Using an old phone as a GPS Tracker

[Luke4efc]

So I'm after a better car soon and figured I probably don't want it to get nicked and disappear off into the sunset never to be seen again. Therefore decided to get myself a tracker (and I don't mean the chocolate chip type😂).

I'm not a fan of these GPS trackers that lock you into one company and you get all your alerts via SMS. Thought it might be best to take and old android phone and use google maps to track the location. I have a few spare sim cards that get 200mb of data for free every month without the need to top up so don't need to pay anything on a monthly basis.

Has anyone tried this before? If so what do you do about charging? Would I come back after the weekend to find my car battery has lost all its charge? Or will the phone use that little juice I could leave it for weeks and not notice?

[Luke4efc]

I guess nobody on here has then Haha.

[Deano12]

Sorry mate. I did read this but didn't have anything informative to contribute. I would say that having a phone plugged in all the time would drain the battery. I know GPS trackers use very little where as a phones charge rate even on standby would be quiet high.

Other option is a cheap Chinese one?

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[eddie eastwood]

Would I come back after the weekend to find my car battery has lost all its charge? Or will the phone use that little juice I could leave it for weeks and not notice?

 It would all depend on what the phone,s stand by time was after a full charge without having it on charge in the car.

Edited April 4, 2019 by eddie eastwood
more info

[Luke4efc]

Hehe thanks for the replys.

I though as much about the battery. I've seen you can get hardwire kits (mainly for dashcams) that include low voltage protection and also little PCB's that are Low Voltage Protectors that you install yourself.

In terms of a cheap unit other than a phone, I really don't want one that uses SMS to receive the location. I was kinda hoping to rely on my free data plan so I never have to worry about how much credit is left. If I could find something like that then I would 100% buy that instead of using an old phone.

[Deano12]

What's about this?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07GN21KMG/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just put your own sim in it?

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[Micro]

What company do you get the data from? I'd be interested in something similar (although using a 3G dongle with the head unit to achieve the same thing).

[Luke4efc]

That tracker looks good. Will have to install it somewhere better than the OBD port. That's the first thing thieves look at to try and start the car (without the key anyway obviously). It's currently on a lightning deal so only £30.

I got my sim from Three - link here.