LiveTrek Sentinel FAQ

Q1. There are so many Q&A’s below! How am I going to find the answer I’m looking for?

A. Easy! Press control on your keyboard which is shown as “Ctrl” and at the same time, press the “F” button. This will come out likely with a Find/search menu somewhere at the bottom or top of your browser. Simply type in the search keywords you are looking for . e.g GPS, battery life, trouble setting up, waterproof, etc.

Below is a range of Q&A’s to help you understand what is normally being asked about the different types of tracking technologies being used. Further below are common questions we get asked by Sentinel users which can help some new Sentinel users troubleshoot problems they may face if any.

Q2. Can I install the LiveTrek Sentinel myself? 

A. You definitely can because this tracker has a built-in battery and does not require a constant power supply. You may want to conceal it under your dashboard or elsewhere on the car, boat. It's a very simple job!

Q3. Will the iCar app work on any phone?

A. The iCar App can be installed on any iPhone or Android (e.g. Samsung) smartphone.

Q4. How does it actually work?

A. The LiveTrek Sentinel tracker uses GPS satellites to determine its current location and then uses the mobile phone network to transmit that data to your phone. The free, easy to use iCar phone App allows you to do much more like using the Parking Monitor feature, setting a Geofence, seeing where your tracker has been, checking the strength of the GPS signal and GSM or mobile network signal, changing the icon and name displayed on your phone for each tracker etc.

Q5. Can I track more than one car, boat or motorbike at once?

A. You can track an unlimited number of vehicles through the iCar app.

Q6. Can I allow my friends or family to track my vehicle?

A. Yes. They just install the free iCar App on their phone and add your tracker to it. To do this you need to give them the IMEI code of your tracker and the share code you have selected and then they can instantly see where your vehicle is. They cannot set a Geofence or Parking Monitor or Location History or change the settings ... only you can do that!

Q7. How do I know if my car has been stolen?

A. If you want to be alerted when your car moves without you in it then use the Parking Monitor feature. When you park your car simply press the grey "P" icon on your iCar "Current Location" screen. The icon will turn blue when activated.  The tracker uses a g-sensor trigger that will detect movement and you will be alerted immediately by receiving a notification on your phone.

Q8. How do I know if my boat has been stolen?

A. If you want to be alerted when your boat is stolen from a garage or parking spot then use the Parking Monitor feature as explained in the previous question. If the car is moored on water and may be moving regularly then, instead of using the Parking Monitor method, simply set a Geofence or virtual boundary. If your boat leaves that designated boundary you will again be alerted immediately.

Q9. Is the tracking in "real time"? 

A. You can choose how often you need updates from the tracker. You can choose any of the 5 options ranging from 30 seconds updates to 2 hour updates.. You can set this on your phone via the app. If the tracker is in Sleep mode (designed to save power usage) because it hasn't moved for several minutes, the tracker will update every 2 hours just to save power.

Q10. What happens if the tracker is in an area with no 3G mobile coverage?

A. We have addressed many issues in developing the LiveTrek Sentinel but this is one that we can do nothing about. If the tracker is in an area with no mobile phone coverage then it cannot send the data to you and will not update on your phone until it moves back into mobile phone coverage.

Q11. How can i check if my SIM activation is OK? 

A. Call the mobile phone number you have been provided with and if it rings and then hangs up and you get a text giving you the current location then all is good. If it goes straight to a voice mail then there is no power to the unit or there is an issue with the SIM card activation.

Q12. What ongoing costs do I have to meet after I have purchased my LiveTrek Sentinel tracker?

A. The great news here is that there is virtually no added ongoing costs to monitor the tracker because it is all self-managed by you. After purchasing your LiveTrek Sentinel there are no ongoing subscription or management fees!!

The iCar app is free and the data usage in the location updates is minimal. 

We recommend using prepaid SIM cards in your LiveTrek Sentinel. In fact we supply the trackers pre-fitted with a SIM card. Although you can use SIM cards from other telcos we use the SIM card with a 12 month expiry on data usage.

The APN to allow your tracker to send location data to your smartphone has also
already been set up for you.

The SIM card has $5 prepaid credit on it that will generally last at least 3 months but the SIM card needs to be activated for the tracker to work. Easy to follow  instructions come with the tracker to allow you to activate your SIM card.

You can add credit to your SIM card at any time by simply logging on to your new account. Even with the most frequent location updates $15 credit should last a full year!

If you prefer to use an alternative SIM card such as Telstra mobile, Vodafone or Optus you can replace the pre-fitted SIM card with the SIM card of your choice. In these cases you may have to set up a new APN specific to the SIM card brand you are using and be aware that these telcos may charge you monthly fees as part of their data plans and this may be more expensive than the sim provider that we use. 

The APN for other providers are as follows:

Telstra: telstra.internet

Optus: yesinternet

Vodafone: live.vodafone.com

Aldi: mdata.net.au

To setup the APN send the following text message to the number linked to your tracker. The following example shows you how to setup a telstra APN on your tracker.

510#0000#telstra.internet

So the only ongoing cost is the data usage on your SIM card and, in the case of the pre-fitted SIM card, that will be only about $15 per year! 

Q13. What if there is no GPS reception for the GPS Tracker? What causes it?

A. The GPS receiver in the LiveTrek Sentinel Tracker works much like your car's GPS navigation, take it inside the house and it will, in most cases, lose GPS reception.

So if your car happens to be parked in a building or under a house or anywhere that can cover the tracker from the sky chances are you may not get GPS reception but you can use Location History to see where your car travelled up to the last minute before it lost the GPS location.

Q14. Does the Geo-fence alert work in Power Saving mode?

A. Yes - however, the Geofence alert will only trigger if the tracker is detected at the next scheduled location update that could be up to 2 hours away in Power Saving mode. If you change from Power Saving mode to Normal or Urgent mode, the change will take place within 15 minutes regardless of when the next location update is due i.e. you do not need to wait for up to 2 hours for the change in mode to occur.

Q15. What does the flashing green LED mean?

A. See the table below.