Request for SIM for GPS Tracker

ringside

Hi,
hoping someone can help me here. I have a GPS tracker for my campervan and I want to put a SIM into it so I can send/receive SMSs with it. I'm only talking 5 ish SMSs a month and have no need for data/voice. Anyone know of the best deal out there?

Sounds simple!!!! but the devil is on the detail I'm finding out so far!!


I currently have a vodafone sim that keeps credit active for upto 6 months but I can't fully disable data on the GPS device and vodafone won't disable data on the sim. Every few days the GPS tracker sends a few kb of data and I get a €2 charge on the sim.

For additional info the GPS device supports data\SMS and way more functionality on data but......will use a lot more power if data is constantly turned on. I have it disabled and with the inbuilt 5000mAHr battery I can get 6 weeks between charges. But disabling data doesn't fully disable data hence the few kb costing me €2 every few days.

The irony here is that normally trying to set up APN etc can be painful. I've done everything to disable data and I keep on getting charged by vodafone who are impossible to deal with - literally can't get thru to them!!

Thanks in advance

Rory

con747

ringside wrote: »

Hi,
hoping someone can help me here. I have a GPS tracker for my campervan and I want to put a SIM into it so I can send/receive SMSs with it. I'm only talking 5 ish SMSs a month and have no need for data/voice. Anyone know of the best deal out there?

Sounds simple!!!! but the devil is on the detail I'm finding out so far!!


I currently have a vodafone sim that keeps credit active for upto 6 months but I can't fully disable data on the GPS device and vodafone won't disable data on the sim. Every few days the GPS tracker sends a few kb of data and I get a €2 charge on the sim.

For additional info the GPS device supports data\SMS and way more functionality on data but......will use a lot more power if data is constantly turned on. I have it disabled and with the inbuilt 5000mAHr battery I can get 6 weeks between charges. But disabling data doesn't fully disable data hence the few kb costing me €2 every few days.

The irony here is that normally trying to set up APN etc can be painful. I've done everything to disable data and I keep on getting charged by vodafone who are impossible to deal with - literally can't get thru to them!!

Thanks in advance

Rory

Would a a €10 per month plan not be a better option off 48 months, the new gomo.ie plan has increased from €9.99 I think. Both have more than enough data, text, call allowance for you.

caff

Could it be sending mms data?

Gumbo

GoMo - 12.99 per month

Quackster

Can you change the APN on the tracker? You're getting charged €2 every time the tracker uses data because it's using Vodafone's default live.vodafone.com APN. However if you change the APN to isp.vodafone.ie instead, it's billed at 19c/MB so those connections the tracker is making should only cost you a cent at a time.

As for other options, Three doesn't have a requirement to top up every so often as long as you make at least one chargeable use every six months. Their charge for data is a lot higher, €1:01/MB, but if we're only talking about a few KB here and there, that shouldn't make an appreciable difference.

ringside

con747 wrote: »

Would a a €10 per month plan not be a better option off 48 months, the new gomo.ie plan has increased from €9.99 I think. Both have more than enough data, text, call allowance for you.

I could sort the issue by putting a GoMo sim in it but it would cause me severe pain to know I have a sim with practically unlimited everything that is only sending a few texts a month. I'm also looking to keep recurring charges down as over a long period of time they become substantial.

ringside

caff wrote: »

Could it be sending mms data?

Don't think so - as least the device does not appear to have that functionality. It is sending something though!!

Vodafone have a v-sim which is specifically designed for this sort of use

https://eshop.v.vodafone.com/ie/v-sim


10 euro sign up and 2 to 4 euro per month depending on device type - let us know how this works for you

FAQ here

https://v.vodafone.com/ie/help-and-support


info on data and sms from uk site. works out of country also

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/consumer/Vodafone-V/V-Charging-Guide/index.htm

ringside

Quackster wrote: »

Can you change the APN on the tracker? You're getting charged €2 every time the tracker uses data because it's using Vodafone's default live.vodafone.com APN. However if you change the APN to isp.vodafone.ie instead, it's billed at 19c/MB so those connections the tracker is making should only cost you a cent at a time.

As for other options, Three doesn't have a requirement to top up every so often as long as you make at least one chargeable use every six months. Their charge for data is a lot higher, €1:01/MB, but if we're only talking about a few KB here and there, that shouldn't make an appreciable difference.

I can change the APN on the device and wasn't aware of the difference in charging prices so that's a useful place to start - thanks. The current APN is cmmtm which is unusual - maybe it's referencing an internal database or more likely it is sending some handshaking data that vodafone is charging for. The funny thing is that when I had data enabled that APN was working with 2 different operators. I'll change it and test before I go down the other ISP route.

ringside

glasso wrote: »

Vodafone have a v-sim which is specifically designed for this sort of use

https://eshop.v.vodafone.com/ie/v-sim


10 euro sign up and 2 to 4 euro per month depending on device type - let us know how this works for you

FAQ here

https://v.vodafone.com/ie/help-and-support


info on data and sms from uk site. works out of country also

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/consumer/Vodafone-V/V-Charging-Guide/index.htm

This is an interesting angle. My current device does not support virtual sims and I had been told that vodafone require you to have at least one bill pay sim before you can get a virtual sim but it appears from the link you posted that you can order one quite easily. I had a quick look at one of the devices on their list of compatible equipment and the price was OK. I'll see can I sort this out via APN first but this is getting interesting - thanks!

ringside

ringside wrote: »

This is an interesting angle. My current device does not support virtual sims and I had been told that vodafone require you to have at least one bill pay sim before you can get a virtual sim but it appears from the link you posted that you can order one quite easily. I had a quick look at one of the devices on their list of compatible equipment and the price was OK. I'll see can I sort this out via APN first but this is getting interesting - thanks!

it's a physical sim card product from what I can see. just happens to be called v-sim

I assume when you say virtual sims you are referring to software sims / e-sims.

Joey!

I've bought and received, but not yet used, a sim from here: https://www.thingsmobile.com. Each SMS is 18c but there seems to be very little or no other charges.

listermint

Joey! wrote: »

I've bought and received, but not yet used, a sim from here: https://www.thingsmobile.com. Each SMS is 18c but there seems to be very little or no other charges.

That's a poor deal if your telling on SMS tracking notifications. Make sure he settings aren't using SMS to send..you'll be quickly paying.crazy bills

Quackster

ringside wrote: »

I can change the APN on the device and wasn't aware of the difference in charging prices so that's a useful place to start - thanks. The current APN is cmmtm which is unusual - maybe it's referencing an internal database or more likely it is sending some handshaking data that vodafone is charging for. The funny thing is that when I had data enabled that APN was working with 2 different operators. I'll change it and test before I go down the other ISP route.

With many operators, Vodafone included, data will work even if you have an incorrect APN or no APN at all set, by using default settings at their end. In Vodafone's case, their default is the Live APN, which has a €2/day minimum charge.

Once you properly set up the ISP APN, this will fix your problem and should work out cheaper than the V SIM that the other poster mentioned. However, if you'd like to use the data capabilities of your tracker, the V SIM would be a good option.

vodafone standard pay-as-you-go out-of-bundle / top-up offer charges appear to be minimum €1.99 for data (100mb allowed but not needed here) every different day it's accessed.

it's not to do with what apn is used

he's using pay-as-you-go obviously and will not be seeking to use a top-up-offer each month of course.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html

Data €1.99 for 100MB daily allowance - 1c per MB after 100MB.
Don't forget - you can get data included with our top up offers from €20.

so to me it seems that v-sim is the way to go for him

ringside

glasso wrote: »

it's a physical sim card product from what I can see. just happens to be called v-sim

I assume when you say virtual sims you are referring to software sims / e-sims.

My bad - I assumed that V and Virtual are the same. Makes it more of an option if I can get a device that has long battery life and supports the functionality that I need

Pataman

What is your requirement for a few messages per month?
Is it to keep an eye on its location?
If so most trackers will support a geofence and text you when they leave them.

ringside

glasso wrote: »

vodafone standard pay-as-you-go out-of-bundle / top-up offer charges appear to be minimum €1.99 for data (100mb allowed but not needed here) every different day it's accessed.

it's not to do with what apn is used

he's using pay-as-you-go obviously and will not be seeking to use a top-up-offer each month of course.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html



so to me it seems that v-sim is the way to go for him

As much as I want Quackster to be correct as it solves all my woes the billing I'm seeing from vodafone would support what you're saying. V sim might be an option but the solution by Joey! - thingsmobile.com is something I must look at also. Vodafone are charging 15c a text so 18c a text is not a problem and my volume is very low. While I could use data I don't want to so as to keep the power consumption down on the device. It has geo fencing, knock detection etc but if I enable all those I only get 1 to 2 weeks. I don't want to wire it into the power on the van as I don't trust Lithium Ion batteries left on charge permanently on devices in general and esp on devices such as this that are clones of clones. Therefore if I can get the provider to disable data, high data charges are not an issue.

It does show a product gap in the market where you only need a small amount of data flowing. I know there's lots of solution out there if you have a few hundred devices but there must be lots of people out there that want to do something similar

ringside

Pataman wrote: »

What is your requirement for a few messages per month?
Is it to keep an eye on its location?
If so most trackers will support a geofence and text you when they leave them.

Power consumption becomes an issue then :-(

ringside

ringside wrote: »

As much as I want Quackster to be correct as it solves all my woes the billing I'm seeing from vodafone would support what you're saying. V sim might be an option but the solution by Joey! - thingsmobile.com is something I must look at also. Vodafone are charging 15c a text so 18c a text is not a problem and my volume is very low. While I could use data I don't want to so as to keep the power consumption down on the device. It has geo fencing, knock detection etc but if I enable all those I only get 1 to 2 weeks. I don't want to wire it into the power on the van as I don't trust Lithium Ion batteries left on charge permanently on devices in general and esp on devices such as this that are clones of clones. Therefore if I can get the provider to disable data, high data charges are not an issue.

It does show a product gap in the market where you only need a small amount of data flowing. I know there's lots of solution out there if you have a few hundred devices but there must be lots of people out there that want to do something similar

that's what the v-sims and similar iot sims are for really

MNO's (mobile network operators) don't want people using phone sims for iot devices and vice versa so that's why they price the out-of-bundle data in such a manner.

Quackster

glasso wrote: »

vodafone standard pay-as-you-go out-of-bundle / top-up offer charges appear to be minimum €1.99 for data (100mb allowed but not needed here) every different day it's accessed.

it's not to do with what apn is used

he's using pay-as-you-go obviously and will not be seeking to use a top-up-offer each month of course.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html



so to me it seems that v-sim is the way to go for him

Well fortunately for the OP, you're wrong! I speak from experience here are a Vodafone PAYG customer.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html

Go down to near the bottom of the page to the section headed 'Data services (GPRS and the Internet)'

Unlike other service producers which provide different SIMs for mobile phone and mobile broadband use, Vodafone use the same SIM and use different APNs to differentiate on pricing.

Quackster

Quackster wrote: »

Well fortunately for the OP, you're wrong! I speak from experience here are a Vodafone PAYG customer.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html

Go down to near the bottom of the page to the section headed 'Data services (GPRS and the Internet)'

Unlike other service producers which provide different SIMs for mobile phone and mobile broadband use, Vodafone use the same SIM and use different APNs to differentiate on pricing.

fair enough. it's hidden away in the page in fairness. no need to be obnoxious about it.

provide him with the apn settings then and see if it works out to be the best option costwise.

ringside

Quackster wrote: »

Well fortunately for the OP, you're wrong! I speak from experience here are a Vodafone PAYG customer.

https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/pay-as-you-go-plans/charges.html

Go down to near the bottom of the page to the section headed 'Data services (GPRS and the Internet)'

Unlike other service producers which provide different SIMs for mobile phone and mobile broadband use, Vodafone use the same SIM and use different APNs to differentiate on pricing.

So looks like I'm going to be the testing guinea pig on this. APN changed to isp.vodafone.ie

I'll take the van out for a drive tomorrow and send it some SMS requests. The billing can take up to 24hrs to catch up so I'll report back here with hopefully good news in the next few days.

Thanks to everyone so far!!!

Quackster

glasso wrote: »

fair enough. it's hidden away in the page in fairness. no need to be obnoxious about it.

provide him with the apn settings then and see if it works out to be the best option costwise.

Sorry, not my intention. Yep, Vodafone's website is an abject misery in terms of trying to mine it for useful info.

OP, there are a few other Irish providers that don't have a minimum charge for out-of-bundle data. Lyca charge 9c/MB, Tesco Mobile 10c/MB and Post Mobile 16c/MB. I think they all charge 15c per SMS.

Lyca & Tesco piggyback on the Three network and Post Mobile on Vodafone.

Quackster

Quackster wrote: »

Sorry, not my intention. Yep, Vodafone's website is an abject misery in terms of trying to mine it for useful info.

OP, there are a few other Irish providers that don't have a minimum charge for out-of-bundle data. Lyca charge 9c/MB, Tesco Mobile 10c/MB and Post Mobile 16c/MB. I think they all charge 15c per SMS.

Lyca & Tesco piggyback on the Three network and Post Mobile on Vodafone.

good info there on the other providers and networks.
and I guess if the device is sending texts (and using data) then it would not be classed as "inactive" although you might want to read the t&c's - some providers say that if a phone call is not made every x period it's classed as not a valid account.

Victor

ringside wrote: »

hoping someone can help me here. I have a GPS tracker for my campervan and I want to put a SIM into it so I can send/receive SMSs with it. I'm only talking 5 ish SMSs a month and have no need for data/voice. Anyone know of the best deal out there?

If you turn off the data, how will the tracking work?

ED E

Victor wrote: »

If you turn off the data, how will the tracking work?

CoOrds can be sent via SMS. Slow but functional.

ringside

Victor wrote: »

If you turn off the data, how will the tracking work?

I send it an SMS like "Check123456" and around 1 min later I get an SMS back with a whole of data such as % battery remaining, speed(if moving) and crucially the GPS coordinates with a link that opens in Google Maps making it very easy to find the location. The data side is very nice if you want to do continual tracking and for a whole month the amount of data is low - 60MB I think. I only want this in case someone breaks into the house and takes the keys and drives it away. I have insurance but if I can have my own extra bit of insurance it makes me happier!!

ringside

Quackster wrote: »

Sorry, not my intention. Yep, Vodafone's website is an abject misery in terms of trying to mine it for useful info.

OP, there are a few other Irish providers that don't have a minimum charge for out-of-bundle data. Lyca charge 9c/MB, Tesco Mobile 10c/MB and Post Mobile 16c/MB. I think they all charge 15c per SMS.

Lyca & Tesco piggyback on the Three network and Post Mobile on Vodafone.

One of the reasons I went with vodafone is I remember reading somewhere that once you top up the credit remain available for 6 months as against other providers who vary from 30 days to 3 months. Since my usage requirements are extremely low and I hope to own the camper for the next 15years I want to minimise the recurring. There are other considerations as well such as the device uses GPRS and I believe the Three network does not use GPRS anymore(I might be wrong about this) so that rules out them if I ever do want to turn on data.

I've been racking my brain about this for the last few weeks. A single post to boards is already after giving some great answers:)

Quackster

Tesco Mobile, like Three, require either a top-up or a chargeable use every six months to keep an account active so they are more flexible than Vodafone in that regard. Also, since Three took over O2, Three SIMs have worked on O2's old 2G network so there's no issue there anymore. Tesco Mobile used to piggyback on O2 prior to the takeover and so have always had 2G service.

Post Mobile have a similar six month top-up requirement to Vodafone. Don't know about Lyca.

ringside

Quackster wrote: »

Can you change the APN on the tracker? You're getting charged €2 every time the tracker uses data because it's using Vodafone's default live.vodafone.com APN. However if you change the APN to isp.vodafone.ie instead, it's billed at 19c/MB so those connections the tracker is making should only cost you a cent at a time.

As for other options, Three doesn't have a requirement to top up every so often as long as you make at least one chargeable use every six months. Their charge for data is a lot higher, €1:01/MB, but if we're only talking about a few KB here and there, that shouldn't make an appreciable difference.

OK - time for an update and it's positive!!

One - it might have been easier to use another provider who was willing to turn off data/have a better interface/documentation than vodafone(website is terrible so must use their phone app which won't allow access to detailed usage unless I give permission to contacts - agghhhrrrr!!)

Two - taking Quackster's advice re the APN seems to be working perfectly so far as can be seen from the screenshot attached. I was thrown initially by the €1.99 charge on the 7th but figured out this was due to me adding €5 credit to an account that had €0.80 credit - Vodafone like their whole numbers!! There is now zero cost when data is being sent as the cost should be volume driven rather than time driven and as each connection is only a few KB it will take quite a few connections to hit 1MB!! I'll turn on GPRS data for a few days to see do I get charged the advertised rate of €0.19/MB. If this works out then data will end up costing about a €0.19 a year as with GPRS disabled the device will only be doing the odd bit of handshaking and thus my only cost is down to SMSs - Big thanks to Quackster and all for the knowledge gained.

Keliuss

Hi Ringside,

Interesting thread as I'm thinking of doing something similar. I've got a car "off the road" and subsequently no insurance on it either so looking for a little peace of mind with a low cost tracker that could be used if car is stolen.

Knowing what you do now, which sim/provider would you recommend? My car mostly has the battery disconnected for weeks on end and currently lives in an underground car park so is out of network coverage. I do occasionally take it to the surface car park (without it going on public roads) so it will be able to connect on those occasions.

SMS service only would suffice I'm thinking, data not needed, or am I mistaken?

Thanks
Keliuss

Edit: LOL, first post here on boards having joined in 2009. Now that's what I call a long time lurker

ringside

Keliuss wrote: »

Hi Ringside,

Interesting thread as I'm thinking of doing something similar. I've got a car "off the road" and subsequently no insurance on it either so looking for a little peace of mind with a low cost tracker that could be used if car is stolen.

Knowing what you do now, which sim/provider would you recommend? My car mostly has the battery disconnected for weeks on end and currently lives in an underground car park so is out of network coverage. I do occasionally take it to the surface car park (without it going on public roads) so it will be able to connect on those occasions.

SMS service only would suffice I'm thinking, data not needed, or am I mistaken?

Thanks
Keliuss

Edit: LOL, first post here on boards having joined in 2009. Now that's what I call a long time lurker

@Keliuss - I's 99% read, 1% contribute but beginning to change

The device I bought was https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MS3ML86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and the SIM is vodafone using the APN that Quackster recommended - works brilliantly. I am getting about 6 weeks from the battey with GPRS etc disabled. I could power from the camper battery but a €50 device may not have the best quality control on the Li battery and so wanted to play it safe.

In the basement of a car park you may get SMS(probably will) but are unlikely to get GPS which is the important one. Therefore I'd look at a device that has motion detection(from a motion sensor rather than from differential on GPS). I did come across one for around the same money - might even be the one I have. If you want me to check let me know. So in effect, Vodafone pay as you go SIM with nothing activated and only use SMS(13c an SMS) and do not use gprs - mainly because of battery, not cost.

Keliuss

ringside wrote: »

@Keliuss - I's 99% read, 1% contribute but beginning to change

The device I bought was

and the SIM is vodafone using the APN that Quackster recommended - works brilliantly. I am getting about 6 weeks from the battey with GPRS etc disabled. I could power from the camper battery but a €50 device may not have the best quality control on the Li battery and so wanted to play it safe.

In the basement of a car park you may get SMS(probably will) but are unlikely to get GPS which is the important one. Therefore I'd look at a device that has motion detection(from a motion sensor rather than from differential on GPS). I did come across one for around the same money - might even be the one I have. If you want me to check let me know. So in effect, Vodafone pay as you go SIM with nothing activated and only use SMS(13c an SMS) and do not use gprs - mainly because of battery, not cost.

Thanks for the quick response. I'm not bothered that there is no signal underground, I just mentioned it as there will be long periods of no signal connection/traffic. I'm only interested in it being of some use if the car was stolen. Just trying to figure out which SIM option works out the cheapest.

I've not got a tracker yet but am looking at some of the cheap ones from eBay/AliExpress.

Also, while it's great that you've got the right info from forum member Quacktster I'm not sure I'd want to be relying on help from a forum to get it set up correctly. Would the APN setup info have been forthcoming from Vodafone?

Anyway, with Vodafone PAYG you only have to top up every 6 months (8 months really according to there conditions) with a minimum €5 top up is only €10 every 12/16 months, which is buttons really.

Keliuss

ringside

Keliuss wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response. I'm not bothered that there is no signal underground, I just mentioned it as there will be long periods of no signal connection/traffic. I'm only interested in it being of some use if the car was stolen. Just trying to figure out which SIM option works out the cheapest.

I've not got a tracker yet but am looking at some of the cheap ones from eBay/AliExpress.

Also, while it's great that you've got the right info from forum member Quacktster I'm not sure I'd want to be relying on help from a forum to get it set up correctly. Would the APN setup info have been forthcoming from Vodafone?

Anyway, with Vodafone PAYG you only have to top up every 6 months (8 months really according to there conditions) with a minimum €5 top up is only €10 every 12/16 months, which is buttons really.

Keliuss

Would the APN setup info have been forthcoming from Vodafone?

I found Vodafone very very difficult to deal with. When I phoned them I could not speak to someone and had to arrange a call back using an IVR system that was designed to frustrate. They did call back but very little info was forthcoming from their agent. When I tried their inapp chat feature most of the time it said no agent available. When there was I discovered that there is no autocorrect in the app so you spend a lot of time fixing spelling mistakes when trying to chat with someone. Their website would not show me detailed usage and the phone app only would when I gave it access to my phone contacts! Despicable company!!! So the answer would be no. Not easily anyways!

Now look at it from their point of view. I only want to spend a tenner a year. If they have someone talk to me for 2 mins then they're losing money so while I appreciate your point of not wanting to depend on forum members I would disagree. Forums like this are phenomenal. Quackster got me a solution that works. Define your challenges, overcome the ones you can, learn about the ones you can't and ask the relevant questions. What amazes me is that people give their time and expertise free and willingly. At the end of the day the info was available on their site but you had to trawl thru a lot of paragraphs to get to it. Quackster had done that and the solution worked.

Zverklez

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/112462582#Comment_112462582

Does anybody know if this APN still works?