Update: The Switchbot Wallet Finder card is currently on sale for only $12.99.
I have an AirTag on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but obviously an AirTag is too big and bulky to fit in a wallet. This is what the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for.
Concealed in a slim credit card size, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder connects to the Find My app on your iPhone, so you can track its location, and it even houses a speaker so you can beep to help you find your wallet when it inevitably gets lost somewhere in your house. Keep reading for my review…
Facility
The setup is super simple. Although it apparently supports its own app and Android, I only used it through the phone’s built-in Apple Find My app. I haven’t even downloaded the SwitchBot app at all. To set up, open Find My, tap Add Item, and hold the Wallet Finder card button for a few seconds.
You then choose a name and an emoji icon to identify it later. By default, it suggested “Benjamin’s Keys,” but I renamed it “Benjamin’s Wallet,” selected one of the available emojis adjacent to the wallet, hit Continue, and I was done. Then it just slips into one of the empty card pockets in my wallet.
How it tracks location
As a reminder, Find My accessories do not have GPS. Instead, they broadcast a low-energy Bluetooth signal that nearby Apple devices, like iPhones, iPads, and Macs, pick up. The location is then transmitted securely and privately to the Find My network, so you can hopefully locate and recover your lost item.
Even if you’re miles away, as long as someone with an Apple device is nearby, the wallet will be locatable on the map in the Find My app. There’s also no ongoing subscription or other fees to worry about (unlike some competitors).
As the success of AirTags demonstrates, 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 billions of iOS devices around the world, its location won’t appear in Find My for too long. If the element moves, however, location updates are slightly delayed compared to real time.
You can also use the Find My app to mark your item as explicitly lost. Then, if someone else finds your wallet and wants to help return it to its rightful owner, they can use the Identify Found Item feature in Find My which will present your contact details to help you arrange for its return. The upcoming iOS 18.2 update even adds the ability to create a shareable link to send to others to help you find your lost items.
Nearby search using speakerphone
Unlike an AirTag, the Wallet Finder does not include an ultra-wideband radio. This means it doesn’t have the precision search feature that the nearby AirTag offers.
However, the built-in speaker in the Wallet Finder is more than enough to find your lost wallet. When in Bluetooth range, the card emits a reasonably loud tone. It’s slightly less loud than the sound emitted by an AirTag and naturally becomes a little muffled when installed in a closed wallet, but it’s still audible, more than enough for you to hear it from a good distance.
In the (embarrassing) event that I’ve misplaced my wallet somewhere in my house, I can now simply open the Find My app, tap “Play Sound” and instantly hear what room it’s in.
Find My also works with the Siri voice assistant, for added convenience. For example, I may shout “where is my wallet?” on my HomePod, and it will start pinging it.
Security and tracking
Much like AirTags, the Wallet Finder is marketed as a device for recovering lost items. It is not designed to solve theft problems or to stalk other people in nefarious ways. If the card is separated from its owner for a period of time, the speaker will emit a noise to alert people of its presence. It will also trigger “Unknown Object Moving With You” alerts on any nearby iPhones.
It is also worth pointing out that another person with the card in their possession can deactivate the Find My connection by pressing the button in a particular shutdown sequence.
Conclusion
If used for its intended purpose, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is a very effective and excellent value for money tool. While it’s obviously designed to be kept in a wallet, it even has a built-in hole if you want to slip it onto some sort of lanyard or key ring. I highly recommend it.
Perhaps the only downside to consider is that the Wallet Finder card has no way to replace the battery. This is a single-use consumable, designed for approximately 3 years of use. But the contents of your wallet are valuable enough that it probably makes financial sense to buy another one when it eventually dies. You just have to be okay with yourself when it comes to environmental waste.
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