I have been shopping around for a tracking device for my three year old that is going to Pre K for the first time.
In my searches I stumped upon AmberAlertgps.com and watched the demo.
It looked great and it seemed to be everything I needed, granted the device is a little larger then I would really like, was looking for something that could be easily concealed but I understand that the technology is still not there so this being the smallest I was willing to concede.
So I ordered and received my device. Immediately started testing and found that the Safe Zone alert configuration was not working (it would not take settings), and the red circle on the demo map that delimits the safe zone was not present on the map on my portal so the only way I could attempt to setup the safety zone was to guess the amount of feet my Childs school is from my house to determine the safe zone.
So with these issues in mind I called tech support and I have to say the person on the other end was very nice, so we started by fixing the safe zone configuration, we were able to get it to accept new input settings so I was very happy then I asked the rep about the red safety zone boundary that I saw on the demo’s map and he informed me that the circle is a visual aid on the demo and it really does not show up on the portal. Hold on wait a minute if it’s on the demo I expect it to be accessible to me but I understand that there is nothing he can do about and I thanked him for his assistance and his understanding.
Well it’s not over yet folks, so now with the safety zone setup I decided to take this baby for a test drive, so I got into my car, placed the device on the dashboard and off I went.
I had setup the safety zone to 0.5 miles so I drove well behind the boundary and… Nothing happened, no text, no emails, nothing. So I returned home and checked all the settings and all looked good. So am a little confused on what is going on. Do I have a defective device, is my portal somehow not working properly? I have no idea.
I’m going to take the device with me tomorrow and try everything all over again and give tech support a call to see what is going on. This is one of the most important gadgets I have purchased in my life; I need it to work with no glitches.
Now in the providers defense this is a technology that is in its infancy so I will continue to work with them to get this fixed and hopefully we will get it right.
So to summarize, this may be the most important purchase in your life, it will give you a little more peace of mind (if such a thing exists when we have to care for our young one) but be patient as with any other technology there is a break in period. I recommend tracking devices for all kids.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I will keep you updated on resolutions.
P.S. – suggestion for provider: It would be nice if the device had openings on the extremities that would allow the Ankle/Arm bracelet go thru it without having to use the pouch. Also a little improvement on your website would be helpful. I can’t purchase accessories without creating another username and password.
Comments
Hi, Tony
Thanks so much for your feedback. Our tech support agent would like to contact you to discuss your post. We don't have your last name. Could you reach me at alan@amberalertgps.com and give me your name and phone number and I'll have our tech support guy contact you.
I'm not an owner of Aber Alert but another locator service for kids and they have the same problems. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't
I've been in the GPS business since the 90's and continue to track anything on this planet. I suggest you look at a 1 mile radius setting. Most gps systems work fine at 1 mile or greater. Too many things get in the way for them to see the sky properly and lock in the location in under 1 mile radius (half mile in a straight line) and they get into a lost state until they can sit still for a while and locate that current postion.
UPDATE - Okay so first of all thank you all for replaying and Alan, thank you for trying to get in touch with me.
The problem I had was an activation issue, and a quit save on the user tab took care of it.
The person I spoke with to resolve my activation issue also took care of the safety zone marker now we get a circle when setting up the zone. So i want to thank him for listening.
I've had some minor issues here and there with the website and was just informed that there is a small issue with Internet explorer and the site but Firefox works great so I will use firefox from now on. Not a problem at all.
I have had to talk to tech support here and there in this last month but it's fine, I'm also in the break in period so... some are my fault others are just bugs that can be fixed right away.
Above all, now i know what I can expect from the device so I'm okay. In the end it's all about expectations.
To summarize this may not be all one expects, but then again what is?
In my opinion there are some improvements that can be done but in the end it does what I need... It works and lets me know that my little one is safe.
I would recomend the device to everyone but would set expectations to avoid any issues.
Another way to deal with this safezone issue would be to go to help on your portal and set the intervals between activities. if you set it at 1 min then the devise should check its location every minute. this will drain your battery though!
I also ordered a Amber Alert GPS for my child. I've had the unit for almost a month and have had endless problems getting it to work properly and consistently. I updated the the recent firmware and at this point the device doesn't work at all. User support is frustrating and slow and the user interface is constantly changing so what worked one day may not work the next. My advice: save your money or at least wait a little while until they've got some of the kinks worked out.
Hi sam
The thing needs some patience, I did the firmware upgrade and this caused the Users to be erased. the website did not show that the Users were erased, but the devise forgot the phone numbers. so just by re-saving the phone numbers and emails it will work again
how much it cost?
I have had problems with this GPS as well and when I needed it the most. Two separate occasions I could not locate my Son and there was no reason for it. It is frustrating when all I want to do is protect my child and I cannot even locate him with the GPS locator. I cannot even reach customer support. I understand they are new, but I am still a paying customer and a worried mother who has had two scares that could have been avoided if the GPS device actually worked.
In your own words does this work ???
-----Original Message-----
Date: Friday, February 12, 2010 5:12:56 pm
To: catinanewyork@aol.com
From: "Diane" <support@groupieguide.com>
Subject: [Amber Alert GPS] New comment Posted