Affordable tracker

[srbsq7]

After a spate of car thefts nearby, I had another look at the cost of trackers. Again, just put off by the upfront costs and annual subscription.

Had a look round for a cheaper alternative and came across this device. At only £49 and next day delivery from that well known online retailer, I thought I’d take the risk. There’s a few negative reviews but seem to be from people who live in areas with poor mobile coverage. Obviously this doesn’t offer the same level of protection as the more expensive options, but an alternative for those like me that are not willing to pay out that kind of money.

SpyTrack Nano - Order Online

Got to say, so far I’m really impressed. I just went for the £10, 1 month subscription initially but will for got the £85 annual when it runs out. Also purchased a bundle of 50 SMS messages for £15 so I could do text notifications in addition to email and alerts via the mobile app.

There is an option magnetic waterproof case that you could use for protecting other items. It looks like with my low mileage, I could get up to two weeks between charges. I’ve seen reviews where they were doing long distances and getting up to 3 days. I also dropped the update frequency from 30 seconds to 15 for more accuracy.

At the moment, I’ve just left it connected to the USB port in the armrest, so it’s recharging every time I use the car. If I’m leaving it somewhere I’m less sure about, I can quickly hide it knowing it’s got up to two weeks of battery.





In the app or on the website you can check real-time location (within 15 seconds) or history.



I have configured a few alerts:
1. Motion Detected - this alerts when the car exceeds 5mph. I leave the alert disabled until I want to leave the car.
2. Out of zone -Home - through the website, you can name and draw a zone round you home, work, car park or wherever. For home, the alert is enabled only during the night.

I defined the local train station but will probably just use the Motion Detected alert





Duration from last event set to 5 minutes means it will keep alerting.

[srbsq7]

In the iPhone (Android also available), you can do most of the functions you can do via the web. Only things I can’t seem to do is create a new zone or order SMS bundles.

You can check battery status



Update the tracking frequency



And enable / disable the alerts



On my iPhone, I’ve created a contact with the alerting email and sms phone number.

For email, I’ve added to the VIP list so you can amend the notifications.

For SMS, I’ve used a custom ringtone that is more alarm like and enabled Emergency Bypass which means it will make the sound even when Do Not Disturb is on typically at night.



Hope this is useful!

[satyp]

Hadn't realised.. But your explanations rung a bell.. Had saved this in my eBay watch list a long while ago..as have similar thoughts on premium and subscription based tracking b that's is sometimes also locked in to provider to track rather let you manage..

I kept thinking i had bought something similar.. need to check my purchase history

Currently £39

Thanks for the share.. Might even go ahead and use at some point

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Gazwould]

Professional tea leafs , aquire a car , park close by , and scan for and remove trackers !

Autowatch Ghost .

Do you have keyless entry ?

[Q7quattro]

No where near as sophisticated as the SpyTrack and very crude ,

I thought about buying an old cheap iPhone 5/6 - hiding it in the car ,leave it turned on but with screen off - making sure it’s being charged when the ignition is on - An iPhone 6 can last up to 10days in standby mode.

If car the gets taken , you log into “find my iPhone “ and you’ll get the location.

[srbsq7]

I agree, it won’t catch a professional but might work if it’s just some halfwits who have bought the key booster kit online.

Also would at least notify me in a few minutes that the car had moved rather than realising hours later (assuming they don’t scan before moving it).

I do have keyless access but keep keys in a metal drawer. New car has motion sensor on the key so turns off after a few minutes.

It’s not perfect by any means, but also dirt cheap. I would be miffed if a forked out a grand on a professional solution and it didn’t work

** meant to add. Although you can hardwire, this thing is small and can be used to protect all manner of things, not just vehicles. I reckon in the magnetic case it would fit underneath my mountain bike seat.

[Retom]

This is an interesting option. Easy to install and additionally protects stealing via OBD socked.

K-ELECTRONIC® | AUDI Echtzeit-Ortungssystem mit integriertem OBD Diebstahlschutz

[si_b]

Automatrics MTrack

AutomatricsSales