I’ve been using trackers for a couple of years, but their technology is quite different than that of the SmartThings Tracker by Samsung. The trackers that I have used prior to owning a SmartThings tracker operate on replaceable batteries and Bluetooth. They work well in a large office space, on a job site, or even my home where I might lay my keys, iPad or bag down and walk away not having a clue that I even left it until I am ready to use it again. This tracker is cellular-powered which makes it possible to track your things within a broader scope that is limited only by your cellular provider’s range. Instead of using Bluetooth, it uses an LTE-M connection which is a low-power network made specifically for I0T devices. This technology is more extensive and expensive than Bluetooth and provides a much broader range of tracking your valuables. It can even be used to trigger smart home actions through setting up automation in and using the Samsung SmartThings App. If your tracker leaves your carrier’s network range, you must rely on crowd GPS and other app users to follow the tracker’s path, which is like the use of other trackers. The tracker is a small square plastic device that measures 1.7 by 1.7 by 0.5 inches. Weighing less than an ounce, it comes with a small strap that can be used to attach the tracker to objects like a backpack, purse or bag. Its design makes it water resistant for 30 minutes up to five feet in water, and helps to protect it from dirt, mud, dust, etc. The SmartThings tracker was quick and easy to set up. Initially, I downloaded the app onto my cell phone and charged the device. Then I added the device to the SmartThings App and activated it with my cellular service. Unlike the Bluetooth trackers, this tracker offers free service for a year, but after 12 months there is a monthly charge of $5 for it to stay active and in use. The tracker’s design is more sophisticated than others that I have and use. It allows the user to set up notification zones and can send notifications when the tracker leaves the set zone area. The limitation of this is that the smallest radius of the zone is 700 feet. I live in a small town with a very busy US highway running down the middle. If I trusted the tracker to help me watch children or pets, they could be in danger before I would even be notified that they were out of their imaginary restricted area. There is an app feature that allows the user to more precisely locate the tracker by way of re-centering the GPS and this is more accurate, but I still did not find it to be consistently close to where the tracker was located. I would assume that part of the accuracy rest with the responsibility of the carrier. The battery life is something that I needed to learn to schedule. At first, I didn’t recognize the power saving mode where the tracker does not automatically sync its location but remains dormant when the tracker stays in one location for a period. When the tracker moves again, then tracking updates continue. I only found the tracker to work a little over 3 days before it required recharging when not implementing the power saving mode. The automation is also easy to set up and works well. It is designed to be integrated by using the app to tie it to other SmartThings products. By configuring and using what Samsung terms “presence-based automations”, the tracker and app can be used to trigger actions as well as send notifications. For instance, the tracker can be configured to automatically turn off lights when it leaves a room, trigger an alarm when it leaves the house, lock a door, etc. The Samsung SmartThings Tracker is a more serious investment for those wishing to seriously track objects. It is a sound product, but I do think it could use some adjustments and further development in its future. I would recommend the product for anyone wishing to seriously track anything that has the ability to move.

Samsung has a really great idea here! Picking up where the Tile device left off, tracking and finding items outside of the 30 foot Bluetooth range. I have several of the Tile trackers, and they work quite well. However if you are further away than 30 feet (or less depending on many factors), the Tile won’t help you. Samsung squeezed GPS and LTE-m technologies into this tiny little device. That means you aren’t limited to Bluetooth range anymore. The limitation with the SmartThings Tracker is it needs to be able to attach to a cellular network. Not infallible, but it is a bit of added peace of mind. There are tons of applications for this device! Put one in your luggage, put one in your loved ones backpacks, put one on your dog’s collar, put one in your camera bag, in your purse, etc. I chose to put one on my Phantom 4 Drone. The SmartThings Tracker has very little weight, and is small enough to easily be attached to the top of my drone with a piece of double-sided tape. It’s water-resistant and solidly made. Setting up and registering the Tracker was a piece of cake. Made even easier if you already have a Samsung account, and even easier still if you have registered other Smart Things gadgets. The app install quickly on your phone or tablet. Setting up was a breeze, I already had a Samsung account – but even if you have to start a new one it isn’t that difficult. Typical installation questions… The Setup takes you through activating the Tracker, which includes activating the LTE-m service. Samsung provides a full year of service included, after that you pay a $5 a month service fee. Not a bad deal at all, when you consider the peace of mind it brings you. Operationally after I competed the setup process, I attached the Tracker to my drone. Years ago I had one of my first drones lose connection with the transmitter and it flew off never to be seen or heard from again. That drone wasn’t worth more than a hundred bucks. My current drone cost a couple of thousand – I really don’t want that to happen again! Back to the configuration of the app… I confirmed that the app installed on my phone could locate the Tracker, and I experimented with moving it around to different locations and tested to see if the app could find the drone. It could every time! In actual use I noticed no difference in the functioning of my drone. I was a little afraid there may be interference between the Tracker and the drone’s built-in electronics and positioning systems. I did not experience any problems, it was if it weren’t even there. Putting Smart Things Tracker on a drone isn’t a guarantee that you’ll never lose the drone. It is a bit of an insurance policy instead, another chance to find it in case the drone does get lost. Unfortunately I’ll never know if it really works unless I lose my drone, and activate the Tracker. Hopefully that never happens, but it’s reassuring to know that this provides that extra chance that I’ll find it if it does go missing. For the amount of money I have invested in the drone, the cost of the Tracker (and the service), is a small price to pay and totally worth it. If my drone does get lost, and the SmartThings Tracker helps me locate it, then it just saved me two thousand dollars! It’s kind of like buying an extended warranty contract. There are many uses for the Samsung Tracker, and being that it is part of the ‘SmartThings’ family you can use it in conjunction with other SmartThings products. Such as having your home lights and heat turned on when your tracker senses it is close to home. Samsung makes SmartThing-enabled security cameras, lights, thermostats, etc. The battery is a built-in rechargeable, once fully charged it won’t need to be charged again for another week of use! I was on the edge of giving this 5 stars, but went with 4 because I don’t know whether when the time comes (if it comes), whether it’ll work. If it does – I’ll give 5 BIG stars! Really innovative and cool tech!

The Samsung SmartThings Tracker is perfect for someone who needs the ability to keep track of someone or determine the general location of something with the expectation of periodically having access to charge the device. The primary purpose I am using it for is geofencing/location services with my SmartThings without having to rely on a phone. You could also attach it to your child’s backpack to provide rudimentary location or even trigger alerts based on when they leave or arrive at a certain location. One suggested use by Samsung is pet tracking, but I found the device not well suited for this unless you have a medium to large size dog who won’t mind the tracker hanging from their collar. Measuring 1.7” x 1.7" x 0.5" and weighing .9 ounces, it is relatively portable but may be too large and heavy for smaller dogs or cats. The tracker features a simple lanyard and isn’t really designed to be attached to an animal collar without hanging down. The tracker is well suited to be attached to or inside a bag and most would find it non obtrusive. The tracker itself is IP68 rated and seems well made with only a simple button to check status or update it’s location. What sets the Samsung SmartThings tracker apart from other “trackers” is it’s on-board LTE radio, providing location services without requiring the device to be in bluetooth range. Samsung includes 1 year of service without requiring a credit card to activate, which is nice. After 1 year you can continue service at a reasonable $5/month. The tracker has fair battery life, but again depending on use. I was able to burn through the battery in as little as 2 days after setting the device to update it’s location in 10-minute intervals. Obviously a tracking device is pointless if it’s dead, fortunately Samsung allows you to increase intervals to a more modest frequency such as hourly or even as little as every 5 hours. Adding to this a power saving mode where by you can specify times of expected dormancy and pause updates during this time. Using hourly updates with power saving on during the evening I was able to achieve over a week of battery life. I am sure this could be stretched further with less frequent updates and more aggressive power saving setting. My only issue with the tracker is software related. Sometimes the app takes a few minutes to catch up with historical data, initially making you think the tracker is dead or not functioning. Hopefully Samsung will work on processing this data before you request it to improve the perceived performance. Otherwise the app works fine, providing tracker history, instant location update, and even live location tracking (live tracking will drain the battery significantly). I think the Samsung tracker is a unique device that is relatively cost effective for what it does. I recommend this tracker over a bluetooth based one if you know there is a possibility of needing to locate an item that may not be in bluetooth range of a “tracker network”.

I am a young parent and a techie person. When my three kids leave the house alone for long trips, I sometimes feel unease not being close to them. After doing some research at all the types of trackers, I found that the Samsung tracker works best for my needs. Other trackers rely only on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, but the SmartThings Tracker includes these plus LTE/GPS (cellular) for tracking outdoors. The package comes with an initial one year service, and once that expires, there is the option of two types of plans: $5 per month or $50 per year. Currently, cellular tracking only works with US network(s). This tracker works pretty well and very easy to manage. To start, must have/create a Samsung account and install the SmartThings app. After fully charging the tracking device, turn on the tracker and the app will prompt you to connect the tracker. The app will guide you with onscreen instructions. When indoor, I think the tracker uses the Wi-Fi location method to conserve battery. SmartThing Hub is not necessary to use the tracker, but if you do have one, it allows more features. Tracking is not in real-time (continuously). To track the device, press the track button on the app. There is also a travel path button, which shows the updated travel paths in different points in time. Automatic location updates can be set up in the main menu; this will pin the device's location at set intervals. The tracker device can also send its position by simply pressing twice the power button on the tracker. The menu also has the option for geofence location, such as sending an alert when leaving or entering a place. This is good if you want an alert when someone leaves or arrives at a specific location. With the SmartThings Hub, the tracker works as an arrival sensor for which it can be used for automation when coming or leaving a specified place. The tracker as a sensor would control a device such as turning the light on when entering a building or other location.

Pros: * Compact size. * Unique tracking features. * Waterproof and works almost anywhere. Cons: * Short battery life limits its usefulness. * Expensive cell service after first bundled year. Item trackers are commonplace and most operate solely on Bluetooth technology that requires them to be somewhat nearby to find them (typically less than 300 feet away). This tracker is unique in that it uses cellular service in addition to Bluetooth so it can be tracked just about anywhere. This is a double-edged sword; the LTE feature is great in that the device can be tracked without having to be nearby, but LTE radios suck down batteries and incur a service fee. It comes with one year of LTE service but after that, the current price of $50/year is a bit much for just a single “thing” tracker considering the other Bluetooth-only trackers typically don’t require any annual service fees. While the size of this tracker is not much larger than competing Bluetooth-only models from other companies, its battery life is a mere fraction of those that don’t use LTE. This device is rated at about 10 days of “standby” use and even less if you’re actively tracking motion with it (a cool but costly feature in terms of battery life). This tracker does have some compelling features that the other guys don’t; you can track it without being nearby and don’t have to rely on “crowdsourced” locations. You can track the motion of things on a map like watching where your dog or child goes; but again, only for a limited time until the device’s small battery depletes. Overall, this tracker’s features seem to make it more useful to track people and pets than “things.” If all you want to track are objects such as keys, a wallet or a backpack, the Bluetooth-only models with no service fees and battery lives measured in months or years might be better. If you want to track living things like kids or pets for small timeframes, this tracker has some cool features that make it worthwhile. It all depends on what you want to track.