moto tag review: Taking tracking on Android to a new level

There’s a real movement on the Android side of the mobile fence to find a competitor for Apple’s much vaunted Air Tag. Google’s Find My Device network launched last year, and we’ve seen initial launches, but Motorola’s moto tag announced last year holds sway as one of the better options, but is it good enough?

Priced at $49 for a single, and $165 for a 4-pack, the moto tag looks just like (and similar dimensions as) the Apple Air Tag. It looks similar, but it’s also got a little more design flair with two colour choices available : Starlight Blue and Jade Green.

The tag runs for up to 1 year, with the CR2032 battery easily replaced from your local supermarket – and it comes with an IP67 rating so it can get a little damp and dusty in its travels without any worries.  

One of the key features for the moto tag is the inclusion of Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) support to complement the Bluetooth connectivity giving it up to 100m of range with this setup,

There’s not a lot of options out there for Android users, so how does the moto tag stack up as a tracker? I’ve been using the moto tag for a month now and here’s how it went. 

Hardware and Design

The moto tag is a dead ringer for the Apple Air Tag in terms of size and shape, so much so that Motorola says in their releases that it ‘accommodates popular tracking accessories’ – in other words, it fits in all the Air Tag cases, holders etc.

The fact you can find holders, cases etc. which fit makes it easier to attach the AirTag to your Keys, Bags etc. as there is no hole in the device to attach it to a keyring, or anything. So if you’re not putting it inside something to track, you’ll need something to put it in.

I’ve attached it to the dog’s collar, my keys and a backpack during testing using AirTag cases – and it works great, slipping in and out of the case without issue and sitting in it securely when attached to my bag, keys – the dog’s collar etc.

Motorola sent me over a Starlight Blue coloured tag to play with, and it’s a fine colour – but I was hoping for the Jade Green and I’ll be picking up one of those to track the dog on a more permanent basis in the future. 

The device itself weighs just 75 grams, and has a simple design with the familiar Motorola Batwing logo on the front, and on the rear is a removable panel that reveals the user replaceable CR2032 battery which you can pick up at just about any supermarket in Australia.

It’s easy to remove the battery door and replace the battery, though Motorola claims the moto tag will last up to 1 year on a battery. 

Setup

Setup is easy, but you’ll probably want to install two apps before starting to pair. The first is Google’s Find My Device App and the second is the Moto Tag app, both of which are available from Google Play. 

Once you’ve got apps installed, simply remove the plastic tag from the back of the unit and the tag enters pairing mode – which you can hear with a beep from the moto tag.

On your phone you’ll see a Fast Pair notification popping up, and it’s simply a matter of following the bouncing ball to set up.

Having two apps is a little odd, though they do serve different purposes.  The Moto Tag app offers settings and access to features including firmware updates, as well as using the tag as a remote shutter and also to find your phone, while the Find My Device app helps you track the tag’s location.

You can share the tag in the Find My Device app via a link if you need to making it handy if you get multiple people looking for a lost device. 

Once it’s set up in the Moto Tag app and Find My Device it’s ready to go, just attach it where you want it and it’s ready to go.

How does it go?

It goes pretty well, and it’s likely to get better. Currently the moto tag only uses Bluetooth, though it does have UWB on-board – and we’ll get to that in a minute. 

To break it down, Google’s Find My Device network is crowd-sourced, so you rely on people with Android phones walking close enough to your Android tracker – in this case the moto tag – and getting a couple of pings to then report back to the Find My Device servers with a location. 

I tried leaving the moto Tag in a few places – a cafe, supermarket and the gym – all of which have decent traffic. I put my phone in Airplane mode before setting off and placing it and moved off a fair distance away to observe. After waiting 15 minutes I scanned in the app and was pleasantly surprised to find it fairly accurately located on a map. 

Around home you’ll see that your Google devices like the Nest Hub will pick up the tag and report it’s nearby, though I found it reported the moto tag being near devices that were located in other rooms.

The UI is fairly basic, offering a map, and then you can tap ‘Find nearby’ to bring up a new UI, which is essentially a hotter/colder game to find the app. The icon fills as you get closer, or empties if you move further away. Once you’re within around 10 feet you get a new UI which simply says ‘It’s here’.

When you’re close to the tag you can set off the audio alert, a pulsing ring which is decently loud and while it’s fairly easy to hear around the house, it can be hard to hear in loud areas. 

UWB

There are improvements coming to the moto tag thanks to Ultra Wideband (UWB), at least when Google implements it. 

To start with you need two things to use UWB. First your phone will need to support UWB, and this isn’t a standard feature on smartphones as yet. Second, Google needs to implement UWB support in their Find My Device app which is confirmed by the Motorola website highlights this stating: ‘UWB available upon future Android integration’.

I’m using the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which does have UWB support. But we’re still waiting on UWB support in Find My Device – though it is coming just slowly. 

What will UWB do for Find My Device tags? Well, it will offer something more useful like left or right, akin to the Apple Find My interface which offers a directional arrow and distance in the UI – a little more useful than the moving blob in the current Find My Device interface from Google.

So, it’s coming. 

Security – a note

The moto tag is one of many trackers available now, so the concern you could be tracked unknowingly has been there since the tags first arrived. Both Google and Apple worked on a common spec to make sure you’re notified on Android and iOS devices if a tag is following you. 

If you do receive a notification, you have options to help you locate and identify any tag you find when you get the notification on your device. 

Should you buy it?

The moto tag is one of the best options when it comes to Find My Device compatible tags. They’re easily sourced here and very easy to setup and add to the Google Find My Device network.

The user-replaceable battery combined with the design compatible with common accessories is excellent. The Find My Device network seems to be working quite well, so locating your tag isn’t an issue.

The big benefit is that it’s going to get better with the implementation of UWB (if you have UWB in your phone) – though there’s no details on when that will be available. 

Fortunately though, it works very well out of the box with an easy setup process that will have you tracking your keys, bag or anything you need quickly. 

You can find the moto tag exclusively at Harvey Norman in Jade Green and Starlight Blue colours. The moto tags are available to purchase in a single pack (RRP $49) and a 4-pack (RRP $165).