It’s been almost 5 months and I thought I’d update my review. After literally daily use it’s still working great. Sometimes our cat goes out of range, and as I mentioned below it doesn’t consistently find enough satellites. But the recent firmware upgrade improved the interface, and again, the “radar” function is incredible. Most importantly, it has provided us a good amount of peace of mind—over the last months we have a sense of where our cat goes when she is far away and we know the “radar” would be able to lead us to her if we really wanted to find her. We have worried a good bit less any number of times because we know she’s close enough to find her way home even when it’s dark outside and we can’t see her. The “history” function is also cool because over time you get a sense of where your pet hangs out when it’s out. I’m really glad we bought this and even though there are things i wish were a little better it’s now 5 stars for me. It continues to work, they seem dedicated to improving the product, and as I said it has often given us peace of mind even when she’s well out of sight.
We've had this for almost two months, so I can give a review of how well it's worked with almost daily use. We were looking for something for our cat. We live in a semi-rural area. Lots of woods and fields. Our cat is outside much of the day, but we like to have her inside a lot as well, so it was important for us to have a sense of where she goes, how far she is, where we might find her, etc. This is the best product of its kind we've found. Even when it's not working perfectly it has given us piece of mind that we know where our cat is likely to be, and if we really wanted to track her down we most likely would be able to.
Positives: The map interface is very good, and gives you an excellent sense of where your pet is. When the GPS connects to satellites it does an very nice job of showing you where your pet is. Buying the "Mesh" unit extra is expensive but does allow you to use the map (& other functions) even when you (and your phone) are far away from home (and the base unit). The "radar" function is WONDERFUL. Even when the GPS function isn't working, it uses a direct connection between the collar unit and the base unit and your phone to show you how far away your pet is and in what direction. It's kind of amazing. I like that there's no monthly fee--their proprietary system uses what they call "LoPoWan" (Low Power Wide Area Network) to connect the collar unit to the base, which connects to your home internet. Customer service is excellent. The two times I've called the gentleman was amazingly patient and helpful. And while it seems a little big for a cat, I have to say it has not bothered our cat at all. It's like she doesn't even notice it's there. It seems sturdy and well made. If you have it track your pet all day you can really get a sense of where it went and where it spent most of its time.
Negatives: It does depend on the tracker finding enough GPS satellites. It's kind of inconsistent in that respect--sometimes it does a better job than other times. But when it does, it's excellent. The interface is complex, and I think the software is too--it takes a while to figure it all out, and sometimes it's a little bit of a challenge to get everything to work right. But with a little fiddling around it does. The battery power for the collar unit is good but you need to be aware of the limitations. We charge it in the base every night. It would probably last 2 days in "Power Saver Mode," so if you want to use this every day you'll want to get in the habit.
All in all, worth the price if you want to have a sense of where your pet goes and have a decent chance of finding it if you're looking for it. I think it might work better with a dog than a cat, especially if you can have it at the top of the collar (facing the sky) than the bottom. That's a guess. But we are very happy with our purchase.
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From the manufacturer
Best gift for pets outdoor activity.
Whenever you take your beloved dog to go hiking, PETFON provides a more reliable protection for your dog.
Provide real-time location of your pet; hiking positions are no longer restricted by mobile phone network signals; no fear of rain or snow; light alarm makes it easier for you to find your pet at night; large-capacity battery and exclusive travel charging box provide you with required power at the entire weekend; small but high-performance wireless chip and HG laser antenna make a longer distance possible.
Easy to use,free for life.
Penfon has two modules, the control terminal is carried by the owner, and the tracker is worn by the pet. The mobile phone APP can locate the pet position in real time and monitor the pet history information (track, number of steps, distance, and duration of exercise). Perfon uses the original LoPowan wireless transmission technology, free to travel without the need of SIM card and mobile phone network signals, no monthly fee.
The device uses the characteristics of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and other wireless access points to discover the location of your pet’s device.This feature enables you to locate our your pet faster and more accurately and works well in WiFi intensive areas such as crowded urban environments.
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E-FencePetfon monitors the pet's location at any time via the mobile app. You can set the security range freely. When the pet leaves the safe range, the device will automatically alarm. You can also set up the dangerous zone in advance, once the pet enters there, the device will automatically alarm. |
Sound & light alarmThe pet's Tracker can emit colorful lights through your control, making it easier to spot your pet in a dim environment. The 11-color LED light show can make your pet become the focus at night. The sound alarm in a dense forest is your good helper, you can DIY your own ring and high-definition voice speaker to make your dog's ring unique. |
Durable & waterproofPetfon adopts children's product design concept, its appearance is small and smooth, firm and durable, non-toxic and odorless. In order to cope with the severe weather such as sudden rain and snow and the spray facilities in the park, each product is strictly tested with water and dust proof standards when leaving the factory, so you can use it at ease. |
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Working distanceHigh-gain Laser Carving Antenna combines LoPowan wireless transmission technology. The available distances are as follows: It can reach up to 0.65 mile (1.05km),in an urban/occlusion environment It can reach up to 3.5 mile (5.6km),in a suburban/open environment |
Battery performanceThe device can last 8-16 hours depending on the distance between you and your pet. Usually, the device can provide 4 days power if you take your dog for a walk 2 hours a day. A portable charging box is exclusively provided. Storage and charging are two functions in one. You can recharge the device 3 times, when go on a vacation. |
Size and accessoriesPetfon tracker is only 1.65 IN* 1.65 IN* 0.7 IN and the weight is ： T1：27.6g C1：23.7g Standard accessories: 1 Controller 1 Tracker 2 Loops 2 Bands 1 Portable charging box |
Reviews with images
Super impressed so far!
I have a large Anatolian LGD -- and a large acreage that has ZERO cell service. I am surrounded by miles of open country as well. Thanks to Elon Musk and Starlink I have AMAZING Wifi now and can surround my immediate 5 acres that encompasses the barn, house and goat pasture with Wifi. "Yukon Cornelius," my dog, is a young boy, not yet a year, and I worried about him wandering off. If he did, I would not be able to find him. I knew a tracker using cell would not work, and looked into Garmin radio trackers, but they ran upwards of $1K. I saw Petfon and decided to give it a try. WOW! I am amazed at how well it works. I set up a "safe zone" and a "danger zone" (my fence line) and recorded my husband sternly saying "YUKON NO!" for when he entered the danger zone. I worked training him with an extra vibrating collar that he hates. When he got to the danger zone and heard "YUKON NO" from the Petfon, if he didn't respond, I would vibrate him with the other collar. This only took two times for him to "get it" and now YUKON NO from Petfon sends him high-tailing back to the safe zone. In fact, it just happened as I was writing this! I got an alert that says: Yukon has left the safe zone and right after --Yukon has entered the safe zone. I looked at the app and saw he hit the danger zone and high-tailed it back. I've attached a pic.If he goes in my barn or in the steel garage or under my deck, I lose tracking via GPS. But that's ok -- the radar function works remarkably well, so I just turn that on and it finds him right away.It also has a history function that saves for several days. This is neat. I can see where he spends his time all day via a "heat map" from the attached image you can see he hangs out alot up at my house and also down at my barn, which is great because he has full surveillance of my goats and chickens this way and is learning his job.Maybe a couple things: the holder that holds it on his collar is kind of awkward and I was hoping it was a tag type thing. Since I have to take it off each night to charge (the charge only lasts about 8 hours) it's kind of a pain to reattach it. It also doesn't fit in the charging case with the holder on, so I have to go through the whole rigamarole of taking it out and then attaching it to the holder and collar every morning. But looking at Petfon's website, I see they also offer a silicon tag pack in fun colors so I am going to try that. I also think the charger that is just a plug in USB that they offer, could maybe charge without having to take it out of the holder.I had one minor hiccup when setting up in that it kept telling me it wanted to update GPS but then kept saying it failed, but after several attempts it seemed to have updated. I also have to train MYSELF to remember to take the receiver with me if I want to keep tracking him when I go out in the pasture or even down to my barn.I also really, really, really wish this could be tracked on multiple phones at a time without having to logout of the app on one phone and logging in on another. That way if I leave the house, my husband could still track him easily. That's kind of a pain.It also somehow went into "standby mode" when I first got it and wouldn't work at all, so I was ready to return it, but Petfon was super responsive and got back to me right away to tell me what the issue was. So glad I kept it!I am going to get another tracker to put on one of my other dogs that likes to wander during hunting season and I am actually thinking of getting one for an old goat I have that I let free wander the property, to set up a danger zone of my garden areas and train her the same way I did Yukon and keep her out.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2022
I have this tracker for a week now on my 7-month-old Shiba Inu puppy. It is Great! We go to a very big off leash dog park with lots of wooded trails, and it is nice to be able to track her with the radar when she goes out of sight playing with the other dogs. It also tracks her "Paws", not steps, and the rout that she has taken in the park. We walked 45.5 miles in one week! The GPS has been extremely accurate.
This has a light too with multi colors and modes to choose from. Since our day begins when it is still dark outside for our first walk of the morning this has been great. No more trying to keep the flashlight on her and on the ground in front of me at the same time.
The ability to record your voice command instead of a ring has helped with teaching her recall. I press the button and my voice tells her to come and she does! As any Shiba owner can tell you, anything that helps with Recall is a big deal.
Charge this daily to continue to have good results. Tip: if you are inside, put it in battery saving mode and take it out when you are ready to go out. It makes the battery last way longer.
This has a light too with multi colors and modes to choose from. Since our day begins when it is still dark outside for our first walk of the morning this has been great. No more trying to keep the flashlight on her and on the ground in front of me at the same time.
The ability to record your voice command instead of a ring has helped with teaching her recall. I press the button and my voice tells her to come and she does! As any Shiba owner can tell you, anything that helps with Recall is a big deal.
Charge this daily to continue to have good results. Tip: if you are inside, put it in battery saving mode and take it out when you are ready to go out. It makes the battery last way longer.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
year200
Great no monthly data or subscription GPS tracking in short distance
Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2020
peter
Good but (Time for a update) Down grade.
Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2020