Review – Everyone in my family exchanges privacy for convenience. We all share our location with Google and each other, we have smart devices in our house to listen to us, and we will not deceive ourselves into thinking that our phones are not always tapping. When the Invoxia GPS tracker was under review, I picked it up to see if it did a better job than Google in locating my family.
What is it?
A compact and lightweight GPS tracker that uses LongFi and Helium networks to track location while consuming very little power.
What’s in the box?
Tracker, micro USB charging cable and quick start card
glasses:
Weight: 30 grams (about 6 nickel coins)
Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.1 x .4 inches
feature: · Positioning: WPS (Wi-Fi Positioning System), GPS connection: BT4.0 (BLE), helium network, certification: CE, FCC, UN38.3, material: ABS plastic, black anodized aluminum, gray leather, P33 Protective environment
Operating temperature range: 0°C to 40°C
Temperature range limit: -20°C to 60°C
Compatible with iOS 12.0 or later, compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch; Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or higher.
Security: secure storage and transmission of personal data
Warranty: 1 year
Design and features
As soon as I opened the box, I took a few photos of Gadgeteer and set it to charge. At the same time, I downloaded and installed the Invoxia application for setup. My initial impression of build quality is that the tracker looks very sturdy. It is made of metal and has a micro USB charging port on one end and a strap on the other end in case you want to connect it to something. I registered it and set the tracker on my husband’s car to start my virtual tracking.
The Invoxia LongFi GPS tracker provides unlimited range tracking (and no cellular charges) because it uses the Helium network, which is a peer-to-peer wireless network that connects the device to the Internet. The benefit of using this network is that it can run without a phone or Bluetooth connection, and it also provides excellent battery life. It takes about 90 minutes to charge the device, and it can run for one to six months without charging (depending on settings). The tracker comes with a three-year subscription to the Helium network, after which it will cost approximately $20 a year to stay connected.
I am very happy to try this gadget, but I did run into some troubles at first. Sometimes the tracker works well, but sometimes it stops communicating for a few hours for no reason. I don’t know why, but I contacted customer support and they quickly responded that because this tracker works on a developing network and has very low power consumption, when the Invoxia logo is facing up and avoiding direct contact, you can Use metals, magnets or electronic devices for better performance. My husband drives a Tesla, and I am pretty sure it is all magnets and electronic devices! In addition, according to the Helium website, I live in the Helium dead zone. During the month I tested the tracker, they improved the network in my area. So I’m not sure which thing fixed my tracker, but it started to work well in about half a month, and it has been performing well since then.It might be a good idea to check yours Helium cover If you are considering using this product and remember that the network is always improving.
So let’s talk about how this thing works and what you can do with it, because the first question my friends ask me is “Okay, but why do you need it?” I think this is a very Good question, if all this tracker does is tell you where the tracker is. But it has too many uses! First, if you are within Bluetooth range, you can use the app to locate the tracker. So this basically makes it similar to Tile or AirTag. The app will let you know how close you are to the tracker, and you can make it beep to help you find it. Yes, it is larger than AirTag, but AirTag relies on Find My network. If you are not in Bluetooth range, the network depends on nearby Apple devices or accessories. The tracker uses Helium, because I can’t see the coverage map of the Find My network, so I can’t be sure how they compare (it definitely depends on your location and the network coverage of the two networks). All I can say is that when I did not have the Helium service, my tracker worked quite well, and once the service in my area was upgraded, it was very reliable.
Some users purchase this tracker to use “Lojak”. The app allows you to define the radius and alert you via phone notifications when it leaves the area, detects motion, or even just tilts. It rarely needs to be recharged, you can install a small spare battery on it, hide it on the things you are worried about losing, it can be used for a long time. The site even had a recommendation letter from the person who connected it to the motorcycle, and received a theft alert and the tracker enabled recovery.
It can also be used to trigger a series of actions because it supports IFTTT automation. If you define a radius around areas such as home or work, when you use the tracker to go to work, you might perform a series of actions, such as smart lights and thermostats automatically adjusting themselves. In practice, I use all of my gadgets through Google or Alexa, so I don’t really need that specific function. However, I put the tracker in my husband’s car and delineated an area around his work so that when he starts to drive home, I will receive a text message. I don’t know when to start eating, unless he texts me, sometimes he forgets. Between the text and the notification when the tracker moves, I always know when he is off work.
They also advertise that there is an emergency button that you can press to send a text message to a friend or lover that you pressed the button (so you need help or whatever meaning you arrange for the button). The button is located on the back of the tracker and is very subtle-just a circular depression in the housing. This is a feature that also requires you to use IFTTT. Although I think this is a very good idea, some users of IFTTT say that if you don’t pay for their premium services, their system may be seriously lagging. If you rely on this button to alert someone in an emergency, there may be a problem. Personally, I didn’t experience too much delay, but I didn’t rely on IFTTT’s phone notifications to come faster.
The tracker maps where it has been and saves up to a year of data, all data is plotted by date and time. However, it is important to note that it is not an accurate map. In the above journey, we were driving on the highway, but the tracker only showed where it was when it was updated and a line was drawn between the two. As for accuracy, if you are within Bluetooth range, it is very accurate, but without that, I estimate the accuracy is within 50-100 feet. I think this is roughly the same as the Google location sharing used by my family. In the screenshot below, the tracker allows us to sit in better seats at the concert than it actually is (I have the tracker in my handbag).
what do I like
- IFTTT function
- Versatile
What will i change
- Wider helium coverage (but seems to be coming soon)
Final thoughts
Invoxia LongFi GPS Tracker is a small GPS tracking gadget that can be used for many purposes!
Price: USD 129
Where to buy: Invoxia store
source: The sample for this review is made by Invoria
