Help with: GPS Watch Tracker

Make sure you have inserted the battery.

Press the upper left button, and hold it down. After a few seconds, the display should come to life with an intro screen and sound.

If you still can’t switch the Watch on, remove and reinsert the battery and try again.

If you still can’t switch the Watch on, maybe the battery is flat. Plug in the wall plug charger, insert the charging cable into the plug, and switch the plug on. Then insert the tracker end of the charging cable the black side facing the same direction as the watch display into the tracker. You should see a “charging” symbol after a few minutes.

Having waited a few minutes for the watch to gather some residual charge, try switching it on again by holding down the power button.

PLEASE NOTE: sometimes on first use, the watch can take a few attempts to switch on. This is only on first use.

When switching on the watch for the first time, its best to do so outside so it can find the GPS satellites. This can take a few minutes to do, so please be patient. On first use, it can take a little longer to locate the satellites. However, you should still get a text reply to 9880000 even if its a little delayed by searching for the satellites.

1) Make sure the tracker is switched on (may seem obvious, but sometimes you might be in a different place to the device).

2) Check that you are texting the correct number for the SIM inside of the tracker.

3) Check that the SIM has enough credit. You should log into your GiffGaff account (or whatever network you’re with) to check this. Please remember that network companies are separate to us – we can’t help with lost usernames and passwords etc.

4) Is the SIM installed properly? To check, hold down the bottom left button (settings). You should see “SOS Numbers” as a setting. If this is missing, then your SIM card isn’t being recognised. Please see the other relevant question in this section if you think that might be the case.

To check, hold down the bottom left button (settings). You should see “SOS Numbers” as a setting. If this is missing, then your SIM card isn’t being recognised.

Other symptoms may include “NO SIM” on the main display, or the device going straight to voicemail when you call it.

Do you have a network signal in your area for the SIM that you are using? This is worth checking if you’re not sure – e.g. by putting the SIM in a mobile phone just to check that it actually works and has a signal.

Sometimes, clumsy or incorrect installation of the SIM card can result in it not being recognised. This is why we pre-install the SIMs for customers who have one included with their order. There are two tiny black squares at the bottom of where the SIM sits, that the SIM is held behind. They keep it pressed in. If the SIM isn’t placed beneath these clips, but pushed on top instead, the pressure of the battery may then break the small plastic tabs. Being a bit loose, the SIM may then not touch the terminals correctly.

This is easily resolvable though – you just need a small piece of sticky paper to place over the SIM to keep it from moving around. You might also want to fold up a tiny piece of paper – say the size of a first class stamp folded over – to put between the SIM and the battery. This will help push the SIM onto the terminals when the battery is installed on top of it.

When switching on the watch for the first time, its best to do so outside so it can find the GPS satellites. This can take a few minutes to do, so please be patient. On first use, it can take a little longer to locate the satellites.

You may find that your reply to the location text gives “cannot get a valid location”, even if coordinates are showing on the watch display.

The watch has built in motion sensors, and the GPS chip will go into standby whenever the watch is stationary.

Its likely that you’re testing it whilst its resting on a table. For a real world test, it should be worn on a wrist where its going to be in motion (even if very small movements). You will then find that you get a location back.

The coordinates on the display use a different system – they use the last known location, and then modify the coordinates based on the motion of the watch. So its slightly less accurate than retrieving the actual GPS coordinates.

If you aren’t getting a location request and are concerned (e.g. its not a test), you can also send 6660000 to retrieve the calculated coordinates (the next best thing). They won’t be in the form of a Google map, but you can easily copy and paste the coordinates into Google Maps yourself to see the location on a map.

Please read the manual carefully, from start to finish. You will see that text commands need to be sent to the tracker, from a mobile phone. The text commands contain the # symbol, which you will have to locate on your mobile phone.

So you need to send text messages, from your mobile phone, to the number of the SIM card inside the Watch Tracker. Different text messages carry out different functionality on the tracker. In the examples in the manual, you will need to replace some variables, e.g. your own mobile number for setting up the main number.

This is likely an issue with the Google Maps app on phones – for some reason it may show the nearest street (and the middle of that street) rather than the actual coordinates location.

When first clicking on a maplink, your phone will ask how you wish to view it – via a browswer, or via the Google Maps app. If you select browser, then it will load up Google Maps in a browser which will show the accurate location based on the coordinates.

If you select the app instead, then it will show the nearest street. If you’ve chosen this in the past and selected “show this by default”, then your phone will no longer give you the option, it will just go straight to the app. To fix this, you’ll need to find the “Default Apps” setting, under “Settings” on your phone.

If the watch cannot locate a good GPS signal, then it will report the last reported location instead. You can notice this from the time and date accompanying the location in the text message.

If you switched the watch on indoors, then it may not have located the GPS satellites. Its best to switch on outside, then leave the watch switched on. It can then be charged daily whilst left on.

We advise to set a minimum radius of about 100m for geofencing.

If you happen to get false alarms whilst the person is indoors, this might be why:

1) The tracker gets more accurate the longer its left on

When you use the Tracker for the first time, it searches for the satellites, and needs a minimum of three to get an accurate location. As times goes on, it will acquire more and more of the overhead satellites (there are a total of 24 orbiting the earth), and be able to quicker recognise them as they go in and out of view. So accuracy increases with time – having switched it on for the first time very recently, it may not have had sufficient chance to get to that optimal level yet.

2) Indoors, the signal can be less accurate, resulting in drifting

When indoors, a clear view of enough satellites isn’t always feasible. This results in drifting, where inaccuracy can occur. This is why we recommend a minimum of 100 meter radius for geofencing – and hopefully you shouldn’t then get too many false alarms.

Our advice –

– Allow about 2 days from initially setting up, for the tracker to lock onto all the satellites.
– If you do get a geofence alert, send a 9880000 command to just double check the location again, before shooting out to check.

This is more-than-likely going to be an error with how the numbers are manually entered into Google Maps. If one digit is wrong, then the location will be very inaccurate.

Make sure you put a minus sign before the latitude or longitude, if appropriate, depending on the coordinate response you get back from your tracker. For example, if the coordinates show W for latitude, then that would be a minus sign before the coordinate. Do follow the example in the manual if you’re unclear.

If you aren’t getting anything on the screen when charging, then there could be a few reasons. Lets try and test each one in turn.

Check the obvious things first – that the plug is switched on, and the lead correctly connected.

Is the battery just really flat?

When the battery is absolutely flat, it will take a few moments to get enough residual charge to show you that its charging. After a few minutes, press the power button on the watch whilst the charging lead is connected (and the plug switched on) – you might then see the charging symbol light up. Keep checking back until you get the “charging complete” symbol.

Is it a fault with the battery?

There is a spare battery in your box. Carefully remove the back panel by sliding it off, remove the battery, re-install the replacement, then carefully slide the back cover back across (please be careful with this – if your Watch has been in use for a while, it may be a little difficult to remove the back panel, so be gentle with it).

Repeat the charging process, and see if it now charges. Remember after removing the battery that you will need to switch it on outside or on a window ledge to get the GPS satellites to lock on again.

Is it a fault with the plug?

Connect the charging lead into the USB port of your computer instead of the plug – with your computer on, see if you get the charging symbol that way (you may need to wait a few minutes, and briefly press the power button on the watch to get the charging symbol show up). If you need a new plug, they can be cheaply sourced via Ebay, although we recommend you avoid the triangular ones (we’ve heard they can have issues). You can also let us know via the contact page if you need a charger, but ours are more expensive to purchase and send (due to the size).

Has all of the above failed?

Unfortunately, it may then be the case that the USB charging port on the watch has suffered damage. This can happen if the lead is plugged in the wrong way round, or something else has tampered with the pins. If you look carefully, you should be able to see if the pins are all lined up in a neat little line (you may need a magnifying glass!) If you see any pins bent back or missing, then unfortunately its been damaged. We may be able to offer a discounted replacement unit.

Here you can see a damaged USB port, above a healthy one. Its always a shame to see a damaged USB port.

Alternatively, the device may be water damaged or damaged in another way.

The green light shows when the charger is charging the GPS Tracker. If the green light goes out, then it means the tracker is fully charged.

Make sure the the black side of the USB charger is facing UP – putting this in the wrong way round can irreversibly damage the charging port on the watch.

If you’ve charged it correctly, and you’re not getting

– a red light on the plug, and/or
– a green light on the plug when the tracker is connected

…then your charging plug may have developed a fault.

How to test its not a fault with the Tracker itself – and an alternate way to charge in the meantime

To make sure its the plug and not a fault with the Tracker itself, connect your tracker and its lead to the USB port of your PC/laptop. You should see the “charging pump” animation on the Tracker for a few seconds to indicate its charging. Leave it like this for a few hours. This is an ideal way to charge your Tracker whilst waiting for a replacement plug.

Don’t forget the spare battery

If you’re having charging issues and think the battery may be at fault, then try the replacement battery instead. Remember when re-installing batteries, that you’ll have to switch the watch on again outside to allow the GPS signal to be acquired.

Replacement plugs

Replacement plugs can be cheaply sourced via Ebay, although we recommend you avoid the triangular ones (we’ve heard they can have issues).

You can also purchase from us, via the section just below.

Do not under any circumstances try to use a similar looking lead, even if it looks identical (e.g. some camera leads) – they will damage the pins inside the charging port.

However, if you wish to buy from us, you are welcome to do so via this purchase button. [/one_third] [one_third]

When the tracker has successfully located the GPS satellites, it will update the time and date. If the hour is an hour out (because of daylight savings time) then you can adjust this manually. Press and hold the lower left button until the menu shows on the display. Press the “SOS” button to scroll down to the Time Adjust option. Press “Call2” to select. You can then increase or decrease the hour (using Call2 and SOS button), and select with “Call2”.

You can also do this remotely, via text, by texting 8960000W01 to go back an hour (from GMT) or 8960000E01 to go forward an hour.

Log into your GiffGaff account

Select “My Profile and Settings” (just to the right of My Account, on the options list to the right of where you can see your phone number)

Find the option “Balance Notifications” just under “Phone Settings”

Change this to “Off”

You need a SIM card inside of the tracker because they function like mini mobile phones. More details can be found here. You can order a SIM from here.

GiffGaff, or the SIM network you choose, is a completely separate third-party company from us. Any issues relating to network signals, accounts, lost SIMs etc should be researched directly via their website.

Some useful links for GiffGaff:
Forgotten Username or Password
Lost SIM card (if the tracker is lost and you wish to cancel the SIM/reorder a replacement, requires log in first)
Service Updates (requires log in first)

This is intentional. You cannot have the display permanently active. This to to ensure maximum battery duration, as the display uses energy.

Meters above sea level and kilometers per hour.

When you text 5550000 to the tracker, it will call the “Main Number” with the microphone enabled.

As explained in the manual, the main number is set up with #710#mobile number#0000##

For remote listening to work, you need to enter your mobile number without the first zero.

E.g. #710#7786444444#0000##

Please note, if you want to then use the geo-fencing function, you will need to re-enter this command with the first zero back in.

The sampling interval refers to how often the Watch Tracker “checks” to see whether its in or outside of the geo-fence area. If set for 5 minutes for example, then every five minutes the watch will compare its current location to the geo-fence location, to know whether or not to sent the alert text. The smaller the sampling interval, the quicker you’ll know when the geo-fence has been breached. But also, the smaller the interval, the “busier” the watch will be, and so battery life will be slightly reduced.

Click here to set up online tracking.

If you follow the guide (above) correctly, it will work – look closely to see what you might be doing wrong. Here are some common mistakes:

• You haven’t enabled online tracking by sending #904## to your Tracker’s SIM.
• Your SIM card doesn’t allow data (if you used a GiffGaff SIM then this isn’t going to be a problem).
• You selected a device type other than “Easyroad Technology GT98”.
• You didn’t put 0000 as the device password, you put some other password.
• You made a mistake in the APN text message (Step 2).
• You made a mistake in the Server IP text message (Step 3).
• You haven’t put in the correct IMEI number – check your location texts (the IMEI is at the end of a location text) and double check you entered it correctly.
• You forgot to put “+44” before your phone number in the settings.

We wrote this neat little guide to get your online tracking working better on a Smart Phone (Android, Blackberry, iPhone etc). Although, you can always just text the device too for a location.

Its absolutely minimal – over the course of a month, it will only amount to just a few megabytes. The £5 goodybag from GiffGaff gives 20mb per month, which is more than enough to cover online tracking.