How to track your dog where there is no mobile signal
SIM trackers need mobile signal to reach you. This is how you track a dog in the hills, in the countryside or in a village with no masts, and what to do if it gets lost.
Short answer: to track a dog where there is no signal you need a radio tracker. The collar knows where it is from GPS, which works with no signal, and sends its position by radio to a receiver you carry, without going through any phone mast.
Why your tracker doesn’t work in the countryside
The collar’s GPS works anywhere with open sky. The problem is sending that position:
- SIM trackers send it over the mobile network. With no signal nothing gets through, and you see the last point that was sent.
- AirTag-style tags depend on someone else’s phone passing nearby. Nobody passes in the hills.
- Radio trackers send it straight to your receiver. They depend on nothing else.
How a radio tracker works
- The collar works out its position with GPS.
- It sends it by long-range radio to your receiver, kilometres away depending on the terrain.
- The receiver shows it on a handheld or, with Montered, on the map on your phone, which works offline.
The higher you are and the more open the ground, the further it reaches. In a closed gully the range drops; climb a hill and you get it back.
If your dog gets lost where there is no signal
- Go back to the last point it showed and wait there: many dogs return to where they set off.
- Search from high ground. From a hilltop the radio reaches further and you’ll see its position sooner.
- Split up the search and agree on a meeting point, because you won’t be able to call each other either.
- Search at dawn and dusk, when it’s quieter and dogs move more.
- For the first hour, read Lost dog in the countryside.
What we’re building at Montered
Montered is a radio tracker: a collar for the dog, a pocket receiver and the map on your phone. It works with no signal, no SIM card and no fees, ever. There’s a version for hunting dogs (montered.com/hunting-dogs) and one for pet dogs in villages and the countryside (montered.com/pets). It’s still in field trials; if you’d like to try it, join the free waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Can you track a dog with no mobile signal?
Yes, with a radio tracker. The collar knows where it is from GPS, which needs no signal, and sends its position by radio to a receiver you carry. So it doesn’t depend on any mast.
Does GPS work without mobile signal?
GPS does: it picks up satellites anywhere with open sky. What needs signal is sending that position to your phone. That’s why SIM trackers go quiet in the hills and radio trackers don’t.
What range does a radio tracker have?
It depends on the terrain: several kilometres in open country, much less in gullies and dense woodland. Montered is designed to reach 3 km in dense woodland and 8 km in open country, and we will publish what we measure in our trials.
Can I use an AirTag to track my dog in the countryside?
It’s not the right tool. An AirTag is found when someone else’s iPhone passes nearby; in the countryside or the hills hardly anyone passes, so you won’t know where your dog is.