (embarrassingly common) case where you misplace your wallet somewhere in the house, you can now instantly hear which room it is in by simply opening the Find My app and pressing Play Sound. It has become.

Find My also works with the Siri voice assistant for added convenience. For example, you can shout: “Where is my wallet?” When you connect to HomePod, it will send a ping.

Safety and tracking

Like AirTags, Wallet Finder is marketed as a device to help recover lost items. It is not designed to address theft issues or to illegally track others. If the card is away from its owner for a certain amount of time, a sound will be emitted from the speaker to alert people to the card’s presence. It also triggers an “unknown item moving with you” alert for nearby iPhones.

It’s also worth pointing out that someone else owning the card can disable the Find My connection by pressing a button during certain shutdown sequences.

conclusion

When used for its intended purpose, SwitchBot Wallet Finder is highly effective and value for money. It’s obviously designed to be kept in your wallet, but it has a built-in hole in case you want to attach it to a lanyard or keychain. Highly recommended.

Perhaps the only downside to be aware of is that the Wallet Finder card has no way to replace the battery. It is a disposable consumable and can be used for approximately 3 years. However, the contents of your wallet are valuable enough that when you eventually run out of your wallet, it may make financial sense to simply buy another wallet. You have to be okay with yourself when it comes to environmental waste.