When your device is not connected to your Fi Base, Wi-Fi, or the Fi App (via your mobile phone), it will connect via GPS or Cellular network.
How GPS and Cellular Work
Fi uses GPS and cellular in tandem. Once the device receives a signal from GPS to determine its location, it uses cellular connectivity to transmit your pet's location information to your Fi App.
GPS and cellular should only be utilized when your pet is outdoors and unattended, in situations when your pet is lost or roaming outside independently.
You'll want to avoid GPS and cellular as the main source of tracking for a few reasons:
- GPS quickly drains the device's battery.
- GPS and cellular are inaccurate for tracking day-to-day activities, such as walks. When the device uses GPS and is not utilizing Lost Mode, it reports a location about once every 5 minutes by default. This conserves battery power for when you need it, such as if your pet is lost. You can adjust how often your Fi Device reports using GPS Rate, described below.
If your pet is lost, you'll want to activate Lost Mode to speed up GPS and cellular updates.
Adjusting How Often Your Fi Device Reports (GPS Rate)
GPS Rate lets you choose how often your Fi Device reports your pet's GPS location while they are out and about. You can find it on the live map using the quick action button.
GPS Rate offers two settings:
- Smart GPS (default and recommended): the intelligent GPS behavior described above, which balances accurate locations with battery life.
- Custom or Live: you choose how often your Fi Device reports, from once every 1 minute to once every 8 minutes.
A few things to know about how GPS Rate works:
- GPS Rate applies only when your pet is on GPS or cellular, which happens when they are away from home. When your pet is home on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, GPS Rate has no effect.
- GPS Rate applies only while the Fi App is in the background. When the app is open and in the foreground, your pet's location is always live.
- GPS Rate is available to household owners only, not caretakers, similar to Location History.
Live Tracking is not the same as Lost Mode. Live Tracking changes how often your pet's location reports during normal use. Lost Mode is built for when your pet is missing. It runs continuously, sends periodic location notifications, and lets you start a Search Party.
If you turn on Lost Mode, it takes over from your GPS Rate setting while it is active. When you turn Lost Mode off, your GPS Rate setting picks back up where you left it. If your Fi Device reaches a low battery, GPS Rate resets to Smart GPS.