Just checked the data used in 24 hours. On 3G, 1.23mb. Lovely stuff! With a data allowance of 200mb per month with the free complementary SIM from Talktalk - ideal!

Does the data only count downloads and not uploads? I think it's usually like that, and with the phone just working as a tracker you'd think it wouldn't need to download much.

Being Android, you can disable all of the other apps too (the standard ones that come pre-installed).

Being Android, you can disable all of the other apps too (the standard ones that come pre-installed).

I've already disabled all the "sync" except the location service. Plus the email address was solely created to link to the phone-tracker. Nothing will sync as I use a completely different Gmail address for my email/calendar/apps/etc which is linked to my LG G2

Disabling the apps also prevents them running in the background - should extend battery life too

interresting, a tracker system came with the purchase of my insurance. I was very surprised at how accurate the system is, showing me all sorts of data by logging into their web site like:

avg. speed travelled per day/month/year

brakeing harshly

exact time within seconds when car was started/stopped

It uses Google to show were exactly I have travelled and were the car is at any given time.

To this day I have no idea were exactly they installed the tracker and what the damn thing looks like, but at least I know its working as it should.

Negatives about it is, I can't go race my car around a track without the inssurance knowing were I have been, which in my case doesn't bother me mutch

Disabling the apps also prevents them running in the background - should extend battery life too

Nice tip. I'll have a fiddle later.

UPDATE:

After 5 days of use, the battery was at 11% when I checked this morning - that was on a 3G connection. Plus the amount of data used was just under 13mb for 5 days.

I'm going to do another full charge this morning, and turn off the 3G (just leave GSM only activated). Just to see how many days the battery will last, possibly a little longer?

So far, so good. I am able to locate device via "Android Device Manager", and also the "Google map location history" leaves a lovely trail of where I have been travelling in the Fiesta.

I've been trying to sort out some Internet myself... O2 are irritating lol and everyone else wants to charge about a tenner a month. I'm waiting for some more services like samba to come along, or waiting till BT offer some mobile Internet. It's a good deal you for with the free Vodafone I must admit.

I've been trying to sort out some Internet myself... O2 are irritating lol and everyone else wants to charge about a tenner a month. I'm waiting for some more services like samba to come along, or waiting till BT offer some mobile Internet. It's a good deal you for with the free Vodafone I must admit.

Check out Giffgaff. They're offering a Gigabag for £5 [500mb data]

https://giffgaff.com/goodybags/500mb-mobile-broadband

Must admit I have deep pockets and exceptionally short arms. I must admit I just want a couple hundred for a couple of quid. Better still I want it free. I miss the days of samba where I could burn time watching ads and all of a sudden I have hundreds of meg of data...

Stop being so tight fisted! Lol

Haha, I'm peeved though. My o2 contract gives me 2gb per month they told me I could share it with any other payg o2 sim and that didn't work lol. For me though almost all my monthly money is accounted for so I don't really want to pay more for it lol. I'm keeping my eye open for freedom pop they are a completely free provider over in the states and are supposed to be coming to Europe too...

Haha, I'm peeved though. My o2 contract gives me 2gb per month they told me I could share it with any other payg o2 sim and that didn't work lol. For me though almost all my monthly money is accounted for so I don't really want to pay more for it lol. I'm keeping my eye open for freedom pop they are a completely free provider over in the states and are supposed to be coming to Europe too...

A free mobile phone network? That sounds a bit too much like a film I saw recently, and that didn't end well lol. I've got unlimited data with 3, but they seem to be phasing that out, making it more expensive probably cos a lot of people are taking advantage of their unlimited 4G (I only have 3G but still use serveral GB per month thanks to Youtube). Still I would have to get a separate sim for a tracker and I'd have to pay for a separate contract I think.

Yeah, contracts are so niche for giving customers the best deals, but thanks like tracker service SIMS just haven't taken off here. Really for 250mb of data per month they could easily charge 1.50 or something nominal. If o2 data sharer would have worked I could have just split my bundle with the sim card and been running but you can only share data with another contract device...

It would be good if there was a pay as you go data sim for this kind of thing. I worked out even at 10p per MB it would only cost about £8 per month at the amount of data Lee's phone is using, and it should be cheaper than that anyway.

It would be good if there was a pay as you go data sim for this kind of thing. I worked out even at 10p per MB it would only cost about £8 per month at the amount of data Lee's phone is using, and it should be cheaper than that anyway.

Ahem!

https://giffgaff.com/goodybags/500mb-mobile-broadband

... there we are, hardly any data used. The phone is literally just sat in the car!

Ahem!

https://giffgaff.com/goodybags/500mb-mobile-broadband

Nice, that's probably the cheapest for a decent amount of data. Could be even cheaper though if it was pay per MB. Do you know if TalkTalk is the only network that gives you an extra sim for free?

Nice, that's probably the cheapest for a decent amount of data. Could be even cheaper though if it was pay per MB. Do you know if TalkTalk is the only network that gives you an extra sim for free?

Got no idea i'm afraid. But this "FREE" sim offer kept popping up every time I logged into my account. But as i'm already with THREE, I didn't need it. So had put it off until I thought about the idea of hiding a phone in the Fiesta. Came in handy at the right time.

Also the phone data count is pretty accurate. Logged into my Talktalk, and it shows 14mb of data has been used. Win, win!

Got no idea i'm afraid. But this "FREE" sim offer kept popping up every time I logged into my account. But as i'm already with THREE, I didn't need it. So had put it off until I thought about the idea of hiding a phone in the Fiesta. Came in handy at the right time.

Also the phone data count is pretty accurate. Logged into my Talktalk, and it shows 14mb of data has been used. Win, win!

Is that with TalkTalk broadband? I thought you meant their mobile network, which is TalkMobile isn't it? I think my brother has TalkTalk so maybe I can get a free sim from him :)

interresting, a tracker system came with the purchase of my insurance. I was very surprised at how accurate the system is, showing me all sorts of data by logging into their web site like:

avg. speed travelled per day/month/year

brakeing harshly

exact time within seconds when car was started/stopped

It uses Google to show were exactly I have travelled and were the car is at any given time.

To this day I have no idea were exactly they installed the tracker and what the damn thing looks like, but at least I know its working as it should.

Negatives about it is, I can't go race my car around a track without the inssurance knowing were I have been, which in my case doesn't bother me mutch

It's most likely plugged into your obd port that's in the the cubby hole to the right of the steering wheel

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

Is that with TalkTalk broadband? I thought you meant their mobile network, which is TalkMobile isn't it? I think my brother has TalkTalk so maybe I can get a free sim from him :)

I'm a Talktalk plus customer, hence the free contract SIM card ;)

Off the back of this I have two potential other options:

1) http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/broadband-sat-nav-phones/mobile-phones-broadband/mobile-broadband/knowhow-mobile-broadband-3-in-1-starter-sim-10088330-pdt.html

buy that, pay £25 quid now and get a years worth of tracking (up to 1gb data free every month)

or

2) (the option I have gone for) get a 3 sim card from the 99p store, paying 1p per megabyte of data. I can tinker with the settings on the phone to get the least amount of data transfer for the maximum tracking, I might just stick it on as one update every minute, as the app I am looking at would allow me to then change the settings.

Alternatively, I could disable tracking, and leave everything ready to go, and if I find an issue with the car missing or it goes to a garage, I could then use the mobile web to take control of my phone as if I was using it, and then enable the tracking service that way.

Either way, I am hoping I might have a tracker soon enough, and without wanting to steal Lee's thunder, if I can get it working well, I too will post a guide on how to achieve it!

I am hoping in the meantime that BT will start giving me free mobile internets when they bring out a standard mobile sim deal for customers, or, hopefully by that point, a free internet supplier will come along (freedom pop) or perhaps even facebook will bring out their free internet, which may allow this to be used also.

Who knows! Anyway, I will keep you guys in the loop with my progress as well, and if it all works well, I will do a guide on it also.

Has anyone tried and tested the OBD tracker as its hidden away on the fiesta,like signal for gps and does they work.

Also does they fit as its behind the coin tray,i want more of a logger than a tracker.

The alternative is to install a y splitter for obd and use both