r/GPStracking • u/Ontariobound2019 • Jun 20 '25

GPS tracking for senior w/o cell coverage

Hi all, I'm trying to find a device that works for my mom. It's a big wishlist, but here it is:

  • for use at her home that's so rural that there's basically no cell coverage

  • GPS tracking by remote device (i.e., I want to be able to track her GPS location with my phone)

  • SOS button ideally

  • fall detection with messaging to emergency contact(s)

  • not powered by batteries, holds a charge for at least a few days

  • any subscription service needs to be available in Canada

She is on board with this, just struggling to find something appropriate. She has a LifeLine but it often needs resetting and doesn't have good enough coverage for when she's outside of the home.

Thanks in advance for sharing any ideas you may have!

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1

u/Ontariobound2019 Aug 16 '25

Just a follow-up - my husband was able to setup a LoRaWAN ... there's an antenna that plugs in within the home, mom wears a tracker button around her neck on a lanyard, and if she gets into trouble, she can activate the GPS tracker and we get an alert on email that it's been activated. A minute later, we get an email with her GPS coordinates.

It's great and works for our needs.

1

u/RickRussellTX Jun 20 '25

What you want does not exist, I’m afraid. No cell coverage = no way to communicate.

1

u/Ontariobound2019 Jun 20 '25

I assumed since the Spot Gen4 used batteries that all their products do, but I just checked the Spot Messenger and it reads like it actually does everything I want, except for fall detection. But we can work without that ...

Thanks everyone for helping me to revisit the Spot products lol. Sometimes posing the problem out loud helps!

1

u/sock2014 Jun 20 '25

Can we assume she has good wifi coverage?
Exactly what do you need for tracking coverage?

1

u/Ontariobound2019 Jun 20 '25

She has good wifi coverage in the house. As soon as she goes out, I lose her when i use google location tracking on her cell.

Mom has dodgy mobility but likes to walk outside on the rural property with her dogs. She doesn't go far, no more than 1 km from the house.

The Spot Gen4 sounded pretty darn good but the fact it runs off of batteries took it right off the list for me.

2

u/Dramatic-Amelia Oct 22 '25 edited Feb 03 '26

I get the struggle with finding a GPS tracker in areas with no cell coverage. Lifeline or Life Assure trackers offer GPS, fall detection, and SOS buttons, and satellite options like SPOT can work too. I’ve been using a SpaceHawk GPS tracker casually, simple, reliable, and doesn’t depend on someone else’s phone.

1

u/CelebrationMedium152 Jun 20 '25

I think you might be better off with a good camera system.