- Stock: In Stock
- Model: VIM-4GCONT3
Plenty of battery GPS trackers need a charge every few months, and a promised battery life does not always hold up. Gear that sits in a shed, a paddock or a storage yard for months can end up with a flat tracker right when you need to find it. This long battery life GPS tracker checks in once a day, and one sealed battery keeps it going for up to 10 years with nothing to charge. It sticks on with magnets, and a light sensor underneath lets you know if it is pulled off.
Key Features & Benefits
- Battery That Lasts Up To 10 Years - one sealed 20,000mAh battery with no charging port, reporting once a day. Check in more often and it runs down sooner, and a flat unit gets replaced, not recharged
- Magnetic Mount With Screw Holes - sticks straight onto steel in seconds, and four screw holes let you fix it down for good. Nothing to wire in
- No Monthly Platform Fee - you don't pay anything for the app. Your own SIM plan is the only ongoing cost
- Alert If It's Taken Off - a light sensor underneath notices the moment it is lifted away from where you stuck it, and the alarm shows up in the app. It is on out of the box
- Knock And Tip Alerts - a hard bump, or a tilt past the angle you pick between 20 and 180 degrees, sends an alert too. You turn tilt on with a quick text to the tracker
- GPS Plus WiFi And Phone Tower Location - satellites outdoors, and WiFi networks or phone towers nearby when it is under a roof, so a shed or garage does not leave you guessing
- Remembers 1,000 Locations Offline - out of signal, it keeps a record and sends it all once it is back in range. At one check-in a day, that is more than two years' worth
- Works On Telstra, Optus Or Vodafone - any everyday Micro SIM on those networks will do. There is no special tracking SIM to hunt down
- Rain And Dust Proof To IP67 - fine outdoors in rain and dust, and it survives a short dunking. Do not leave it sitting underwater
- Choose How Often It Checks In - once a day, up to four set times a day, certain weekdays, or once every 2 to 30 days for stored gear. Motion and static mode checks in more while moving than parked, with a vibration alert option
- Live Tracking When You Need It - if something moves, turn on live updates as often as every 30 seconds for a set time. Live tracking burns through the battery much faster
- Low Battery Warning - lets you know before the battery runs out, so a new tracker can go on before the old one goes quiet
- Set Up With Text Messages - you text the tracker to set its schedule and alerts, and a later change is just another text, so your SIM plan needs SMS as well as data
- Lights You Can Switch Off - a green and a red light show it has found satellites and signal while you set it up, then go dark while it sleeps. Turn them off for good if you like
Real-World Scenarios
- Farm machinery parked for the season - a slasher or a spare tractor sits in a back paddock for months. Its daily location on your phone shows it is still where you left it, and you get an alert if someone pulls the tracker off.
- A trailer or boat in a storage yard - it sits there between trips. You can check once a day that it has not moved, with no tracker to remember to charge before the long weekend. If it does move, a text can switch it to live tracking for a while, at a real cost to the battery.
- Tools in a shed at a holiday house - nobody is there for weeks. Under the roof, WiFi or phone tower location still places it, and if the tracker is lifted off the toolbox you hear about it.
How It Works
- Put the SIM in - unscrew the back cover, drop in a Micro SIM with data and SMS, and close it up with the 8 little screws that come loose in the box. You will need a Phillips screwdriver.
- Text it your settings - send the setup messages from your phone to link it to the app, pick the check-in schedule and switch on the alerts you want. Change the time zone while you are at it, because it arrives set to UTC+8.
- Stick it on, top side up - put it on the outside of your gear with its top pointing at the sky, using the magnets or the 4 screws, nuts and washers. Metal over the top blocks the signal, and the lights tell you once it has a fix and a connection.
Technical Specifications
- Model: VIM-4GCONT3
- Battery: sealed 20,000mAh lithium, not rechargeable; up to 10 years checking in once a day
- Check-in options: once a day (default), up to 4 set times a day, chosen weekdays, motion and static, storage mode every 2 to 30 days, live tracking every 30 to 300 seconds
- Network: 4G (Micro SIM, not included)
- Location: GPS satellites, WiFi and phone towers, with assisted GPS
- Accuracy: 5 to 10 metres
- First fix: under 35 seconds from cold, under 2 seconds hot
- Alerts: taken off (light sensor, on by default), tilt from 20 to 180 degrees, knock, low battery, vibration in motion mode
- Offline memory: 1,000 locations
- Battery drain in storage: under 1% a year at 25°C
- Setup: text message commands
- App: Free smartphone app (iOS and Android)
- Mount: magnets and 4 screw holes, with non-slip pads
- Water and dust: IP67
- Antenna: built-in GNSS and 4G
- Bluetooth: 5.0, switched off as supplied
- Software updates: over the air
- Working temperature: -20°C to +70°C
- Storage temperature: -40°C to +85°C
- Power draw: under 100mA active, under 15µA asleep
- Dimensions: 176.8 x 85 x 30.4mm
- Weight: 447g
Packaging Contents
- 1 x Long battery life GPS tracker
- 1 x User manual
- 4 x Nuts
- 4 x Long silver mounting screws (Phillips head)
- 4 x Spring washers
- 4 x Flat washers
- 8 x Small black back-cover screws, supplied loose
No SIM card comes in the box. It uses the 4G network like your phone does, so an everyday Micro SIM from one of the main networks works. The plan must include SMS, because setup is done by text. Bring your own Phillips screwdriver too.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does a GPS tracker battery last?
Up to 10 years here, reporting once a day as it comes set up. Rechargeable trackers usually go back on the charger within months. Reporting more often, a weak signal or a very hot spot drains it faster, and once it is flat the whole tracker gets swapped out.
2. Can I see where it is in real time?
Not by default. It reports once a day so the battery lasts, and the app shows that daily location. If something moves, a text command starts live tracking for a set time, updating anywhere from every 30 seconds to every 5 minutes, which drains the battery much faster.
3. What does it cost to run?
Just your SIM plan. The tracking app is free and there is no monthly platform fee, so the tracker itself costs nothing more after you buy it. Choose a Micro SIM plan with SMS included, since you set the tracker up by text message.
4. Will it work inside a shed or garage?
Yes, in most sheds. Under a roof it switches from satellites to nearby WiFi or phone towers to work out where it is. A steel shed or a metal box around it can block the signal, so mount it top side up with no metal covering it.
5. Is it legal to put a GPS tracker on my own things?
Yes. Tracking your own gear is fine. Putting a tracker on a person, or on something someone else has, without their consent may break the law. If you lend your gear out, make sure the borrower knows about the tracker and is happy with it.
6. Where does my tracker's location data go?
Each check-in and alert goes out over your SIM's mobile connection to the online tracking service the tracker is linked to, and the free app shows it to you. That link is set by text during setup. Locations only wait on the tracker itself while it is out of range.
Lawful Use
This tracker is for keeping an eye on your own property. Using it to follow a person, or anything someone else is using, without their agreement can be against the law.
