Subscriber Discussion

Child GPS / Security Tracker - What Works?

U
Undisclosed #1
Apr 18, 2017

Anyone have any ideas about GPS / security tracker for children, i.e., if a child wanders off.

I see things online / Amazon but none of them have terribly great reviews or standout, e.g., watches or wearable widgets. Anyone have any idea how well they work and how willing kids are to wear them, etc.?

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John Bazyk
Apr 18, 2017
Command Corporation • IPVMU Certified

I get questions like this all the time and haven't found anything that works. 

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U
Undisclosed #2
Apr 18, 2017

I have not personally tested any but I have researched them a lot and read lots and lots of online reviews.  I agree that the reviews on Amazon for these devices are pretty uniformly bad.  Almost all of these devices have reviewers complaining about difficult setup, slow response times when using the phone app to locate the child (sometimes hours), poor location accuracy (sometimes off by a mile or more), and poor battery life (sometimes dying after just a few hours).

Also, almost all of the child tracking devices that I researched use 2G GSM cellular.  Aren't most carriers shutting down their 2G GSM networks?

If the reviews are to be believed, these tracking devices might do more harm than good.  They might give parents a false sense of security, leading them to be lax in keeping track of their child.  If (God forbid) the child actually goes missing, the GPS tracking device will likely turn out to be mostly useless in finding the child.

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John Bazyk
Apr 18, 2017
Command Corporation • IPVMU Certified

No matter what, you need to find one that uses both GPS and Cellular, it's the only way to get reliable real-time information. There's a lot of good asset trackers out there, but they're too big to be worn. They could easily go in a backpack or something, but then they're not on the kid anymore. I bet we will see some good things come out in the next year or two now that Apple Watch and some of the other activity trackers are using GPS in a smaller more compact package.  

U
Undisclosed #2
Apr 18, 2017

Of the research I did, the only one that seemed to have good reviews was Angle Sense, which is a service geared toward parents with autistic kids.  It's expensive though, at $150 for the tracker and about $45 per month for their tracking service.  Certainly that is worthwhile for special needs kids that are at higher risk of wandering off.

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Brian Karas
Apr 18, 2017
IPVM

 

If you want a turn-key solution, you probably want to look for mPERS devices, and find a monitoring company with a decent subscription plan. Many will subsidize the cellular part by reselling that service and rolling it all into one plan, but you'll pay ~$30-$50/mo.

If your needs are more sporadic (family outings, etc.), you can find some systems that let you get updates via text messages (you send a message to the device, and it responds with location and/or you can put it in a mode where it auto-updates at some interval). Then all you need is the cellular plan (I found h2o wireless to be the most cost-effective pay-as-you-go plan here). You can also assign a geo fence to the device based on its current location, and some allow you to also get alerts if the device exceeds a speed limit (such as in a child being abducted and taken away in a car/etc.)

An issue with the DIYish approach is that you have lag time for sending/receiving text messages at times, and if you have an actual emergency, juggling your phone to send/receive texts and calling police/etc. could be a bit cumbersome/stressful.

As you mention, getting the kids to wear the device could be an issue, and if you are worried about abduction-type events, the devices are going to be fairly obvious (and thus likely removed).

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Rob Hammond
Apr 18, 2017
IPVMU Certified

If you want something that will point you in the direction of your child that is good out to several hundred yards, you might consider the Marco Pollo tracker for dogs.  I use one on  my German Shepard and have tracked the dog over hill and dale in the woods for up to at least a quarter mile.  Not as good as a GPS, but if your looking to locate a small child lost while camping or in a mall, this is a cost effective product.  there are no subscription fees, the device works for days on a single charge and comes with small radio direction finder.  the transponder is small enough to fit in a pocket or clip to a belt. 

Hunters use these things to recover their dogs, by driving on the road near their hunting ground until they pick up a signal on their RDF.

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JC
Jesse Crawford
Apr 18, 2017
OpenEye

Verizon has this LG Watch Gizmolo Pal for sale.

It has decent reviews, and shouldn't cost much to add to a plan.  

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Craig Mc Cluskey
Apr 19, 2017

The LG watch and dog tracker are good ideas. Certainly for a toddler, one could attach a harness to the child which would hold the tracker in the middle of his/her back. An older child might be intrigued by the watch.

Just today, I got an email about trackers for trucks. I wanted to attach the two PDF sell sheets, but could not figure out how to do that.

The first tracker looks and functions like a standard 4" truck tail light. It's web page is on Anytrek's website  but the pictures are quite small. The website says it's

  • Simple to install, simple to use
  • Ultimate covert truck/trailer tracker
  • Uses 3G network for superior coverage
  • Replaces your existing tail light
  • Economical, reliable, effective

I don't know what their definition of economical is, but it does have an internal battery which could be separately charged.

The website also lists a "Pet Tracker" at another page. It, however, has precious little information. Perhaps their marketing model requires direct contact.

 

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JH
John Honovich
Jun 29, 2017
IPVM

Jiobit, a startup that raised $3 million early this year, is targeting this space, see embedded video below:

Evidently, not planning to ship until December 2017.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Jun 30, 2017

If your child has a cellphone I would check with your carrier about getting a tracking app installed on the phone. It doesn't sound like you don't need anything covert and most kids will want to carry their cellphones. 

AT&T FamilyMap Overview 

 

 

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