Global Positioning System (GPS) devices have become a common accessory in automobiles. With the rise of GPS, anyone can easily purchase a device online. If you are confused with this modern technology, and you would often ask, how do I know if my car has GPS tracking, then do not fret. We will do our best and walk you through the different steps you have to take to find out if your car has this technology.
Before GPS is used by private investigators to keep track of their persons of interest but now it is utilized by the general population and even companies. Whether you are using a private vehicle or a company car, it is important to know the different inspections for GPS tracker identifications.
The Front Bumper. While it’s certainly true that the front bumper is a less-than-ideal location for a. Most trackers link to GPS satellites, and won't function deep under your car where metal blocks the connection. Focus on the perimeter of the underside, looking for suspicious boxes, taped-on objects, and antennas. If you see something odd, give it a light tug. Most tracking devices are magnetic and will detach easily. Another common place where GPS trackers are placed is on the undercarriage. To check the undercarriage, use a mirror and an extendable pole. You can go the old-fashioned way and kneel down to inspect the undercarriage. Be wary as the device might be dirty and would not easily be spotted. Placing the GPS tracker under the car is the ideal location, because the tracker will receive the GPS satellite signal as it bounces off the road and hits the case. Placing a tracker inside the vehicle anywhere will cause poor satellite reception, because the.
If you are concerned that someone might be keeping tabs on you and monitoring your movements with the use of a GPS, the first step is to look or inspect the exterior of your vehicle. Now, monitoring devices have different designs and models. Thus, it is best you familiarize yourself by looking up common models and its respective features. This way when you inspect your car you can easily recognize the device.
General Exterior Inspection
If the device is used to keep track or monitor your movements without your knowledge, then it is most likely to be hidden. For a GPS to be effective, it has to be placed in a position that it can withstand the weather but can still pick up a good signal. So where should you start your inspection?
Wheel wells. With the aid of a flashlight, check the front and rear wheel wells. For areas that cannot easily be inspected, you may try to use your hands and feel if there are any devices attached.
Undercarriage. Another common place where GPS trackers are placed is on the undercarriage. To check the undercarriage, use a mirror and an extendable pole. You can go the old-fashioned way and kneel down to inspect the undercarriage. Be wary as the device might be dirty and would not easily be spotted.
Bumpers. Bumpers may not be an ideal location to hide GPS trackers, but it is possible to do so especially if there are ample spaces available. It is best that you check it too.
Under the hood. Although this is an unlikely place to store GPS trackers because it is susceptible to high temperature, it can still be a possible location. Make sure that you check the corners and sides under the hood to ensure that no device is hidden.
General Interior Inspection
How do I know if my car has GPS tracking? This seems like a simple question, but surprisingly not a lot of people know what to do. When you have done your exterior inspection, then it is time to move on to the interior inspection. We have enumerated the things you should look out for when doing your general interior inspection.
Dashboard. Even if there are a lot of sophisticated GPS tracking models, there are also those made simple. For example, some trackers can be placed on the data port that is located on the dashboard. If this is the case, you will see a black box. To remove, simply disconnect or pull it out.
Trunk. Often, the trunk can be overlooked as a location of the GPS tracker. Well, surprisingly this is a good hiding place for such device. Do not forget to check the trunk and the spare tire compartment. Also, double check every inch of the space as there are lots of nooks and crannies that can be used.
Seats. Another hiding place is under the seat covers. Inspect the seats and check for anything that seems out of the ordinary or misplaced. Check for bulges where the device might be placed. If you are using a seat cover, make sure to turn it upside down to ensure that no GPS tracker is placed inside.
Well before you ask again the question of how do I know if my car has GPS tracking, we will cover one more way to determine the presence of a GPS tracker on your vehicle.
Use Technology to its Advantage
As we are looking for a modern device, why not use technology to find out the presence of a GPS tracker? You can use a sweeper to identify the presence of a tracking device.
Most of the time, you can buy a sweeper online or at surveillance stores. There are many different kinds available, but a simple one that can detect radio frequencies is usually enough.
A sweeper is very easy to use. Just turn it on and move slowly around the vehicle. Point the sweeper to places that you think may conceal a tracking device. If the sweeper picks up any radio frequencies, it will usually beep or light up. The sounds emitted by the sweeper may vary depending on the strength of the signal it detects.
Last Resort: Professional Help
Now if you have done every recommendation above but you are still not sure. The final resort is to hire professional help. There are some who offer their services to make a thorough inspection of your car for a small fee. This is advisable if you are not keen to do the inspection yourself. It will also give you a peace of mind because you know it is being handled by professionals.
Found a Tracking Device? What To Do?
If you do happen to find a tracking device in your car, do not panic. You can easily remove the device without the need for a professional help. Make sure that it is not connected to any wires from your vehicle. Gently pull it out or give it a good tug to remove. Keep the device as evidence or file a proper report to the authorities.
How Do I Know if My Car has GPS Tracking: Final Thoughts
In the end, whether you are paranoid or just being cautious there is nothing wrong with checking your vehicle for GPS devices. Just remember to start with the obvious place which is the exterior of the car. You can then move on to check the interior. Lastly, if you are still in doubt, take advantage of the advantages that modern technology has to offer–use a sweeper.
We all have this bad time when any moveable property gets lost due to so many reasons, let’s say theft or forgetting where we parked it. This can happen with everyone that you most probably forgot where you parked the car or somebody misplaced the car. Considering such issues, we will be certainly in need of help to find out where it is parked actually. Precisely, we all want to know some tricks and tips to help ourselves track our cars. With the advancement of technology, it has become too easy to discover the lost car.
Thus, we can track our cars by using technology or software to know about the auto’s location. This piece will entail about the fact “How to Track the Car Using the Subsequent Technology”
Utilizing the Built-In GPS of Your Car
So, the first of three ways to track the location of your car is to utilize the GPS device that is already built and installed inside the car’s navigation system. Interestingly, this attribute is now found in every new model manufactured cars.
It helps a lot the driver who has lost his/her car. It also does not cost a person since you will not need to buy one.
What You Need to do to Track the Car?
First, you need a device to connect to the Internet so that you can log into the website (GPS Tracking Platform).
Secondly, you will be requested to roll during the starting login phase. In this way, you can track the location of your car.
Notably, not every other car has this feature. Those cars with this attribute have higher costs which are not affordable by everyone.
Utilizing a Mobile Phone
Best Place To Put A Gps Tracker Under A Car
The second way includes the usage of the mobile. It will not cost you too much but one should be efficient enough to regulate the automobile’s location.
You need to download the app for Car tracking from the play store and install it. This is the initial stage.
Worthwhile, you do not require buying any smartphone unless the GPS and cellular network coverage functions properly. Similarly, you can also buy a prepaid phone but need to assure if its data plan is enough worthy to function properly in order to track the vehicle.
In addition, the more you use this tracking platform, the more exact is the location service. Thus, your cell phone should have these three things i.e. GPS, wireless, and good cellular connectivity. This will aid in the correctness of tracking the exact location of the vehicle.
Most importantly, you need to own such a phone which must have good battery life since the turning on of the GPS and Internet drains away from the battery quickly. Now when you have considered good battery life, it is time to consider other things like GPS Tracker Apps.
There are few apps that can help you i.e. Accutracking, Google Maps for Mobile, Instamapper, and Spysat alongside Famisafe. The GMM and Instamapper are free of cost platform whilst the Accutracking needs monthly payment.
What Will the Car Tracker App Require?
It has a registration procedure to complete
New Account Creation
Creation of login details in order to use its different features easily.
Supplying Mobile phone details that will be used as GPS trackers.
Best Car Gps Tracker
How to Track the Car Using Mobile Phone?
You can track it down by placing your phone in the car in any place where it is not visible at all. You can even put it inside the dashboard or under the seat. It has to remain hidden.
How Can you Keep the Battery Running?
It is one of the critical steps. You can keep the mobile phone GPS Tracker running through connecting the charging cable to the wires that head to the 12-volt cigarette lighter. Whilst, other people link mobile to the battery of the car in order to charge.
In contrary to all these processes, you can help yourself through disconnecting the mobile as you reach home. Also, you can charge it for the next time just to track your car.
In the enclosure, you can track your car with the personal mobile inside the car while operating from somewhere else. For example, you can log in to your GPS tracking platform’s website and enter your details. In this way, you can trace the location of your vehicle while utilizing the menus on the website properly.
Utilize a GPS Tool
Anki tech. Sometimes, it is very tricky to use the phone as a GPS tracker that is why we have proposed a third way to track your car through using GPS Tool. It is a small but very effective tool.
Placing A Gps Tracker Under A Car Camera
Okay, suppose you have lost your car in the parking lot then you can use this Tile’s newly launched tool. It has several attributes among which the Bluetooth functionality is most probably beneficial. It has a range of 200 feet. However, you can change its range through being part of the Tile users’ community.
Set a time to automatically shutdown, sleep, restart or wake your Mac OS X computer. On your Mac, choose Apple menu Shut Down. If you don’t want app windows that are open to reopen when your Mac restarts, deselect “Reopen windows when logging back in.”. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black. Some computers also don’t. Choose a day or group of days from the pop-up menu, then enter a time. Schedule a sleep, restart, or shutdown time for your Mac: Select the “Sleep, restart, or shut down” checkbox and choose the appropriate option from the pop-up menu on the left. Choose a day or group of days from the pop-up menu on the right, then enter a time.
You can quickly force-close everything by tapping the Option + Command + Esc keys, and then clicking “Force Close” next to an app’s name. Close your MacBook Pro to put it into sleep mode. Standard Shutdown. This is the most common way to shut down your computer and is used.
The disadvantage of Bluetooth is that it does not have an unlimited range. That is why it is advised to utilize other small tools of GPS alongside other Geo Location platforms. They have got longer battery life. Interestingly, it can be used for the other 14 days excluding the problems of connecting to a power source.
But, you will still need a computer or phone to log into the website of these tools. In this way, you can trace the location of the car.
Placing A Gps Tracker Under A Car Battery
Conclusively, it is too simple to track the location of cars since you only require GPS tools, tracking platforms, and internet connection. You have to take care of all the essentials since these are the key role player in finding out the location of your car.