Cell phone key finder?

January 21, 2009 5:31 AM

Is there a product out there that would let me call my keys from my cell phone? I'm tired of losing them!

I've seen a couple products where you use a remote control to beep your keys, but then that ends up being another thing to have to carry around. Any good suggestions? I'd rather have something I can call from my phone, but a small remote wouldn't be that bad, I suppose. It took me 8 hours to find my keys last weekend, and I'd really rather not have a repeat of that :)

posted by gilsonal to Technology (12 answers total)

I don't know about a cell phone, but they have ones that respond to clapping noises.

Kind of a tangent, I used to have this problem and solved it by getting a nice small bowl to put by the front door. As soon as you get in, plop the keys in the bowl. Unlock. Plop.

The trick is to try to keep at it so that it's just a natural habit whenever you go in and out of the house. The bowl eventually becomes a useful cue for other reminders (ie letters to send)
posted by like_neon at 6:03 AM on January 21, 2009

Here ya go, The Clapper for keys.
posted by acorncup at 6:05 AM on January 21, 2009

Best answer: Here's one on Amazon that responds to clapping.
posted by like_neon at 6:05 AM on January 21, 2009

Seconding the bowl idea. We put a nice decorative bowl on our bar in the kitchen. When I get home, keys, cell phone and things I need to remember to take with me or send out go in the bowl. Once it becomes a habit, there is never a question where your keys are.

Re: your question, I don't think there is anything that would allow you to search for your keys by calling something on your cell phone. This would imply that your keys have something on them that is able to tell when there is a call coming through, which I would find unlikely.

However a a search on Amazon turns up many options for key finders.
posted by Brettus at 6:10 AM on January 21, 2009

Best answer: One more thing to consider - if you are close enough to your keys to hear them respond when you call them from your cell phone, then you are, in theory, close enough for the keys to respond to your clapping.

I would expect that, if it did exist, something that reponded to your cell phone would be much more expensive than a key clapper. However, either of them would work as you are going to be in the same vicinity regardless.

Does that make sense? I am horrible at explaining things sometimes.
posted by Brettus at 6:15 AM on January 21, 2009

This is probably a very stupid idea, but...

Could you buy a really cheap cell phone, on some pay-as-you-go type deal, and then, like, attach it to your keyring? Um, maybe..
posted by Hermione Dies at 6:24 AM on January 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Or, you know, next time a friend upgrades, steal their old phone.
posted by Hermione Dies at 6:25 AM on January 21, 2009

It's far easier for a thief to steal your keys than to gain entry to or hotwire your car. If you go the bowl route, don't put it by your front door!
posted by Ness at 7:32 AM on January 21, 2009

The trick with the RF keyfinders is to mount the remote somewhere. You can buy some velcro and stick it to the fridge and just put it back when youre done. You dont need to carry the remote so put it somewhere stationary. Or get one of those pen chains.

Its overkill, but if you cant do the bowl thing then those things are pretty neat.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:55 AM on January 21, 2009

You're thinking of a pager or beeper. I actually have one somewhere at my house, but the service plan is long dead.

Nthing the bowl (or key hook) comment - make a habit of putting all your forgettables in certain places (or one central place), and STICK TO IT. I say this to myself, as well as you (I haven't had my keys for two weeks now - luckily my wife gets home before I do, and she understands I like to squirrel keys, cell phones, glasses, wallets, and other useful items away in nooks and crannnies).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:46 AM on January 21, 2009

Does your phone have a strap point on it that you can run a loop through? Because I'd just get a strap with a keyring on the end and hang it from the phone.

This won't be nearly as obnoxious as you think when you're using the phone.
posted by Ookseer at 10:35 AM on January 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

I once attached one of those clapper doojiggies to the television remote control (my son had the attention span of a gnat and a knack for wandering; something had to be done).

That little gadget was pretty handy. It helped me locate the remote a bunch of times but eventually I removed it because the clapper was an el-cheapo version that responded not only to claps but also to coughing. And to laughing. And to the doorbell. And to the cats miaowing. And to any random sound of something hard touching another hard surface. That sweet little clapper made me tense about blinking too loud.

If you have the opportunity to test its sensitivity before you buy one, that'd be a good thing.
posted by mcbeth at 12:15 AM on January 22, 2009