GPS tracker for Mum: Weenect and Trackimo

Mobile phone as a tracking device

Mum has been a wanderer all the while even when we were young. One of the first unusual thing we noticed was her coming home later and later. At first we thought she is just bored and wanted to window shop around. But something tells us it is more than that, still we have doubts and perhaps in self-denial mode ourselves. Mum has her mobility and she can walk even faster than anyone in the family, and she would not let us restrict her going out.

We know she needs to be tracked as she might get lost soon. The first tracking device we got for her is a mobile phone.  The phone was a 2G based bought from Taobao. It was such a basic phone which had GPS and a Chinese online portal to locate the phone. It worked for a while but it became unreliable.  

Mum hated the idea of carrying a phone and many times forgot to bring out. We decided to start researching about GPS tracker. 

GPS Trackers

We have a few thoughts in mind that the GPS tracker needs to be small enough for Mum to carry, reliable and affordability. We were quite dishearten to find there were not many vendors locally in Singapore providing the device and service. So, we looked further. 

Weenect

Weenect is a 2G based GPS which we thought it was the best thing that we found. The device cost €82.50 and €50 for full year of subscription when we bought. Weenect support operates in Europe/France.

We purchased the GPS online via Weenect in April 2016 and received it in a weeks’ time. We were so excited to turn on the GPS and tried to register it. But we just couldn't even though we followed the instructions. So, it was time to send in a trouble ticket to Weenect. After much troubleshooting with the support team, we got the GPS working. It took us 2 days (Note on the time difference between Singapore and Europe/France), which is acceptable for us. 

Size of Weenect comparing to a 50cents coin

The beautiful thing about Weenect is it has polished interfaces, quite a lot of geo-fence which you can set and longer battery life (4-5days) However, when you are in a car or sheltered area, the location cannot be accurate. This is a technology restrictions, it is not because the device is not working properly. The app and online portal is pretty much easy to use. It allows you to set geo-fencing, where you can set boundaries. This allows you to get email, app notifications, SMS when the location of the GPS goes out of bound.

Geofences

Well, the dilemma of caregivers, although we have technology to tell you not to worry, but we diligently make sure the device is charged daily.

Trackimo

Why we changed Weenect to Trackimo? Well, the ultimate reason is Singapore has discontinued 2G island-wide from April 2017. Trackimo is a 3G based GPS. We don’t have a choice but to switch.

We mentioned 2G GPS has issue pin-point the location under shelter. 3G GPS addresses this and show you the nearest mobile cell tower it has connected to. The battery life of the device is about 2-3 days, which is acceptable given it is running of 3G communication which is more power consuming. It shouldn’t be a problem so long the device is charged daily or alternate days. Re-charging is fast for the device as we noticed. It only took about 2 hours for a full charge. Most of the features which Weenect has, Trackimo, more or less, has them too in the app or online portal and it is quite decent.

Size of Trackimo comparing to 50cents coin

 

Trackimo online portal

We got the GPS latched on Mum's keys and she took the device off immediately when we weren't looking. We tried a few times, coaxed her and she is ok with it since.

Weenect and Trackimo

The question you might ask, do both the GPS really work? Both worked perfectly because we retrieved our mum from places more than you can imagine. We shall not drill into details on the "adventures" we had. 

We saw benefits for Mum to carry the GPS in her early diagnostic days. Such as, going to the neighbourhood park for walks, social with some aunties at the void deck, and even going to the temple for prayers. As mentioned she is physically enabled and she felt she should be allowed to go out independently as she always do. We try not to restrict her as it makes her feels frustrated. 

Even now that she is in day-care, we still make sure she brings along her keys with the GPS. We feel letting her locking and unlocking the door when we take her out re-enforces her memory on “remember to bring keys”. It also gives us a sense of security when we bring her out, knowing that we will be able to track her if we lost her.

You might be judgmental about letting a mild dementia patient going out alone in her early days. But each patient’s conditions and needs are different. Having said that we latched the GPS on keys might work for us, it might not work for some. You would have to work out which is the best way for your loved ones.

Share with us your thoughts and also if you like to find out more.