I recently got a small keychain device for free as a cheap promotional item. It looks like one of these: https://powerstick.com/powertag/
It asks that you install this app: Spot 2.0 Bluetooth Finder
Some concerns right away:
- It requires an account
- It said that my password was too long
- It seems that these apps will need 24/7 access to location in order to work properly, so I’m not comfortable making an account on some app I’ve never heard of
So my questions:
Q1: If someone is given a similar device, is there a FOSS app that they can use it with? So far I’ve found:
-
BLE Radar (FDroid, GitHub). It looks promising and I haven’t played with all the custom profiles yet. While I was able to connect the device and see it on a map, I don’t see an option to ring the device from the app. Since it’s a key ring, I imagine most people would use it to find their keys in their home, for which the speaker would be helpful.
-
iTracing2 (FDroid, GitHub). This one is very minimalistic, and while I could get it connected, it seems to only work in the
device > phonedirection, where you can press a button on the keychain to initiate an action on the phone (ex. ring the phone)
Q2: If someone wanted to get a good quality version of this, which brands do you recommend? Ideally it would be accurate and be compatible with some FOSS app(s).
I remember seeing Chipolo mentioned in some other thread here, but I don’t know if they meet those requirements