Working 2D prepay SIM apparently not working in new GPS tracker...

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Talkiet

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#108031 23-Aug-2012 17:16

Background: Had existing perfectly fine GPS tracker and 2D prepaid sim card. Works fine, I phone it and hang up, it texts me back the position of the device. It is configured using a number of SMS commands. Only problem, the model doesn't support going to sleep so constantly draws a small amount of power (~50mA) and in a car I may go weeks without driving, this is too much.

Solution: Buy newer model of GPS tracker that supports going to sleep... Arrives.

Item arrives and I take the SIM out of the old tracker, put it into the new one, wait a few minutes and send the init SMS... no response. I phone it, it hangs up after a ring (as it should) but no SMS response. I remove the SIM card and get the normal "can't find the number" message from the system.

Put the SIM card back in the old tracker, turn on, wait a couple of minutes, phone it... It replies as per normal.

Put SIM back in new tracker and now note that when I txt or call the new tracker, I can hear the usual GSM interference if I hold it up to my ear. I also note that if I leave it 5 minutes and the device goes to sleep and I then phone or text it, it duly wakes up (LEDs come back on) but still no response.

If I had been using the wrong passcode in the SMS messages, it should sms back a 'bad passcode' message. I also tried sending a factory reset code - no response.

So... I phoned 2d and asked if there was any reason a prepaid SIM being put into a new device might not be fully active immediately but the fact it wasn't a phone blew the poor support persons mind and they were no help.

And yes, I checked I have credit... There's $29.30 on it and I am able to see usage recorded in the 2d 2d portal when I have the SIM in the old GPS tracker.

I've tried texting it from a Telecom mobile, a VF mobile and a 2d mobile (although that had a ported 021 number) all with the same (lack of) results.

Here's the specific questions:

1) Is anyone aware of any reason why a device may register with 2d, but then not be able to make outbound texts?

2) Is someone from 2d able to look at their records and see if there is a record of the device successfully registering on the network? I don't have the IMEI (I can only get that by interrogating the device through an SMS enquiry!) but happy to supply the number to a 2d staff member.

It really doesn't 'feel like' a hardware fault - it feels like it's trying to send messages but they aren't getting accepted.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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#676052 23-Aug-2012 17:26

Hi,

Our SIMs are generally for use in phones, modems and tablets. That said, they often do work in GPS devices. Please PM me the number for the SIM in the GPS tracker, the make and model of the tracker and a contact number.I'll get one of our tech team to check it out.

Thanks
^MM

Talkiet

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#676059 23-Aug-2012 17:34

2DegreesCare: Hi,

Our SIMs are generally for use in phones, modems and tablets. That said, they often do work in GPS devices. Please PM me the number for the SIM in the GPS tracker, the make and model of the tracker and a contact number.I'll get one of our tech team to check it out.

Thanks
^MM

Brilliant, thanks for the quick reply - have PMed you the requested info.

Cheers - Neil G

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

1eStar

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#676128 23-Aug-2012 20:40

Have you got a Vodafone sim? Try that in the new tracker. Is it possible to configure any settings in the tracker? The message centre number could be wrong, or uses a set of preconfigured numbers of which 2degrees is missing.

freitasm

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#676138 23-Aug-2012 21:11

This... Check that there's a command to configure the Message Centre number via SMS.

Talkiet

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#676140 23-Aug-2012 21:16

I just tried a VF SIM, but it didn't work in either the old or new GPS tracker so I am writing that off to sunspots :-)

I don't understand how the message centre number could be relevant, bearing in mind that the exact same SIM worked previously in a very similar GPS tracker, and worked again 5 minutes ago in the older GPS tracker. There are no options to setup a message centre number in either the old or new tracker - and it was not required for the last 14 months it's worked perfectly in the old model.

It's only possible to configure the tracker via SMS commands, so it needs to work first!

Cheers - N

[edit] I note that there _might_ be an option to configure SMS message centre in the command set, but it certainly wasn't used in the original tracker... I'll look into it and see if it is accepted for this model.

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#676146 23-Aug-2012 21:46

Right, there was a command to set the SMS message centre, and I tried sending it but got no response...

Put the SIM back in the older model and sent the same command, and got a happy "ok" response. (I had never sent this command before , so the old model had been working without me setting any SMS message centre for over a year)

Also noticed that the old model takes a lot longer to get a GSM signal, so that was the reason it appeared not to work with the VF SIM I tried (which has unfortunately gone walkabout with it's owner now)

Still thoroughly confused - thanks for the suggestions so far...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

nakedmolerat

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#676203 24-Aug-2012 04:36

What is the brand/model of the gps tracker?

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Talkiet

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#676264 24-Aug-2012 09:28

nakedmolerat: What is the brand/model of the gps tracker?

The original one that worked (and still works) fine with the 2D SIM is this:

http://www.pumpkinhot.co.uk/g204-gps-car-tracker-p-38961.html

The new one that I just can't make respond, even to the initial setup texts, is this:

http://www.pumpkinhot.co.uk/realtime-car-gps-tracker-portable-weatherproof-magnet-p-38963.html

Still no resolution and it hasn't magically fixed itself this morning.

I should be clear that the new device is DEFINITELY registering on the 2D network as texts to the number cause the device to wake from sleep mode. It's either not responding, or 2D isn't accepting it's text back.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

SaltyNZ

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#676274 24-Aug-2012 09:41

Talkiet:
nakedmolerat: What is the brand/model of the gps tracker?

The original one that worked (and still works) fine with the 2D SIM is this:

http://www.pumpkinhot.co.uk/g204-gps-car-tracker-p-38961.html

The new one that I just can't make respond, even to the initial setup texts, is this:

http://www.pumpkinhot.co.uk/realtime-car-gps-tracker-portable-weatherproof-magnet-p-38963.html

Still no resolution and it hasn't magically fixed itself this morning.

I should be clear that the new device is DEFINITELY registering on the 2D network as texts to the number cause the device to wake from sleep mode. It's either not responding, or 2D isn't accepting it's text back.

Cheers - N

This is a complete guess, and probably won't actually help, but: I have found that some - not all - USB sticks won't send SMS via our SMSC unless they send in PDU mode instead of text mode. Most likely the comms chip on the device is one of the same family as you'd find in a USB data stick (why wouldn't they be?) so it may be that the new one has this incompatibility.

That might be your problem, but since you can't poke it, unlike a USB data stick, I don't know how you would verify or fix the problem even if you could verify.

Have you tried checking the account balance before and after an attempt to command it to send an SMS? If the balance goes down it indicates it did successfully submit a message to the network, in which case we might be able to assist.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

freitasm

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#676279 24-Aug-2012 09:46

Talkiet: Background: Had existing perfectly fine GPS tracker and 2D prepaid sim card. Works fine, I phone it and hang up, it texts me back the position of the device. It is configured using a number of SMS commands. Only problem, the model doesn't support going to sleep so constantly draws a small amount of power (~50mA) and in a car I may go weeks without driving, this is too much.

A bit unrelated but... We have a GPS tracker that plugs into our OBD II adapter for power, and if we don't use the car for four or five days the battery is gone. Even on a new battery. It doesn't happen frequently, except that one time we left the car behind and joined the parents-in-law for a short trip.

Also a technician at Ford told me that sometimes the computer enters a special state for diagnostics when it senses something is plugged to the OBD II adapter, so we should really make sure these GPS trackers are not affecting the car in any way - not sure about this as I don't know how the protocol works and how each car responds to the device...

Talkiet

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#676281 24-Aug-2012 09:51

SaltyNZ:

This is a complete guess, and probably won't actually help, but: I have found that some - not all - USB sticks won't send SMS via our SMSC unless they send in PDU mode instead of text mode. Most likely the comms chip on the device is one of the same family as you'd find in a USB data stick (why wouldn't they be?) so it may be that the new one has this incompatibility.

That might be your problem, but since you can't poke it, unlike a USB data stick, I don't know how you would verify or fix the problem even if you could verify.

Hmmm... the manual for the device says:

"Please make sure that the SIM card is GSM network and able to execute the function of incoming calls display, no calls can be diverted and the PIN code is locked. The SMS format must be TXT format, and can’t recognize the PDU format"

From that I take it that the chipset used doesn't like PDU - is there a chance (shooting from the hip here) that the message I send to the device is being encoded as PDU (by 2D) but being interpreted as text and therefore it's receiving what to it, doesn't satisfy the strict formatting requirements for the command messages?

Have you tried checking the account balance before and after an attempt to command it to send an SMS? If the balance goes down it indicates it did successfully submit a message to the network, in which case we might be able to assist.

Yes, I have checked this. Account balance doesn't change.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#676285 24-Aug-2012 09:55

freitasm:
Talkiet: Background: Had existing perfectly fine GPS tracker and 2D prepaid sim card. Works fine, I phone it and hang up, it texts me back the position of the device. It is configured using a number of SMS commands. Only problem, the model doesn't support going to sleep so constantly draws a small amount of power (~50mA) and in a car I may go weeks without driving, this is too much.

A bit unrelated but... We have a GPS tracker that plugs into our OBD II adapter for power, and if we don't use the car for four or five days the battery is gone. Even on a new battery. It doesn't happen frequently, except that one time we left the car behind and joined the parents-in-law for a short trip.

Also a technician at Ford told me that sometimes the computer enters a special state for diagnostics when it senses something is plugged to the OBD II adapter, so we should really make sure these GPS trackers are not affecting the car in any way - not sure about this as I don't know how the protocol works and how each car responds to the device...

Wow - to kill a normal car sized battery in a few days it must be drawing heaps - at LEAST a couple hundred mA... It's essentially the same reason though I am switching... the new device has an ultra low draw sleep mode - about 4mA... Even on my piddly battery that should last several months - and the battery in the new tracker is (nominally) 6000mAh

Oh, you can check this by testing the draw on the battery when the car is completely off (ignition off, no doors open etc)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYUoXApI89Q&feature=related

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

SaltyNZ

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#676287 24-Aug-2012 10:01

The interesting thing is that both those product pages say they use the exact same GSM module. So my theory is probably not correct.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

Talkiet

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#676566 24-Aug-2012 19:41

Update:

2D have been in contact and have been very helpful with information about when the device has been seen on their network etc, but just this evening I was able to borrow another VF SIM and gave it a few minutes to connect unlike the rushed test last night.

The new tracker works perfectly with a VF SIM (taken out of an iPhone and held in and adaptor) but still doesn't work with the 2d SIM.

The easiest solution might be just to get a VF SIM, that's a shame as I have $30 credit on the 2d SIM and the text messages are half the price of VF, but I really do want it to work :-)

Thanks to the 2d support people though - they have been very responsive and I don't feel as if I was being fobbed off.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

richms

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#677040 26-Aug-2012 10:13

Interesting, I had a lot of problems when I was trying a 2 degrees sim in a cheap deal extreme GPS, a VF sim worked fine so we left it at that.

I was planning on going back to 2degrees so I could use the shared data with it but if you didnt get a solution to this then I might just not bother. Would be useful since i was planning on getting a couple more of them.

Richard rich.ms

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