Alza must have gone crazy. The Xiaomi Tag locator for Android and iPhone is on sale for only 149 CZK

As recently as Thursday, the locator from the popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer cost 399 CZK on Alza, just as it had for months before, but then came a completely unexpected price drop. The Xiaomi Tag now costs 149 CZK instead of 399 CZK as part of Black Friday. For the price of one kebab, you get a small tag that allows you to track keys, a backpack, or a suitcase with your Android or iOS phone.

Quick summary:
✅ Makes sense for keys, a backpack, or a suitcase when you want to know its location and don’t want to spend hundreds on a locator.
⚠️ Consider that location accuracy depends on nearby phones, and Android lacks forgotten item alerts.
💡 For 149 CZK, you risk little, even if it doesn’t suit you in the end.

Works with both iPhone and Android, just not simultaneously

For Android, you need a phone with Android 9 or newer and the Google Find Hub app; for iPhone, iOS 14.5 or newer with the Find My app. However, Xiaomi warns that both networks cannot be used simultaneously – you always pair the Tag with only one of them. For a household where one person has an iPhone and the other has an Android, this means each person chooses their own.

The rest of the features are standard for locators. Xiaomi promises over a year of battery life with four sound searches per day, and when it runs out, you can replace the CR2032 coin cell battery yourself for a few crowns. The Tag weighs 10 grams, measures 46.5 × 31 × 7.2 mm, and has IP67 protection, so according to the manufacturer, rain or a fall into a puddle should not harm it. You can mark a lost item and add a contact for the finder, and you can also share the Tag with your family.

Location is reported by other phones, so it’s not always accurate to the meter

The Xiaomi Tag does not have GPS or a SIM card. It only transmits a Bluetooth signal, which is picked up by passersby’s phones, and these then anonymously send the location to the cloud, where you can see it in the app. In a densely populated city, the location is usually fresh; in isolated areas, it may update with a delay, or not at all. Additionally, according to Google, Android’s Find Hub network is by default only enabled for busy areas, so reports are even sparser outside of cities. Buyers on Alza report varying accuracy: for some, the Tag shows location within a few meters, while others report a radius of around 300 meters and delays of up to twenty minutes.

Xiaomi’s specifications only mention Bluetooth and NFC, so don’t expect centimeter-level navigation via UWB. Nearby, a beep, which you can trigger from the app, will help you. Android owners should be aware of one more caveat: the alert that you’ve left an item with a Tag somewhere only works in Apple Find My, according to Xiaomi. The same applies to retrieving contact information by tapping a phone via NFC; in Google Find Hub, the finder will instead see a pop-up window.

Buyers praise pairing, some were surprised by the beeping

On Alza, the Tag has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 from 38 customers, and 79% recommend it. Over 2,000 units have been sold, and the return rate is only 0.1%. People praise the quick pairing, small size, and key loop. However, some found pairing troublesome, and a few people complain that the Tag starts beeping on its own.

Xiaomi explains the beeping as a protection against tracking: if the Tag is out of range of the phone it’s paired with for three days and is moving, it will start emitting a sound so that the person carrying it notices it. Practically, this means that the Tag should be paired with the phone of the person who actually carries it. If someone else carries it and it doesn’t meet your phone for a long time, expect it to beep.

Good for keys and suitcases, but probably not for car tracking

Anyone who occasionally searches for keys around the house, worries about a suitcase at the airport, or wants to keep track of a backpack will likely not go wrong for 149 CZK on Alza. For that price, you could easily get two and put one in your wallet.

However, you cannot rely on the Xiaomi Tag as a guard against thieves. Both Android phones and iPhones can detect and alert you to an unknown locator traveling with them, and the Tag itself will start beeping after three days away from its owner. Anyone who needs to track a car with meter-level accuracy would rather opt for a GPS locator with a SIM card.

What would you attach your Xiaomi Tag to?