Tile Battery Replacement Reset
Just figured this obscure trick out and want to share.
- I just replaced the battery in an old Tile Mate. This is the kind of Tile where the battery is not intended to be user replaceable, but it's actually not hard. Lots of instructions on the internet. The tile makes the "I'm ready for pairing" sound when it's button is clicked. I think its battery was dead for so long, it forgot the old pairing.
- The problem is that the Tile app marks the tile with a "Replace Tile" warning and the Find button is gone - even though I just replaced the battery. Essentially, the Tile App is not keeping up with the fact that the physical tile is actually working again. If we cannot get the Tile app to re-recognize the tile, we are stuck.
- One Crazy Trick: in the Tile App, click the + button to add a "new" tile. Follow the instructions, clicking the button on the tile. The app then complains like "hey you can't add this tile, it's already on another device," so you cancel out of the add. BUT now back on the homescreen, the tile is reset and has its Find button back.
One time later on, the Find button disappeared, but mostly it seems to work. I love not having to throw out this working hardware. Hey Tile: just have a reset option in the app for old tiles. You can afford to let a few crazy people who are replacing the batteries keep these things out of the landfill, and it's the right thing to do.
Edit: ok it seems like this is not a permanent solution, as the Find button only appears after clicking the button on the physical tile, so that defeats the purpose. My guess is that the Tile app is deliberately not supporting the battery-changed unit, which is irritating. Certainly doesn't make me want to buy another. Maybe someone else can figure out how to get the app to support the tile.