Milwaukee Tick Tool Tracker: How It Works (And Is It Worth Buying?)

Milwaukee Tool has been around a long time but one of the brand's recent claims to fame is the One-Key tool detection system. Many of Milwaukee's newest power tools have built-in technology allowing them to be conveniently tracked and located via a smartphone loaded with the Milwaukee One-Key app. It's a useful system, as it not only helps you find tools you may have misplaced in the workshop or jobsite, but it also allows workers to catalog and check out tools at a professional operation.

Notice, however, that we said "Milwaukee's newest hand tools." Not all of Milwaukee's products have One-Key technology built in, and even tools from a few years ago may be missing the sensory component. Does this mean you can't use these tools with the One-Key system at all? Not necessarily, as Milwaukee has a solution for that: the Tick Tool and Equipment Tracker. This discrete, yet sturdy device can be attached to tools, equipment, or just about anything else to tune it into the One-Key sensory system. If you have an older tool that you want to include in your personal One-Key catalog, the Tick tracker will let you integrate it. From its convenient connection to its reinforced body, the Tick tracker is more than your everyday tracking tag.

Before we get into what makes the Tick tracker so special, let's briefly cover the mechanics and benefits of the One-Key system in general. In a nutshell, the One-Key system serves as both a tracking system and a digital catalog of all registered tools. Milwaukee tools with One-Key trackers built in can be detected and registered by the One-Key mobile app, which can be installed on any Android or iOS smartphone. To clarify, we're not talking about registering your tools with Milwaukee, though you should do that too.

The most obvious function of this system is that it can track the location of any connected tool via Bluetooth. It's not a GPS system, so it can't track the tool anywhere and everywhere, but as long as the tool is within around 100 feet, the One-Key app can find it. In addition to tracking, though, you can also use the One-Key app to create a library and set permissions for your tools, which is great for a professional jobsite.

Say, for example, a worker wants to use a power drill. An administrator can mark the tool as checked out in the One-Key app, so if someone else wants to use the drill, they'll know who had it last. Check-out records are also stored digitally, and thanks to the app's built-in integrations with systems like Autodesk, that information can be tracked over time for maintaining daily work statistics.

Milwaukee tools with One-Key trackers integrated into them can be tracked by the app, but what about older tools made before the One-Key system's creation, or non-power tool equipment like ladders, worker gear, or trailers? Obviously, Milwaukee can't make a One-Key-integrated version of every single thing you could possibly find in a workshop or jobsite. This is where the Tick tracker comes in.

The Tick tracker contains a Bluetooth detection chip, the same one present in One-Key-enabled Milwaukee tools, which means it can be integrated into a One-Key catalog the same way. You can register and name a Tick tracker in the One-Key app the same way as the tools, allowing you to track its location, check it out, and monitor its usage. Once a Tick tracker is registered, you can then attach it to just about any tool or surface in a multitude of ways. The Tick tracker has holes on the sides for screws, driving in rivets, or attaching straps, and it's even safe to glue down. Whether you attach it directly to a flat surface on a tool or just tie it on, the Tick tracker will broadcast its presence to the One-Key app.

If you're already using the latest and greatest in Milwaukee hardware, then you probably already have One-Key trackers built into your tools. In such a case, you likely don't need a Tick tracker. It's also worth noting that the Tick tracker isn't the only standalone One-Key tracker tag Milwaukee offers; the brand also sells a newer One-Key Bluetooth Tracking Tag that can be attached to tools and surfaces in much the same way as the Tick.

So what exactly sets the Tick apart? In a word, resilience. Compared to the One-Key Bluetooth Tracking Tag, the Tick features a reinforced casing around the actual tracking device. This casing makes the tracker far more resilient against water, dust, and inclement weather conditions. This makes it invaluable in particularly nasty outdoor work conditions, where rain or dust might stymie the function of a generic tracker. As an added bonus, the cell battery in the Tick is removable and replaceable, as opposed to the One-Key Bluetooth Tracking Tag's sealed-in battery.

If you have some older tools or equipment that you want to keep better track of and are regularly subjected to harsh conditions, a Tick tracker may be just what you need.