I’m having issues with the Power Saving Zone feature

Power Saving Zones are available on our latest dog and cat trackers and enable the tracker to use trusted WiFi networks to significantly boost battery life.

If you're facing issues with this feature, we're here to help! Below, we’ve summarized some of the most common issues and how to resolve them:

 

I can't set up a Power Saving Zone.

At this time, only 2.4 GHz networks are supported in the Power Saving Zone feature and we use the 802.11b standard. 5 GHz networks are not currently recognised. 

If the tracker doesn’t find any WiFi networks, or finds other networks but not yours, this indicates that the router’s settings are not currently compatible with the tracker’s standards. However, it is often possible to make some small changes to your router’s settings and resolve this issue (without having any impact on your WiFi connection).

Your router’s manual may detail how to change to a 2.4 GHz network and the 802.11b standard. Please also make sure that the network is not hidden. The SSID must be visible so the tracker can detect it. If your router supports a legacy mode, which you should be able to find in the WiFi settings of your router (Settings > Wireless networks > WLAN Group (in the upper right) > edit > legacy support), please try enabling it and then setting up the Power Saving Zone again. You can find full instructions for setting up legacy mode here.

If you see an error message stating the tracker has an unstable connection when you try to set up a Power Saving Zone, this indicates that the cell network signal the tracker is currently receiving is not strong enough. Please try resetting the tracker by holding the power button down for 10 seconds until you see a red light for two seconds and hear a high-pitched tone. Please then wait for a minute or two and try again.

If this sounds tricky, we’re here to help! Simply message our Customer Happiness Team and provide them with the following information:

  • The SSID and router model of your WiFi (you can typically find this on the sticker on the side or back of the router).
  • If you create a hotspot from your cell phone, are you able to set up a Power Saving Zone using this hotspot?
  • Is the tracker able to find other WiFi networks nearby?
  • A screenshot of the error message you see in the app when trying to set up a Power Saving Zone.

   

 

My pet is shown in the wrong location when in a Power Saving Zone.

When you set up a Power Saving Zone, you place a pin on the map showing where the Power Saving Zone is. By default, this is set to the current location of your tracker. Should you accidentally place the pin elsewhere, that location will be shown to you whenever your pet is in the Power Saving Zone. For example, if you select an address a few streets away from your home when setting up a Power Saving Zone for your home network, that address will be shown whenever your tracker is using your home network.

To resolve this, simply go to Profile Tracker and tap on Edit next to Power Saving Zones. Select the Power Saving Zone in question, move it to the correct location and tap Save - done!

 

I can’t use LIVE tracking when my pet is in a Power Saving Zone.

Your Power Saving Zone should be a trusted, safe area (such as your home), it is not usually possible to use LIVE tracking when the tracker detects your pet is in this safe area. Once your tracker detects it has left the area of the Power Saving Zone, it will begin detecting GPS positions again and you’ll be able to use LIVE tracking.

 

If your tracker is within Bluetooth range of your phone, you can use Find Mode and the Light and Sound feature to help you locate your pet while in Power Saving Mode. You can also activate LIVE tracking from this Bluetooth connection, but this will end Power Saving Mode. The tracker may have difficulties detecting accurate GPS positions if your pet is indoors because the roof of your home blocks the tracker’s line of sight to the sky and, therefore, to GPS satellites. We therefore recommend using LIVE tracking again once your pet has left the area of the Power Saving Zone.

 

 

The battery is still dropping quickly even though I’m using a Power Saving Zone.

Please first check if the tracker is detecting that it is in the Power Saving Zone by pressing the power button on the device once for just one second. The LED will then flash twice. If you see two white/pink flashes, the tracker is detecting your WiFi and should be in Power Saving Mode. You can also check the app to see if WiFi appears in the top right-hand corner of the Map page.   Please then contact our Customer Happiness Team and provide them with the following information: 

  • The timeframe(s) at which you noticed poor battery life despite using the Power Saving Zone. 
  • The LED status you see when pressing the power button once (e.g. white-white) when your pet is in the area of the Power Saving Zone (e.g. at home).

 

My pet is in the Power Saving Zone, but the app doesn’t show me this.

When your pet is in the Power Saving Zone, the app should show you WiFi in the top right-hand corner of the Map page. Should that not be the case and you see the error message below, please first check if the tracker is detecting the Power Saving Zone by pressing the power button on the device once for just one second. The LED will then flash twice. If you see two white/pink flashes, the tracker is detecting your WiFi and should be in Power Saving Mode.  If this is not reflected in the app, this indicates that the tracker has not been able to connect to cell networks to send that data back to your app. However, this does not affect the performance of the tracker nor its usage of the Power Saving Zone feature.

Cannot_get_location.jpg

This typically happens because building materials are very good at blocking cell network signals. You've likely also experienced this on your cell phone. Usually, we get better cell reception on our cell phones when in the garden than when in the house because building materials impede cell signals. The same applies to the tracker: While indoors, it typically gets a weaker connection than when outdoors, which increases the likelihood of a connection failure. This error message is then shown should the tracker fail to connect to cell networks and send data back to our servers. Once your pet leaves the area of the Power Saving Zone, the tracker should be able to reconnect to cell networks and begin reporting GPS positions again as normal.

We are working to improve this to make sure that the information you see in the app is as accurate and reliable as possible. Should you see the error message shown above while your pet is in the Power Saving Zone, we recommend pressing the power button on the device once to check if it is using your WiFi. If you see two white/pink flashes, you can rest assured that the tracker is using this feature as it should do to save battery life. We also recommend taking a short walk around the block with the tracker in your hand and activating LIVE tracking during this walk to make sure that you still receive positions as normal once your pet leaves the Power Saving Zone.

 

It takes too long for my tracker to detect my pet has left the Power Saving Zone.

When in a Power Saving Zone, the tracker no longer reports GPS position; instead, it checks every 2.5 minutes if it is still in the area of the Power Saving Zone. If you find it is taking too long for the tracker to begin reporting positions again as normal when your pet leaves the area of the Power Saving Zone, please contact our Customer Happiness Team with an example timeframe(s) of when this happened. Please also leave the tracker turned on to help us with our analysis.



If you have any other questions about the Power Saving Zone or any other feature, our Customer Happiness Team will be delighted to assist you.

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