Set up a tracker by SMS

A tracker with a SIM card does nothing useful until it knows two things: how to get onto the internet, and where to send its position. You tell it both by SMS, from your own phone. This guide explains what each message does and the order to send them in. It does not list the messages. Each model has its own, and they change, so the exact current messages are on your model’s page under supported trackers, ready to copy.

What the setup SMS does

• The APN. This is the name of the mobile network’s door to the internet. Every network has its own. The TK103 manual says it must be set before the tracker can report over data. The Concox manual says that on some networks a user name and a password go with it, and the TK103 manual says most countries do not need them. Our model pages give the APN for Safaricom and Airtel Kenya SIMs. On any other network, ask the network for its APN.
• The server address and port. This is where the tracker sends its position. The address is Fleetrift’s, and the port depends on your tracker’s family. Your model’s page has both, filled in.
• The mode, on some families. The TK103 manual says a new unit starts in SMS mode, and the ST-901 manual says the same. In that mode the tracker answers texts but does not report to a server. One more message switches it to data mode.
• The password. Some families put a password in every message. The ST-901 manual says its default is 0000. The TK103 manual says 123456. The Concox GT06N manual puts none in these messages. A new Teltonika has none, which is why its messages start with two spaces. Where there is a password, the model page says which one to try first.

Other settings you may see in a manual

Our setup does not ask you to change these.

• The reporting interval is how often the tracker sends a position. The GT06N manual gives a default of every 10 seconds and allows 10 to 18,000 seconds. The ST-901 manual gives 20 seconds with the ignition on and 300 seconds with it off, and a minimum of 5. Our reading, not from a manual: a shorter gap draws a finer trail and uses more data from the SIM.
• The time zone is the tracker’s own clock setting. The GT06N manual’s default is E8, eight hours ahead of UTC, and the ST-901 manual’s is zero.

If you change a password, write the new one down. The TK103 manual warns that if you lose it, the unit has to be reloaded with software to get back to the original setting.

Before you start

• Check the SIM. Put it in an ordinary phone first. Make sure it has credit and a data bundle, and that it has no PIN. The Concox manual says to make sure the SIM has enough credit, and to watch the SIM’s data charge.
• Know the SIM’s number. You will send every message to it.
• Know your family. If you are not sure which tracker you have, read Which tracker do I have? first.
• Switch the tracker on outdoors. The ST-901 manual says the antenna side should face clear sky and that it cannot sit under metal. The TK103 manual lists a position of all zeros as a fault to check the antenna for.

The steps, in order

1. Put the SIM in the tracker and switch it on, with the sky above it.
2. Open your model’s page under supported trackers, next to your SMS app.
3. Send the APN message. Use the one for your SIM’s network. Wait for the tracker’s reply.
4. Send the server message. Wait for the reply.
5. If your family has one, send the mode message. Wait for the reply.
6. If your family has a check message, send it. The makers’ manuals say it replies with what the tracker has stored, such as the APN and the address. Read it against your model’s page.
7. Use the free live test to watch it report, or press Start free at the foot of this page, sign up and add the tracker.

Send one message at a time and wait for the reply before the next. The replies in the manuals are short: “OK”, “SET OK”, “GPRS ok!”, “adminip OK”. They differ by family.

Copy the messages, do not type them. The Concox manual says the commas must be plain English commas with no space before or after. One wrong character spoils the message.

What can go wrong

• No credit or no data on the SIM. The tracker then cannot reach any server, however right the messages are. The GT06N manual’s fault table lists a wrongly fitted or dirty SIM among the causes of a tracker that will not connect.
• A weak signal. The same table says to try again in a better signal area.
• No reply to a message. Check the password, the SIM number you sent to, and that the tracker is on and has signal. The manuals describe the reply to a good message and nothing more, so if the checks do not help, ask the seller for the unit’s password.
• A message that worked but nothing on the map. On a family with a mode message, the tracker may still be in SMS mode.
• A unit that refuses a name. The ST-901 and TK103 manuals show a numeric server address only. A unit may not accept a name in its place. Where this applies, your model’s page says so and says what to do.
• The wrong family. A message for one family does nothing on another. Check the make and model again.
• A reply you cannot read. Do not guess. Send us the text through Contact and we will help.

Then see it on the map

Once the tracker has reported, it shows on your map. The free live test lets you watch its messages arrive before you sign up, and tells you whether we can read them.