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Review: Motorola Moto Tag - This is how fast it is found compared to Airtags and Samsung

This gadget finder tag can locate most things, and you don't specifically need a Motorola phone to access all its features. It can do more than just find, and it also works with other manufacturers' Android phones.

Erik Mörner

Published 15 January 2025 - 17:57 Modified 24 January 2025 - 18:16

This is obviously a competitor primarily to Apple's Airtag and Samsung's Galaxy Smarttag, but unlike these two, Moto Tag works with all manufacturers' Android phones and not just with one manufacturer.

Moto Tag is one of the first devices to use Google's Find network. It is based on Google's Find My Device feature, which is used to locate your Android phone when it is lost. However, the function is now expanded, and you can find several things, such as headsets or this type of tag.

Moto Tags have the same shape as Apple Airtags, which means that holders for one also work for the other.

The principle is the established one in these contexts that you can find the tag with the help of your own phone, but also, when the tag is further away, automatically get help from other users. Here, Google is a bit behind, and Motorola suffers for it. Apple and Samsung dominate the mobile market in Sweden and use this extensively to provide a better experience in this area as well. In Google's case, they have only recently activated their Find network, and it requires each user to actively agree to join. There are no official figures on how many have done so. Moto Tag was launched in the summer of 2024, and the very first tests complained that it took a long time for the tag to be found if you were not there with your phone. Since then, Google has more actively encouraged users to join in Android. I have, of course, left the tag in different places and tested how long it takes before it is found, but we will return to that. Let's first take the practical aspects.

Getting Started

When I unpack the Moto Tag, it's quick and easy to get started. The tag itself is round, light, and made of plastic. It is in a similar format to Apple's Airtags, so if you want it on, for example, a keyring or bag, you need a holder to keep the tag in place. I peel off the plastic film, and when I do, the Moto Tag is activated, and I can pair it with my Android phone. There are two apps you need to keep track of now. Motorola has its own app called Moto Tag, where you can make simpler settings. In addition to being found, Moto Tag can also function as a remote shutter for the phone's camera and to find the phone if it is nearby.

The actual finding of the Moto Tag is handled by Google's Find My Device app. Finding the Moto Tag using the phone works well, and I can make the tag play a sound when I'm close to make it easier to find even if it's hidden.

I have tested Moto Tag for about a month now, but already after just about two weeks, the app warned that the battery, the one that came with it from the start, was running low and needed to be replaced. The tag is supposed to last a whole year on one battery, but this at least gave me the opportunity to test the battery replacement. It created a lot of frustration. To change the battery, you should grip the Moto Tag and twist one side of it. Once that's done, the side should simply come off, and the battery should be accessible. I found it extremely difficult to get a grip, twisted frantically, but nothing happened. Pressed, tapped, twisted again. Nothing. When I gave up and asked a friend for help, he managed it immediately. We changed the battery, but then it was impossible to get the cover back on. The friend tried repeatedly without success and gave up. Now it was my turn, and as if by a miracle, it snapped into place after a couple of attempts. The battery was in place, and the test could continue.

Not found as quickly when it's gone

Finding the tag directly with the help of the phone goes smoothly without exception. More interesting, however, is how extensive Google's Find network is when you're not nearby. I test this by letting my brother drive through all of Stockholm with the Moto Tag with him. He himself has an iPhone, so he doesn't contribute to it being found. I think that with my Android I should be able to follow his journey made on Christmas Eve, but that's where Moto Tag fails. It's only when my brother and the Moto Tag arrive, home to me, and connect with my phone that I see the position again. When it comes to finding these tags, there are of course no guarantees. How quickly, if at all, your Moto Tag is found depends on how many users of Google's Find network happen to be exactly where the tag is just when it's needed.

I am doing another test. I place Moto Tag, Samsung Galaxy Smarttag, and Apple Airtag in a busy intersection in Södermalm, Stockholm. I hide them at a temporary construction site so they can be found, but at the same time, not disappear while I walk away.

Here at the intersection of Folkungagatan Götgatan, I hid the tags to test.

Both Airtag and Samsung are found by other users' phones as soon as I walk away, which I can see in the respective app remotely. Moto Tag takes about fifteen minutes before it is found. When I then go back to collect my tags, someone has locked the construction site, so the tags are locked in. Unlucky, but it allows me to continuously see how often the tags are found, and the trend continues. Airtag and Samsung are found continuously with a few minutes' intervals. This is a busy intersection with both car traffic and a constant stream of pedestrians from the nearby subway. Moto Tag takes longer before it is found. If we translate this to a less populated area, Google's Find network is still less powerful than the competitors', and you may have to wait longer before you know where your lost tag is. I also notice that the position reported in Google's Find app is often a block off. However, it is precise enough for you to get a more accurate position with your own phone once you are on-site. We should also remember that neither Samsung nor Apple is an option for you if you have an Android phone of a brand other than Samsung. Airtag only works for iPhone users, Samsung Galaxy Smarttag only for those with a Samsung Galaxy phone, so Moto Tag, together with competitors like Tile, still serves a purpose.