Phantom Tracker not Updating

[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

Just thought I would post this in case anyone else has had the same problem. We have a Phantom cat 6 tracker on our AutoTrail. It comes with an app for your phone. This app updates regularly confirming the location of your motorhome and also battery and mileage details.

I discovered yesterday that it had not updated since May 17th. After a lot of faffing about with Phantom and the dealer it appears that the problem is as follows: The Orange network no longer supports trackers. My vehicle was trying to log on there and failing. To overcome this problem you need to re-boot the tracker. This you do by opening the fuse box (by your right hand knee when sitting in the drivers seat, it is a Ducato by the way). Look in there and find the plug at the bottom left, under the green flap - the one with the red circle round it in the picture below. The Plug has one red wire, one black wire and two blue wires coming out of it. Pull this plug out and leave for 24 hours. Then plug back in and it should have re-booted and should connect as normal.

However, I got as far as unscrewing the fuse box and then noticed that my tracker app had updated a couple of minutes before after 5 days of inertia! Phantom checked it out and it is now connecting to Vodafone.

The reason for posting this is Phantom told me that I am the 4th person recently that has had this problem so someone out there might be searching this site for info!

 

[Just smiffy]

You picture shows the OBD plug....?

 

[andynkim]

Picking up power from obd port??

 

[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

I am no expert but that is what he told me:

"It would appear your sim inside the tracking device is not attaching itself to a network at the moment for some reason, I have spoken to the Network and they have advised to me to reboot the tracking device by disconnecting power from it for 24 hours in order for it to reboot. This can be done by locating the OBD port on your vehicle and unplugging the alarm itself,​

I assume they would get an alert if anyone did this and they would alert me, is that your concern? As I said, I am no expert and the instructions you get with this tracker do not enlighten you much, they are pretty poor as to explaining how it works which does not help when things go wrong.

 

[138go]

You would have thought if the tracker could not connect to a network it would just reboot itself and try again rather than just do nothing. Sounds like crap software in the tracker. Someone has never thought that it may have to log onto another network at some point.

Not everyone reads forums so I guess that someone is going to loose a MH and the tracker is not going to be working.

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[RioRob]

If it's that easy to turn off the tracker, let's hope the bad lads aren't aware of it!

 

[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

I am inclined to agree with you all. I will see what else gets posted then take it up with Phantom and see what their reply is and let you know. Meanwhile motorhome is in a secure cossa (?) Site with a wheel lock and a steering lock on it!

 

[138go]

Will be round later then with my new diamond bladed battery powered 4” angle grinder. Should only take a couple of seconds to get that lot off. I lent my son in law a ladder and gave him the chain and decent padlock to go with it. Warned him it was the only key I had but it went missing. Took all of 2 minutes to cut through the chain when I needed the ladder back.

 

[Deneb]

If they are just plugging into the OBD port that is absolutely appalling as any thief using a key compromise to steal the van is going to disable it straight away whether intentionally or otherwise.

 

[Just smiffy]

I am inclined to agree with you all. I will see what else gets posted then take it up with Phantom and see what their reply is and let you know. Meanwhile motorhome is in a secure cossa (?) Site with a wheel lock and a steering lock on it!

Are you sure....? As your tracker could still be sitting on the ground where your Motorhome was and in reality the Motorhome is on a ferry out of the country.....

Seriously though, a tracker that’s easy to find and unplug is not much use, do you pay a fee for this..?

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[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

The tracker is hidden, not directly plugged into the power supply - with a label on it saying tracker!! How else will it work without a source of power then?!

 

[eddie]

If they are just plugging into the OBD port that is absolutely appalling as any thief using a key compromise to steal the van is going to disable it straight away whether intentionally or otherwise.

You would be amazed how many Gemini systems are plugged straight into the OBD port!

Plug into the OBD port, configure alarm to work on the central locking key add a couple of wireless sensors and Jobs done, can I have my cheque please as the "Nationwide Installer" is off down the road

 

[Deneb]

I gave you a like for your post Eddie, but as for the content I really don't like it at all

As you say, there are several alarms that "work" that way!

 

[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

For all you would-be thieves out there !

Thief breaks into secure compound through high metal gates with spikes on top. Selects my motorhome and then makes a massive noise axle-grinding the wheel lock off. By the way, there are CCTV cameras everywhere and the site is next to a residential park home site one side and the owners house the other.

He then breaks into the motorhome at which point the
the ultrasonics would trigger the alarm straight away and Phantom and I get an alert. He then picks up his trusty angle grinder again to remove the heavy duty steering lock - more noise. He unscrews the fuse box cover and disconnects as above. The tracking device has a back-up battery inside, which will be active when OBD is disconnected, That is why you disconnect the OBD FOR 24 hours to kill the battery inside the tracking device. It will still be able to track the Motorhome without the OBD connected running off it’s back up battery, Which will last long enough to get it back.

As soon as the OBD is pulled then Phantom would get an alarm from it which will be a P/D alert as well, If my keys are stolen (well hidden at home and we have a dog, he might not be very big but he has wonderful hearing and makes a lot of noise if he hears anyone around the house!) then I can activate the shield function on my app and this will send me an unauthorised movement alert to my mobile and my husband's mobile as soon as they start the ignition on the vehicle. This can be done by enabling the shield function on my app or my online portal.

Then thief has to get the vehicle out of the compound - you need a special fob to open the gate to do this.

Oh, and I have decided labelling the device - "TRACKER" and putting a note in the glove compartment saying where it is would not be a good thing to do either (I am joking, just in case you were wondering).

Hopefully pick an easier target then.

 

[Just smiffy]

For all you would-be thieves out there !

View attachment 305495

Thief breaks into secure compound through high metal gates with spikes on top. Selects my motorhome and then makes a massive noise axle-grinding the wheel lock off. By the way, there are CCTV cameras everywhere and the site is next to a residential park home site one side and the owners house the other.

He then breaks into the motorhome at which point the
the ultrasonics would trigger the alarm straight away and Phantom and I get an alert. He then picks up his trusty angle grinder again to remove the heavy duty steering lock - more noise. He unscrews the fuse box cover and disconnects as above. The tracking device has a back-up battery inside, which will be active when OBD is disconnected, That is why you disconnect the OBD FOR 24 hours to kill the battery inside the tracking device. It will still be able to track the Motorhome without the OBD connected running off it’s back up battery, Which will last long enough to get it back.

As soon as the OBD is pulled then Phantom would get an alarm from it which will be a P/D alert as well, If my keys are stolen (well hidden at home and we have a dog, he might not be very big but he has wonderful hearing and makes a lot of noise if he hears anyone around the house!) then I can activate the shield function on my app and this will send me an unauthorised movement alert to my mobile and my husband's mobile as soon as they start the ignition on the vehicle. This can be done by enabling the shield function on my app or my online portal.

Then thief has to get the vehicle out of the compound - you need a special fob to open the gate to do this.

Oh, and I have decided labelling the device - "TRACKER" and putting a note in the glove compartment saying where it is would not be a good thing to do either (I am joking, just in case you were wondering).

Hopefully pick an easier target then.

Na, they’ll just wait till your in France and then Gas ya......

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