Customer Reviews

Smart Find Remote Control Key Locator

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

As of this writing, this product either gets a raving 5-star review or a dismal 1-star review. Hmmm... that's gotta make you wonder... Well, my personal experiences with this thing is very much in line with the reviewers who have given it a 1-star rating.

I had trouble with two of the receivers right out of the box. One of them did not respond to the transmitter and the other gave off a faint sound that was barely audible from a few feet away. As for the remaining two "functioning" units, I doubt they're anywhere near the 85-decibel alarm touted by the manufacturer. I took mine to a brick and mortar Brookestone store and exchanged it for another unit, which I tested at the store to make sure that it was working. Strike one.

I was thrilled at first thinking that "Yes!! At last! No more lost keys or remotes!" Wrong! My joy was short-lived because a month after exchanging the Key Locator, the response from all the receivers became sporadic. As Murphy's law would have it, it failed to function right when I needed it most. Infuriating! Strike two.

Periodically, the receiver attached to my keychain would spontaneously beep - not something you want it doing at inopportune moments and I'm speaking as one who's had to endure some embarrassment because of this little malfunction. Strike three!

That's when I gave up on it entirely. By then, the warranty had run out and I was unable to return it. Recently, I discovered that all the units had ceased functioning altogether.

I found another key locator called loc8tor (sold here at Amazon) which has earned a place in Time Magazine's Best Inventions for 2006. Somehow, it hadn't turned up on Amazon's search engine when I searched for "Key Finder". But if you use "loc8tor" as the search string, it will show up. Although it costs almost 3 times as much as the Brookstone Smart Find Remote Control Key Locator, I'm going to take the plunge and try it out. Hopefully, it won't be an utter disappointment like the Smart Find Remote Control Key Locator is.

Still, as one not usually given to lopsided judgments, I decided that this product was not utterly worthless:

Pros
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- The aesthetics of the Smart Find Remote Control Key Locator makes it perfect as a desktop ornament.
- A perfect example of form and function, the Smart Find Remote Control Key Locator is not only aesthetically pleasing, it works admirably when used as a paperweight.

Cons
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It does not work.

There you have it. I'll let you decide whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa, but choose wisely.

I reviewed this item under a nearly identical title, so check that one as well.

I had a keyfinder from a california company, which I think is now called the keyfinder. But it was $25 or $30 for just one, and the sound was very strange...sort of a high, odd pitch. It sometimes took me a long time to find the keys.

So, when I saw this, I thought it would be an upgrade.

Mistake one...I attached all the "ringers" to the items BEFORE I really fully tested the device. One color NEVER worked. But, since I had already attached things to various devices (and it is HARD to get them off...I still have the dead ringer on the back of my cell phone), I decided not to take it back. 3/4 colors working was still okay, I figured.

Within 30 days, another color failed. Within another month or so, all colors were dead. I tried replacing ALL the batteries, very carefully. No luck.

Unless this thing has increased its warranty (and you can take it back into a brick and mortar Brookstone for a FULL refund without a receipt, or at least get full credit without a receipt), it is NOT worth it. My recollection is that it only had a 30 day warranty when I bought it.

I actually regret not making a bigger stink about this at the time it failed, but I figured I would just not shop at Brookstone again.

There ARE good keyfinders out there...don't give up.

This thing plain does not work. the first day we opened the box they worked as long as we were within 6 inches of the lost keys or remote control, but by the next day they didn't work at all. If we fiddled with them for an hour we could get them to work temporarily but a couple hours later they didn't work again so when an item was actually lost this system was useless. I could have tried to resell them on amazon, but I would have felt too guilty selling such a worthless product, so I just threw it away.

I did my research on key locators because I wanted to get one that was effective enough to remedy my fiance's perpetual key-finding problem. This key finder worked the first few times sporadically and then, after less than a month, completely ceased to work.

I do not recommend that you purchase this product.

Initially it showed promise but failed miserably. It is absolutely a piece of junk. Amazon should stop selling it immediately.

Good concept but this product is absolutely terrible. The alert system is either nonresponsive or inconsistent. When it does work, you can barely hear the sound to find what you're looking for. I suggest a different product that has the same function. Save your money and skip this.

Does work as advertised. Cannot find a TV remote control when it's 2 feet away under a pillow.

This item is easy to use, comes with all the necessary batteries for the keyfobs.

I can't give this device enough praise. I'm one of those people that always misplaces my keys. Somehow, I can never find them in the same place I'm sure I put them. Once you have one of the key locators on your keychain, you don't need to worry about that anymore. All you have to do is push the locate button on the base station, the receiver on your keys makes a series of loud beeps and voila, there are those pesky keys! I highly recommend this product!