Yes. To be able to follow your pet’s every step, your tracker needs to receive GPS signals from GPS satellites orbiting the earth. Your tracker will automatically try to receive these signals and it uses them to accurately determine its current position.
When your pet is outside and the tracker has a clear line of sight to the sky, it will receive data from many satellites, leading to highly accurate GPS positions. Under such conditions, these positions are typically accurate to around 8 meters.
To see just how accurate your Tractive GPS is, we recommend taking a short walk around the block with the tracker in your hand and LIVE tracking active. Simply tap LIVE on the map page in the app to activate LIVE tracking. You can then check the path recorded by the tracker using the Location History feature.
What causes GPS interference and what can I do to prevent this?
If the tracker’s line of sight to the sky is blocked, the tracker cannot get clear data from many GPS satellites, which can lead to less accurate positions.The most common cause of this is the roof of your home, tall buildings in a built-up area, or in dense forests where thick woodland can also have an impact.
To ensure that the data you see in your app is as accurate and reliable as possible, we recommend doing the following:
🔋 Set up a Power Saving Zone to reduce the impact of GPS interference when your pet is at home and significantly improve your tracker's battery life.
📶 Activate Bluetooth on your cell phone so the tracker can update its position in areas with poor cell coverage and GPS availability (e.g. in a garage), when the phone is near your tracker.
🔎 Make use of Find Mode which utilizes Bluetooth to help you pinpoint your pet’s location.
Note: As GPS interference occurs when your tracker is indoors, we don’t recommend using LIVE tracking when your pet is at home.
What if I can't get a GPS signal?
If your tracker cannot get a GPS signal at all, the app will show you the last known position of your pet. As soon as the tracker starts receiving GPS signals again, it will begin detecting your pet’s position again.
Please also keep in mind that the tracker needs to be connected to cell (mobile) networks to be able to send information about your pet’s position to your phone. See more about cellular network coverage here >