Chipolo One Review: It’s Awesome On Paper

The Chipolo One delivers awesome out-of-range tracking features for locating some of your most important items with the help of a clean and simple companion app. But rather subpar Bluetooth performance and spotty notifications are roadblocks you may find yourself hindered by when using the device.

Design and Features: Attention-Grabbing Tech

The Chipolo One measures 1.49 inches in diameter and is only 0.25 inches thick. Available in a range of colors (including blue, yellow, red, white, green, and black), the One has a small notch at the top of the circular tracker, making it ideal for keys and other small devices. 

There’s only one button (seated underneath the “Chipolo” logo) that you can double-press to ring whatever mobile device your Chipolo is connected to—an excellent feature for those of us who are always misplacing our phones. You’ll also see a seam running around the body of the One; with a small flathead, you can pry both sections of the One apart to access the CR 2032 battery inside, which can honestly be a little tricky. Fortunately, Chipolo claims you’ll get up to two years of battery from a single cell, so changing it out shouldn’t be too much of an ordeal.

The Chipolo One also rocks a 120db alarm that certainly calls attention to itself. Standing outside the front door of my apartment and using my iPhone 12 to ping the One, I could hear it plain as day from my office, which I was separated from by numerous walls, furniture, and carpeting. I also really liked that Chipolo’s out-of-range features aren’t locked behind a paywall like they are with competitive gear like the Tile Pro.

But if you’d rather do your item tracking through the Find My app, the Chipolo One Spot (only available in black) is Apple-certified, making it an awesome alternative to an AirTag.

Right now, a single Chipolo One will run you $25, but you can also purchase a four-pack for $75 or a six-pack for $105. The Chipolo One Spot is $28 for a single and $78 for four.

Setup: Up and Running in Less Than Five Minutes

Getting my Chipolo One up and running took no time at all and was accomplished using just the Chipolo app (for iPhone/iPad and Android devices). To get things started, launch the app, and if you haven’t done so already, create a Chipolo account. After choosing a display name, email, and password (and enabling some permissions), you’ll be ready to add your Chipolo One.

First, tap the “Add New Device” button. On the “Add Device” screen, choose the “One” option, then position your Chipolo next to your phone. Once you press and hold the One’s center button to pair the tracker to your phone or tablet, it should link up almost instantly. After you select an appropriate identifier (I chose “Keys”) and create a name for your One, the device will be added to your Chipolo account.

Using the Chipolo One: I Wish I Could Say Better

Chipolo claims that the One has a Bluetooth range of up to 200 feet. Yeah, not quite. In my testing of the One, I first left the tracking device in my office and took a walk outside with my iPhone. Having only walked about 50 feet away, I lost signal to the One before I even left my apartment building. Once I got outside, though, I was able to wrap around to the side of the structure where my office is located, and once I was standing about 10 feet away from the exterior wall, the One was detected once more.

I’ve seen some pretty glowing reviews of the Chipolo One, but unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to join that crowd. For whatever reason, I experienced some extremely finicky performance with my One. In fact, I was only ever able to receive one notification that I had left my keys behind; and that was after numerous tests of me walking in and out of my apartment, so the One could connect and then disconnect from my phone. I would imagine that after 5 or even 10 minutes, I should have received an out-of-range message. 

It didn’t matter if I unpaired all other Bluetooth devices or if the Chipolo app was opened or closed either. Once my One became unpaired, the only thing I was able to do was open the app, see its last-pinged location, and report it as lost. I also triple-checked all my settings, ensuring that location tracking was enabled to the max, as well as background app refresh. Still nothing. I even did an experiment where I drove to the grocery store, left the One in my car, and went into the store with my phone. My girlfriend and I shopped for about 20 minutes, and not once during our trip did I receive a notification that I may have forgotten my keys; and we were at least 100 feet away from the One at all times, which should totally have cued the One to send me an alert (or several).

It also appears that you’re not actually able to do any tracking unless the Chipolo app is opened? When you close the app, a banner appears to tell you that your Chipolo One is disabled and that the app should be opened to use tracking features. I know that some Bluetooth-only devices require an opened app for certain features to work, but I guess I was expecting the One to function whether its app was open or not.

One thing I could happily write home about, though, is the Chipolo One’s Alexa compatibility. After adding the Chipolo skill to the Alexa app, I was able to ask Alexa to ring both the One and my iPhone (using the Chipolo app). The voice assistant pulled both of these functions off without a hitch, and what was even more impressive was its GPS pinpointing. When I asked where my keys were located, Alexa gave me an address that was only one apartment number off from my actual unit number. 

The Chipolo App: A Clean and Simple Layout

When you launch the Chipolo app, you’ll be on the “List” tab, where you’ll be able to choose which Chipolo device you want to track or manage. In my case, there was only a single Chipolo One registered to my account. After selecting the device, you’ll be brought to your Chipolo’s location dashboard. 

A handy map is displayed at the top of the page, showing your Chipolo’s GPS-pinned whereabouts in proximity to wherever your phone or tablet is hanging out. A joining of hands with your mobile device’s Maps app, you’ll be able to move about the geography by dragging with your finger and pinching for zoom functions. Down below, you’ll see a “Ring to Find” button for pinging your Bluetooth tracker, an “Out of Range Alerts” toggle, and a “Directions” button that sends you over to the Maps app for turn-by-turn (or step-by-step) directions to your Chipolo. 

By tapping “Share this Chipolo,” you’ll be able to authorize other users to have your Chipolo One linked to their devices. Keep in mind that only one device can be connected to the One at a time.

Tapping “Siri Shortcuts” will allow you to add some Chipolo voice prompts to Siri, including “Ring <name of Chipolo device>” and “Stop ringing <name of Chipolo device>.” The “Change Ringtone” tab will let you change the chime of your Chipolo, and a tab labeled “Google Assistant and Alexa” will teach you how to give commands and ask questions about your One with both voice assistants. 

Want to know what my favorite little app feature is? By tapping “Take a Selfie,” you can use your Chipolo One as a remote camera shutter for your phone. Just tap “Open Camera,” give Chipolo access to your camera and photos, then get your shot set up. Then all you have to do is grab your One and double-press it to take a picture. 

Should You Buy the Chipolo One?

I wish I could say overwhelmingly recommend this Bluetooth tracker—especially considering the price and the two thumbs-up reputation the Chipolo One has across the board—but when one of the most integral features of a product (the ability to receive out-of-range notifications) only works once in a while, that’s simply not good enough in my book. Especially when it’s for something as important as an item tracker.

Now I am curious how well the Chipolo One Spot with built-in Find My networking works in comparison to the standard One (we did review the Chipolo CARD Spot and gave it a positive rating). But if you’re thinking of dropping some dough on an AirTags-adjacent tracker, Tile might be the best option.