How do signals (GPS, GSM & BLE) work?

The Bikefinder tracker use three types of position signals, depending on what mode the tracker has been put in. You can read more about modes here.

GPS: satellite signals

GPS is the most accurate signal our tracker can provide, with an accuracy between 5-10 meters.

It requires that the tracker can communicate with the satellites in space, which leads us to today’s recommended installation method.

Tracking devices with GPS are designed specifically for tracking purposes. This type of device is all about saving battery, so that you will be able to keep track of your bike for over a period of time, if it were to be stolen.

There are several factors that can affect the quality of GPS signals, including the construction material of buildings, the presence of large metal obejects, interference from other electronic devices, metal parts or clear of view in the environment you are in.

Accuracy	5-10 meters
Battery consumption	GPS demands a lot of battery, and therefore has sleeping cycles in Bikefinder’s Standard and Security Mode so that the tracker’s battery lasts longer, than what it would without these sleeping cycles.
Obstacles	If the tracking device is placed in an area with weak GPS signals, it may struggle to receive a strong enough signal to provide accurate location information.
Hardware	If the device’s GPS receiver or antenna head is damaged, it may not be able to receive GPS signals.

GSM: Cellphone signals

This signal type is useful when there are no GPS signals. GSM signals will provide an approximate location when GPS is not available. These type of signals provide signals by using cellular towers nearby, with an accuracy up to 2500 meters.

If you need to find your bike, GSM will give a rough localization. This is not the most precise signal.

GSM consumes more power, as the device is working to find new GPS signals.

BLE/Bluetooth: Communication between smartphone and tracker

The BLE position will automatically connect and update positions on your smartphone when the Bikefinder tracker is within 60 meters. Make sure that your phone allows the BikeFinder application functions through phone settings.

You can use the application to locate the Bikefinder using the BLE live distance counter.

Bluetooth requires little of the power capacity.

The difference between tracking device GPS and smartphone GPS

A tracking device such as the BikeFinder tracker will mainly focus on tracking ongoing thefts, and will be able to provide another level of overview, both over a longer distance, and closeby. The battery capacity on a device designed for tracking stolen equipment has considerable longer battery capacity.

Smartphones are designed to be multi-functional devices. Smartphones do have other location technologies that can help improve GPS accuracy indoors, such as Wi-Fi triangulation and cell tower triangulations. These technologies use the location of nearby Wi-Fi networks and cell towers to estimate the device’s location. Many smartphones do have a feature called assisted GPS (A-GPS), which uses additional data from the cell network to provide a more accurate location fix.