gps phone tracking advice required
 

I've heard it's possible to set up phone tracking so that you can keep track of where the kids are at any given time. Given Osem Jnr #2's vulnerabilities, I'm wondering if such a service might be useful for us in the event that he got lost while out and about.

I'd be very grateful if someone could explain (or point me in the direction of a not too tecchie explanation) of how this works and how to set it up. Just to point out that he can't use a phone, it'd be something we'd hope to set up and switch on just when we're out and about. He wandered off in a busy shopping centre once some years ago and gave us the biggest fright! It's not something we'd like to repeat and obviously we worry greatly about his safety.

Cheers.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

If it's an Android you just need to enable Location Services on your Google Account, then go to https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0 and it should show up there.

It's been a while since I used it but I always found it to work well.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

It would be an android phone but not mine. I'm assuming we'd need to give him a suitable Android phone (one of our old ones) and enable it in some way. Just confused about what I need to set up and how.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

AFAIK the phones are enabled by default but if not depending on which model it is the setting up is pretty simple such as going in to Settings and finding where the Location part is.

Once that's done you just going on to the link above, sign in and it should start showing up.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

hi i use cerberusapp.com

allows you to do a number of things from gps location to reading the last 20 sms sent and recived

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Thanks guys. All we really need is to know where he is in real time (or as recently as is possible) so we can find him if he gets lost.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

google+ has it under 'locations' you can add family members, similar to how the old lattitudes worked, it's simple enough, you do need to keep gps on though for an accurate reading.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Never heard of Google plus or lattitudes but will look into it. Thanks.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Here's google+ in playstore

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...roid.apps.plus

Lattitudes is discontinued. Both are google products. Not 3rd party add ons

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

If the location service is on the phone then all you have to do is log on to the Google play website with the account the the phone is registered with and go to my devices and you can request the current location.

you can even get the location history displayed via google maps and it will show where the phone has been over a number of days weeks etc.

J

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

That would work if Osem has the child's Google account details and password?

If you do, this would be the link to go to.

https://www.google.com/android/devic...r?hl=en_GB&u=0

You would need to enable it on the child's phone though first.

Here's how to.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/go...evice-manager/

I still prefer to use Google+ location though, as I have the whole family in, and we can all see where we are at any given time.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

None of the above services work in real-time.

Many Samsung phones have additional functionality built in to do this, on other phones some have it also and some need an app.

Some recent Samsung phones also have a rarely-mentioned function affectionately dubbed the "Rape alarm" which is a shortcut key you can press at any time, which silently takes a picture with both cameras, and sends this along with your GPS co-ordinates and/or an audio recording to a list of people you designate in advance. Course that depends on the user actually triggering it on the device, rather than remotely.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Cheers. He doesn't have a phone and can't use one so we'd just give him an old one simply for this purpose. We'd also be hoping that anyone who came across him lost would be able to use the phone to call us and tell us where to find him.

---------- Post added at 19:27 ---------- Previous post was at 19:27 ----------

TVM

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Just read something in the news about this subject and as time's moved on and his circumstances are changing so as to make this issue more pressing, I thought we'd better try to sort something out. I can see there are now a number of apps available which purport to offer a tracking service so does anyone here have any experience of them? What we need is something we, and possibly other carers, can use to find him if he wanders off or gets lost. He always carries a rucksack in which we would place the phone but won't be able to operate anything so what's required is just something which sits there and allows people to check where he is from time to time and in real time. Obviously if he was found by someone, we'd be hoping they'd make contact with us in the normal manner via the phone.

TIA as always.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Try this one:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...om.hellotracks

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

What make of phone is it?

Some do some type of tracking via their site.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Will have a look at that thanks TechGuyOne. :tu:

We have a perfectly functioning ZTE Blade 3 - Android 4.0.4. so could use that but would buy another to get the functionality we require. It wouldn't want to be too expensive though because he won't know how to look after it.

Cheers.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Some options on Amazon UK...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&k...l_2r3217kdeg_b

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Been using life360, can see each phone, request location updates and see the location history.

There's also a 'check in button' the sends a message to the other accounts with the location


has geo fencing as all Max 2 locations in the fee version but the notifications have been mixed motto looked into the for cause yet

J

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

life360 seems good and is tailored around family location.

This is the app on google play

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...oid.safetymapd

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check out other devices such as those on Amazon but will need to compare the pros and cons. Battery life would be one such factor but I imagine there'll be others regarding practical use and limitations. Any advice/feedback gratefully received. :tu:

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Life360 seems like a good app. Needing to get a cheap android phone and a payg SIM so we can keep track of my mum. Has Alzheimer's and went missing for 9 hours recently.

So being able to use this in a phone we can put in her coat or bag when she goes out will mean would find her quicker.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Yep, we have the same concern but for different reasons. Ideally we don't even want him to know it's there just in case he fiddles with it or loses it There's an issue with size v. battery power though - he won't be able to charge it so we need something with good battery life.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

moto g 2013 edition, cheap, good battery life

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Good battery life would be essential. GPS + Phone signal will be draining. You can also get smaller devices that will transmit up the GPS which you can track later like this: http://www.trackyour.co.uk/index.php...-trackers.html

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

^^ What Damien said. Most phones will run out of battery after 8-16 hours of GPS being enabled even if it were doing absolutely nothing else at the same time. You do not want always-on, real-time GPS tracking.

By the sounds of things, any Android phone's built in "send-GPS-location-on-request" feature should be enough. Or at the very least, use a remotely-triggered realtime location tracker to save draining the battery constantly.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

I think always on gps is better , as I mentioned my mum went a walk as normal a couple of weeks ago and got lost and in her state of mind she just keeps walking. So needing to see her location rather than where she might have been is very important. It may mean finding her i minutes rather than hours. She can walk fast for a 72 yr old.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Always on GPS would be difficult to manage without a huge portable charger. Like I said, most modern phones will need to be charged at least twice, if not three times a day just to keep the GPS on. If you were to actually transmit that information in real-time as well, you'd be lucky to get 4 hours of battery life. Seeing somebody's location is not going to help if that location is 8 hours out of date because the phone ran out of battery at lunchtime.

Remotely triggered tracking gives you the exact same accuracy but saves the battery wasting for when you actually need it.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Well as my mum would only be out for 15-20 mins or so then battery life would not be an issue here. Even if she went out 3-4 times a day the phone could be charged inbetween those times.

Then if she got lost we would in real time know exactly where she was and get her home.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Interesting and helpful posts guys, thanks.

On balance I think probably the always on option isn't going to be that useful when he's away for a couple of days at a time since staff would need to make sure his phone was charged etc. etc. We could use that facility on days out just in case he got lost but a location on request service might be more practical at other times.

Maybe I'm phrasing the question badly but I've done a quick search and can't find out how to set up a 'send gps location by request' so could someone clarify this for me please.

TVM as always.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Simply put, you and your son have the same app on your phones, when you want to see where he is, you ask the app to show you.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Android has a built in feature where you can visit a Google website and click a button, it sends a request to the phone and the phone responds with its GPS location (or non-GPS location if GPS isn't available). This is good for one-off requests, but for continual tracking you'll need at third party app. There are lots of these and they all work in different ways.

I've just had a quick look and this app seems to do what you want - I can't vouch for it personally as I haven't used it myself but all the functionality you require is there and it has good reviews:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...tracker2&hl=en

Basically you install the app, configure it to on-request mode, and register it with the service. The app listens for a special text message or internet request, which will trigger it to start tracking and send you the device location in real-time - you can then see the information on a computer screen or another Android phone. Using the SMS trigger may be better if you expect the device may be outside of 3G/4G internet connectivity a lot of the time.

---------- Post added at 17:19 ---------- Previous post was at 17:14 ----------

Remote triggering already does all that except you don't have to remember to turn it on each and every time she leaves the house, and remember to turn it off every time she gets back.

The alternative idea of charging your phone 3-4 times a day won't be most people's cup of tea, plus it will wear your battery down ten times faster requiring you to buy a new battery sooner if your phone has a replaceable battery at all.

Just face it, always on tracking comes with tons of drawbacks and zero advantages.

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Magic thanks. What requirements (specification) would there be for phone he would be using? Could he use any android phone such as my old Android 4.0,4 ZTE Blade III or is that not up to the job?

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Any Android phone should do - 4.0.4 is fine, even a 6-year-old Android 2.2 device would work (at a stretch).

Re: gps phone tracking advice required
 

Great will have a look at that app. TVM.