For most people, the four legged furry beings that live with them are not just pets, but are part of the family. That means we worry about them just like we do our children. With kids and other loved ones, we can call them on the phone when we want to check up on them. But how do you keep an eye on your pets when you’re not with them? A video surveillance system is an option, but that only works when the pet is in the house or your yard. Once they are out of the camera’s view, you’re stuck. Tagg the Pet Tracker is a clever solution that uses GPS technology to help you locate your pet at any given moment and alerts you when they stray out of a predefined zone.
Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.
Package Contents
Tagg Tracker
Tagg Docking Station
AC adapter / USB cable
Collar Clips and straps
Quick Start Guide
The Tagg Pet Tracker system is marketed more towards dogs, but it can work with cats too… as long as the cat (or dog) weighs more than 10 lbs.
For this review, my 15 lb cat Max, graciously volunteered his services. Max can be a little stinker and will sometimes stay out all night. Jeanne and I often wonder where the heck he goes at night and thought the Tagg Pet Tracker would be a fun way to find out.
The Tagg system is made up of 2 main parts. The dock (shown above) charges the Tagg Pet Tracker. It also has a page button that will send you an email notification of your pet’s location within 10-15 minutes after you press it.
The other part of the system is the Tagg Pet Tracker. This is the module that clips to your pet’s collar. It has a status LED (large circle on top) that blinks Blue while the tracker is charging. The smaller button is the Trip button, which can be pressed to disable the Tagg zone while walking your pet or running errands outside the predetermined zone that you’ve created.
The Tagg Pet Tracker has an internal battery that can last up to 30 days per charge.
Charging is as easy as snapping the module to the top of the dock. It takes about 2hrs to fully charge the tracker.
To attach the Tagg Pet Tracker to your pet’s existing collar, you use the included clips. Max doesn’t normally wear a collar, so I had to buy one at Walmart. Cat collars are very narrow, so I bought him the smallest dog collar that I could find. Even it is more narrow than I would like.
Here is the Tagg Pet Tracker attached to the collar. I think the attachment method could have been designed better. I’m not sure why the grey rubber wings are needed.
Here you see the Tagg module on Max. As you can tell, it’s too big for him. He was constantly trying to pull it off by putting his paws under the grey rubber wings.
To begin using the Tagg system, you have to register it online and setup the Tagg Zone.
The Tagg zone is a customizable radius around your home (the Tagg dock) of 75 to 1,000 yards. The Tagg system will locate and track your pet anywhere in the United States where there is Verizon Wireless network coverage.
The web interface allows you to enter information about your pet and also shows the battery status of the Tagg module.
The map will show the location of your pet and any current alerts. The Tagg system is great when it comes to notifications. In addition to telling you when your pet is outside the Tagg zone, it will let you know when the battery is charged, and when there is a software update. To update, you just place the tagg on the dock and the update will begin automatically. You’ll receive another email once the update is finished.
When your pet goes outside their designated zone, you’ll receive an email that shows a small thumbnail map of their location and links to pages on the Tagg website that will initiate a Locate or Tracking of your pet. When you turn on the tracking feature, you’ll receive an email with your pet’s location every 3 minutes for 30 minutes. Some of the emails also have a link to the Tagg website that shows a trail of where your pet has been. The trail is basically what you see in the image above. There’s a button to play the trail, which just shows you various points where your pet has been. It does not show an exact route or show your pet moving in real time… which I would really love to see.
To be honest, I’m not all that impressed with the web portal for the Tagg system. It is little slow and seems pretty basic as far as features go. Luckily, there’s a 2nd way to keep tabs on your pets that’s a little more interactive.
If you have an iPhone or Android phone, you can download the free Tagg app. Once logged into your account, You can see what I thought was a live view of your pet’s location as it moves around in a Google Earth view. A little Blue orb will move around on the display in real time. I was really excited to have this feature and spent several minutes watching the orb move around on my phone’s screen. My excitement disappeared when I got up from the couch to look out the back window to try to see Max in the woods. It’s then that I noticed that he was sitting perfectly still on the back patio, while the Blue orb wandered happily around the screen. I have no idea what the Blue dot is for or why it moves all by itself…
When your pet is out of the Tagg zone, you can use the mobile app to locate and get directions to your pet.
While I’ve been testing the Tagg Pet Tracker, I’ve noticed that the out of zone emails, and locate features in the app and web can be pretty laggy. For example, this morning I gave the collar to Jeanne to take with her to work since Max has not cooperated by going out of zone. I had the Tagg Zone set to the smallest area around our house (~75 yds). Jeanne left for work at 7:30am and I didn’t receive an email notification telling me that Max was out of zone until 8:19am, almost 40 minutes later. Using the locate button takes a few minutes too. I really wish there way to see your pet moving around in real time…
For what it has been designed to do, the Tagg Pet Tracker is a cool gadget. I don’t love it, but I like it and I can see how it could be a very important tool in helping to find a lost pet. Since you are required to pay $7.95/month (+ $0.95/month for any additional tracker modules) for their service, I feel it should have some more features like a mapping feature that would show a real trail of where your pet has been during a specific time, instead of just starting and ending points while they are out of the zone. And in a perfect world, I wish it would show a real-time view of your pet’s location. But I guess those are all features for the future version of this device.
Do any of you use this device or similar devices to keep track of your pets? If so, let us know your thoughts.
Product Information
| Price: | $99.95 / $7.95 per month after the end of first free month of service |
| Manufacturer: | Tagg |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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Have you heard from anyone else who has tried this device? I am considering purchase (for a large high-energy dog) but would like to know of others’ experiences. Thank you.
I purchased two trackers for two medium sized “outside dogs” with high energy. One tracker lasted less than 8 hours because one of the dogs bit the tracker, releasing it from the other’s collar, and used it as a chew toy. The other lasted longer becauuse I started taping it to the collar but eventually it also became a chew toy (about a month). Tagg would not repair or offer any type of cheaper purchase opportunity for me to replace. I still have 10 months of service but no usable trackers.
I purchased one to see how it would work. I have 3 Boxers and 21 acres for them to hide in. My main concern was the unit staying on the collar. It uses a very finicky clip on method. The unit works excellent and we thought this is it, we can now find them, but after a week, the unit was knocked off and became a chew toy. They must design a better clip on system or this excellent device will fail due to disgruntled users.
It’s dangerous to use a dog collar for a cat. Most cat collars have a “break away” design, meaning they include a link in the collar that either snaps or stretches when under tension. This feature is designed to prevent a cat from becoming stuck or strangled if the collar snags on an object. A cat’s propensity to squeeze through small areas and jump over large distances make this a necessary safety feature. Dogs, with their stronger necks and different behavior, don’t require this precaution.
According to other websites, the tracker’s rubber wings that you found objectionable contain the transmitting antenna, so they are not superfluous.
The “blue orb’s” apparent “wandering” is due to the limits of GPS accuracy. The lack of a “real time” view is a compromise to achieve the rated battery life of 30 days. “Real time” tracking would most likely limit the battery life to hours rather than days.
As technology progresses and miniaturizes, these are issues that could potentially be addressed in future products, but they shouldn’t be considered omissions or mistakes in this product; they are simply evidence of the limits of current technology in this specific type of application.
However, it does sound like they could improve upon the clipping method.
I’d love to see a product a few years down the road that achieves the promises of the this tracker in a package small enough that my normal-sized house cat would tolerate wearing it.
I have been using the Tagg unit on our very active dog (65lbs) for about 2 months and i’m very happy with the performance. About a month ago we got a new Border collie pup who is all over the older dog and the Tagg unit has not come off. You do have to make sure the unit is firmly clipped on by both hooks. I just ordered a second unit for the pup and when she gets a little bigger the Tagg unit will go on her harness.
The Family plan only adds $0.95 a month to the service subscription
i just lost my golden retriever yesterday…someone last spotted her 4 miles away from our house…i searched everywhere for her and after being missing for 26 hours, she showed up at the front door. I couldnt believe it because she is only 6 months old. our coonhound who is 3 years led her to the location she was last seen and he came home without her. I cant believe she made it back by herself. this is why im considering getting TAGG. i dont want to feel that depressed again. it seems like a great product besides the whole clip on thing. i wonder if duct tape or velcroe would work on the gray rubber wings? any suggestions on this? or any thoughts about a better product around the same price??
Carrie
As i posted after 2 months the unit has stayed on with just the clips. Maybe our new pup could knock it off the big dog since she jumps on her all the time. I may use a couple of small wire ties to insure the units stays on the collar. They can be clipped off for battery charging.
I just received a second unit for the pup and since she is only 15lbs now, I will slowly get her used to it. For now I mounted it on a harness which keeps it on her back.
I don’t think you’ll find a unit in the same price range & I liked the fact that the Tagg unit is made by Qualcomm company.
That being said if anyone finds an alternative please post it so we can compare.
Review of TAGG pet tracker
by Jennifer Formichelli on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 5:23pm
OK, I took my “Tagg Pet Tracker” out for 2-3 miles this morning. It is a cute little device that looks like it was designed by Apple. It is light and clips onto the collar with a collar attachment. However, it is not very efficacious. It has only 2 true uses I can see: 1) to let you know if your dog got out of your yard, which would only be for people who leave their dogs out in a yard most of the time (I suspect these folks are not the likely purchasers of this); 2), could help you find your dog if he runs away from home or is a door bolter.
Be wary of cute design–a couple minutes of playing around with this showed me that a dog who is a roller and a heavy player or who runs through woods/underbrush, or digs, is pretty likely to be able either to detach or destroy this advice. Cute is really not enough for a dog. The device should be attached to a collar more firmly. A lot of rolling could probably crush it and it certainly plays aroudn with the “TRIP” button on top, as I discovered when I got home. Henry rolled about six times and he probably turned it on/off three times.
As I said, I was using this to “track” Henry whilst he’s off the lead in open areas and disappears to do his own thing. I wanted to know where he was, when he was heading back, and be able to find him should he decide not to head back right away. For this reason, I paired the device with the “Tagg” iphone app and shut off the trip indicator notifications when I went on my walk. (As previously noted, his rolling played around with that. ) I did let him dig but kept him out of the brush. I kept him on a 30 ft leash for this experiment.
Problem #1 is the _size_ of the “home zone”. I made it as small as possible, but Henry was not out of it until we had crossed our 4 lane road and headed up for about 10 minutes the opposite direction. In fact, my zone includes a good stretch of our road (inc the other side of it), the train tracks on the other side of it (behind our house) and a bunch of other places (other yards) where I’d not want him. This “home zone” is not what I wanted with the device, but it is USELESS for city dwellers for this reason.
Problem #2: the device is _so_ slow that mostly what I got was messages saying “Tracking Henry”. At each and every point, I was able to get locations which made it look like he was quite far away, though since we were only ever 30″ feet from one another, clearly the 3 minute lag was making it seem as though he were behind, ahead, blah blah, even when he was right there ! Good luck finding your dog with this in an open area. Even in a city area. He could be headed back when you go forward, or vice versa. It’ll give you some idea where he is if you have no idea, but a dog can go quite a way in 3 mins. When you add in network lag and “contacting Tagg server” messages, it is more like six minutes at times. We were home several minutes before he was logged back into our home zone.
Problem #3 is that the device could easily detach or get crushed by a tough dog. Other users have complained of dogs biting them off each other and chewing them.
If you have a lap dog, it might do, but then you probably don’t need it.
I’ll be returning it and buying a Roameo or Garmin. At nearly $500 it is 5 x the price, but with no sub fees, it evens out in four years (Tagg is $100 a year). Moreover, what you want from this is for it to work.
I do think this would be really good for light activity cats in case they got lost. But it is not very good for dogs. In any case, by the time you got your “notice” that they left the zone, they could be in a lot of trouble !
Update: this morning, the Tagg logged Henry out when he was nearly 2 miles away (we were in a car), then lost him for the whole walk and never logged him back in, though it knew he was home.
@Jennifer and other authentic reviewers; Thank you for taking your valuable time to write such comprehensive and informative reviews of Tagg, particularly you Jennifer. We own a website with 5,000 members and have an additional 7,000 emails of Dog parents. I spoke with the Qualcomm rep who is in charge of the Tagg project. I tried to warn him of the flimsy design and other problems which have caused these types of products to consistently fail. This Qualcomm rep was astoundingly rude, obnoxious as hell, knew nothing about other Pet GPS trackers or their histories and told me that I should promote Tagg for Qualcomm on our website for FREE.
Having read your reviews, we are going to strongly recommend in our monthly newsletter that is sent to 12,000 Dog parents, NOT to buy Tagg.
It sounds like this product is junk. We are still looking for a great Pet GPS product like you are. At one time, Zoombak was a great product until 2 years ago when the locations totally failed. But at least it had a secure connection to the Dog, and was impossible for any Dog to turn off.
Thanks Jennifer, for the great review. Very helpful!
Jim Morrison
WebMaster DogSTARspace.com
I recently purchased the Tagg unit but after reading all the legal and safety information I am a bit concerened. There is contradicting information about the RF emissions produced by the unit. One section of the legal disclosures sates that since the FCC does not set RF safety standards for pets Tagg chose to use the standards set for humans. Sounds good, right? But deeper down int he legal info it specifically sates “To comply with FCC RF exposure compliance requirements, a separation distance of 20 cm (8 inches) must be maintained between the antennas for the Tagg tracking device and all persons.” So, it is not safe to bring the tracker within 8″ of humans? Then why is it safe to attach to my dog’s neck? I have called Tagg twice with questions about this but was both times referred back to the leagel & safety info. I have requested the specific RF SAR values so I can comare it to that of a cell phone, which is what the Tagg representative tells me it is comparable to. I would love to hear info / advice from others about his.
I have read all of your reviews and I think you should try the Pocket Finder GPS first before this one. It runs on real time and is backed by Apple http://store.apple.com/us/product/H7522LL/A. It is about as big as an oreo cookie and is waterproof. Although this one does not stay charged for 30 days, it does stay charged for 3 to 4 days depending on the settings you want it on. It also holds alot better to the collar so you do not have to worry about it falling off. Tagg runs of Verizon which if you do not have cell phone service, you will not be able to track your dog. Pocket finder is satellite which means it will work anytime and is very fast to send you notifications. I paid $149.00 for mine through Apple and the service is I think $12 a month but you get the first 2 months free so it evens out quite well especially since it is not delayed and it works with satellite instead of cell towers.
Here is the direct website for it: http://www.pocketfinder.com/ It will take you through step by step everything that it does and how it works
We live in Denver and have a place in the mountains. We tried the Tagg Tracker for our little 20-lb beagle mix. The tracker attached easily to our dog’s collar and stayed put. The system worked fine for the first two weeks in the city — it regularly told us when the dog got too far from our house on her daily walks. However, it did not work well in the mountains while hiking. Although i had a cell signal on my Android and was able to access the app just fine, Tagg was unable to locate the dog. Oftentimes, the “cannot locate” email was sent 15 mins. after i had requested a locate. By then, my dog could have been in the next county! I called Tagg after we got back to the city. They told me my dog was “unusually active”, which is why they couldn’t locate her. Ummm … i think those who would be most interested in a tracker are those with active dogs! Tagg also told me that, because of my dog’s high activity level, the tracker was low on battery and should have been recharged. I reminded them that their brochure says the battery will last 30 days, and we were only on day 14. So, anyone with an active dog should recharge the tracker more often than Tagg states. Regardless of these problems, I was willing to recharge the battery and try again the following week when we were next in the mountains. However, Tagg told us that we were nearing the end of the refund period, and we would need to send it back asap if we wanted a refund. Tagg declined to give us another week or two to retest the tracker in the mountains. I suspect they already knew the answer … that the tracker doesn’t work in rural areas, even if you have a cell signal. So, our quest for a GPS small enough for our dog continues …
@ Jessica – thanks for posting the Apple GPS Pet tracking device. We just ordered one. It is made by Apple so it has to be great!
Update on my problem with qualcomm, who owns the defective tagg product: I emailed the VP in charge of marketing for this billion dollar company with a detailed complaint about the rude idiot who manages the tagg product for qualcomm. She never even gave me the courtesy of a response. Seems like qualcomm is a LOUSY company with a CLEARLY DEFECTIVE product, and does not give a damn about us, the consumers.
After reading the almost 100% failure stories on this tagg piece of crap here and elsewhere on other sites, I am going to “heighten awareness” today of this >> defective <>>> NOT BUY TAGG!<<<<. What a bunch of idiots at qualcomm – to make another thoroughly defective "locator" and ignore their Customers!
Can't wait to test the Apple product, at: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H7522LL/A , which looks like a GREAT product that is SATELLITE based, not cellular.
When you get the pocket finder it does come with a green case, it is made for you children. If you call them and tell them that it will not work for your dog they will send you a heavy duty one that is much better for free.
I’ve done some research on the Pocket-Finder, in hopes that it would work better than the Tagg for us here in Colorado. However, the Pocket-Finder relies on the AT&T network, whereas Tagg relies on the Verizon network. Here in the mountains, Verizon works way better than AT&T. So i guess Pocket-Finder is not even worth us trying. My husband’s iPhone is on AT&T and it’s useless here, whereas my Android is on Verizon and works well. I had hoped that, as mentioned above in another review, the Pocket-Finder would work via satellite rather than via cellular network, but that does not appear to be the case. Bummer.
the “blue orb” isn’t your dog, it’s you. This orb seems to appear only on the iphone app and looked to me to be my phones gps being tracked as i walked along. Your pet is marked by the paw symbol.
The delay between search and response is a bit troublesome, but not so great that i am not still very glad to have this tool.
@Mike you’re right. It’s a very confusing feature because it moves even when ive been completely still for several minutes.
Thanks for all the reviews and information everyone! I like to mountain bike with my Shepard mix and want to give her a little more freedom but the thought of losing her scares me. So, I am seriously considering getting a GPS unit for her.
I currently have a GPS watch, A GPS on my mountain bike with trail and terrain information, I am on my second phone that has GPS and I have used a couple handheld devices. I maintain geocaches and I enjoy techie things. Hopefully I can lend to this topic.
GPS signal is extremely faint so things like trees and buildings can easily hinder your device determining your true GPS location. Also, when viewing your “blue dot” on your “iDevice”, keep in mind that you may be seeing an interpolated position. Your true position may not be known to any use-able degree with GPS signal alone, so the device tries to extrapolate more accuracy by using more information (like nearby cell towers). This should give you an idea why I believe that smart phones are not going to be a good solution for pet tracking – simply, they aren’t accurate enough, and even less accurate “off-grid” or away from cell service. This should also help explain why you may see strange things like the dot move when you aren’t or why it may show you on the highway when you are 30 feet from it.
That said, I don’t think I would try the TAGG device (especially due to your reviews). I DO like garmin and think they make good stuff. So I will be looking into the GTU 10 (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=209&pID=67686). The GTU is priced at $200 and includes a year of service. But I expect it to have similar issues as the TAGG.
Garmin also offers “Dog Tracking” that is designed for hunters – https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=209. The collar transmits the dogs GPS cords via radio frequency to a Garmin handheld device. This means there would be no service contract and it would work where cell phones don’t… the drawback is that the battery only lasts 20-24hrs and requires you to be within 9 miles. This option may be good for the mountain trail people that like to do day hikes. Looks like you could spend about $650 for this setup.
I would like to see something that sends messages by transmission directly up to a satellite. Backpackers and ends-of-the-earth enthusiasts use these devices to transmit their location in cases of emergency and are able to do so anywhere in the world (so long as you can see the sky). You can get a device like this for $100 and service for $100 a year (hmm – sounds like the price point is there as well as the technology). If you’re interested, check these guys out – http://www.findmespot.com/e/
So, unfortunately, it does not look like anything has been well designed for the intended purpose of tracking a lost pet or keeping tabs on a trail dog.
Here’s an idea for something I would buy: A dog collar that contains a sensitive GPS chip, a satellite transmitter, a wi-fi chip and the cellular chip. With such a device, you could setup an area perimeter that would trip the collar to send a message by wi-fi/text message (leaving your home area) and then start sending updates by satellite/wi-fi/cell. By my estimate, such a device could run $250 and the service could be $100/yr. If I were to create such a device, I would market it as the ultimate in lost pet recovery and even explore the ability of offering “911 style operators” that can assist you in locating your pet.
What do you think?
broken link should be http://www.findmespot.com/en/
Hi Mark, That would be great. If you are able to come up with a Dog GPS Pet Locator that really works for active dogs that roll in the grass, stays attached and stays on when dogs run thru fields and brush, works for dogs that hike in the parks and mountains, and gets wet in the rain or swimming, and it still works, is waterproof, tracks in real time, has a long battery life at least several days or more, that would be ideal.
Then the next big hurdle is the marketing. If it really does work, then marketing to active dogs and their active people should work. Many active dogs and their active people want to be able to run their dogs off leash, but not loose their dog.
TAGG is NOT up to the challenge for active dogs and their active people, as the unit doesn’t stay on when the dog rolls, is not waterproof, comes off easily in the woods, fields or brush, and does not track in real time, etc. so you won’t have any competition from Qualcomm TAGG. I think the Qualcomm TAGG people must be tech people who do not have dogs, so they didn’t think of any of the necessary needs for a pet tracker that really works for the use it is intended for, finding your dog asap in all kinds of weather conditions, outside in the elements, active dogs, etc. And Qualcomm TAGG should have had active dog people help with the design so the unit would actually work, stay attached and stay on. And Qualcomm TAGG’s biggest problem is some corporate jerk who runs TAGG GPS Pet Locator with a huge ego at Qualcomm, a Dave Vigil who is quite rude to everyone and I seriously doubt this Dave has a dog, so thats another reason Qualcomm overlooked many of the problems TAGG GPS Pet Locator has. I expect the Qualcomm team at TAGG GPS Pet Locator has had a tough time dealing with Dave Vigil, because if he is not friendly to many potential customers, I feel sorry for the employees at Qualcomm who have to put up with this sorry jerk. Qualcomm definitely needs to hire someone who is competent, knows marketing, knows dogs and has an active dog, and knows how to be friendly to potential customers or of course the product will fail.
Potential customers like pet lovers at home who really want to never loose their dog or are worried their dog will get thru the gate or jump the fence or run the door, breaks a way during a dog walk or the dog park, etc. who want and need a Pet GPS locator that really works and actually stays on, unlike the TAGG, who would also be potential customers for a GPS Pet Locator that really works.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people with pets, but could care less about a GPS Pet Locator, just look at the Pet Ads like Craigslist which is a huge dumping ground. Unwanted dogs and cats dumped daily. These people will never buy a GPS Pet Locator. As they can’t wait to get rid of their dogs and cats with every worthless excuse they can think of.
Remember neuter and spay your pets, there are not enough homes, and pets are being dumped and killed everyday. Don’t bring more in the world until all pets that are here can find a forever loving home. Adopt from a shelter or rescue and save a life!
Mark, Hope you can come up with a great GPS Pet Locator for those of us who love our pets and don’t want to loose them.
And if you come up with a small light weight GPS Pet Locator for cats, I would think a lot of cat people would want it too for cats that go outside so they know exactly where their cat is and can locate their cat if it doesn’t return home.
Good luck.
After chewing up two of them, I’m done.
Grate for inactive dogs only! You know the ones that won’t leave your property anyway.
could you pass me the manufacturer’s data?
Heard of a new company popping up in the next month or two, has a gps system that is on battery powered that last up to 2 years (yes TWO YEARS) on one charge, also has different modes and can be programed to owners specific needs, although charge will change due to modes such as 30 min up dates battery last about 3 weeks, can also set up grids/ perimeters so is designated area gps collar will not go off so battery life is longer lasting, smaller 4inX1inX.5in clips in and can be worn by animals weighing less than 10lbs. GPS is able to say exact location, where start and finished, speed, direction ect. rechargeable if one decides to leave tracker on full time. only down side is cost is higher by $50 or $75 on initial cost but app that phone runs off is $5-$8 depending on month to month subscription or 1-time year purchase.
Friend is coming up with this product; let me know what you guys think.
I too am still looking for a good tracker for a very active dog and want to thank all for the reviews that saved me from buying this problematic device from Qualcomm. It seems so obvious that a demand is out there for a well thought out and supported product.
Wow–lots of you are very knowledgeable on the technical aspects of these products, it’s good to get the information and avoid expensive mistakes. We are considering a device from the app store called “secure a pet”, it is supposed to track the dog on the iPhone. The collar runs $150 and the yearly cost is $100 (must be cell technology, right?). Anyone know anything about it? I did see the device in the Apple store, and, in typical technie style, looked up the reviews and I’m just not convinced that I know enough about it to buy it. Thanks
Do not waste your money on the TAGG tracker. I am a veterinarian and I purchased the TAGG for my own pet. What a waste of money! The battery only lasts about 6 days and then you have to recharge it. And twice within 2 weeks after the purchase, it sent us a message that our dog was running loose all around town when in fact he was at home. To make matters worse they do not honor their return policy! DO NOT BUY IT.
Hi Paul, thanks so much for informing us that TAGG Qualcomm Pet GPS Locator does NOT honor the RETURN POLICY.
You saved a lot of consumers money, time and heartache over this worthless TAGG device.
I wish everyone who has a complaint about any product, service, business person, property manager, real estate agent, attorney, etc would post Complaints online to protect other consumers. That way everyone can read the complaints and reviews and can make an informed evaluation of a product, service or person, before spending any money.
Thanks again for being so helpful.
Wow!
I am so grateful for these reviews. I was about the purchase the TAGG, even printed the operation manual (41 page pdf), then started reading the reviews. We have three dogs ranging in size from 50 to 80 lbs, very active and live in a rural area. It does sound like the Apple Device might work but I need to first ascertain the quality of cell signal here. zip code 12125. We would certainly be a customer for a really good device.
I have been using the system for a couple of months. I DO NOT suggest it for a large high energy dog until something is done to prevent it from falling off. I have a husky who has managed to dislodge the GPS twice. I still haven’t found it from 2 weeks ago. The system isn’t very accurate (at least out in the county where I live). After reporting it was off her collar, I kept getting updates that she was out of the tagg zone, she was near the docking station, she was on the street 3 blocks away, she was back near the docking station, etc, all the time while the unit was on the ground somewhere. The first time she lost it, I tried using the iPhone app to find it. Same thing, I had like a 100 yard radius where the locate function kept bouncing around. On a 5 acre lot, that’s a lot of area to look for it. They need a firmware update to help you locate the unit. They need to make some sort of velcro sleve, or something that you can put around the unit after it attaches for a high energy dog. The antenna is easy to get caught on vines, etc and then rip it off of the collar. Their customer service also needs some help. You can’t order a replacement GPS, you have to order the entire thing. There is no way to swap units on your pets profile, you have to delete the pet profile and rebuild it with the new unit, etc. for right now, I will not be replacing the lost unit and am looking at other alternatives.
I recently lost two dogs. We have 40 acres but they just dissapeared. They were gone for 11 days and when I had almost lost hope of finding them they showed up. Both were starving with every bone in their bodies showing. I bough a pet tracker and love it. It lets me know when they leave the area and I am able to pinpoint their location. i have just ordered another for the other wanderer because they don’t always stay together. I can also see if Mickey is down at the barn chasing the chickens. Love being able to find out where they have been when they wander. If someone has them locked up, even if they remove the taggs, I will be able to find out where they were last before they were removed and have place to look. Love it. I have more piece of mind with these on my dogs.
Which company wrote this phony review by Cathy? I was reading about the phony reviews that Qualcomm is paying to be posted all over the internet to mislead pet lovers to buy their faulty TAGG GPS pet locator product. A few posters on the business reviews posting forum for review posters for pay, said that Qualcomm pays $20 per great review by people who have never used the product. This is a phony review, beware. The phony review business is big and Qualcomm is hiring people to post these phony reviews as you can see in this phony review.
To Jessica who mentioned the apple product and Jim Morrison who had ordered one… I was really curious about it but am I missing something? It says it only works for up to 10feet?
Hi Susan, if you read most the comments above, you will see this product has major defects. And Qualcomm TAGG Dave Vigil Manager, will not honor their refund policy if it does not work for you. Best to save your money and the headaches and wait for a Pet GPS Locator that actually works from a company that actually cares about its customers and doesn’t lie to its customers. We are all waiting for a GPS Pet Locator that works.
To J:
I get that but my question really was about the aforementioned Apple product. Any info?
Susan, I actually bought the Apple’s Pocket Finder myself and it is amazing! I live out in the country and it gets great service. Sometimes it does tell me he is going a little too fast but that is only because he is running and it swings on his collar. The Apple’s pocket finder is very easy to use online and my dog has not lost it once. Are you saying it only works up to 10 feet from the charger? We have went on vacation since using it and there is no limit to where it can go without not being able to see it. I love mine, I think that it is worth the money!
To Jessica,
Aack. I think I just read it wrong… How does it attach to the dog’s collar and how much is the monthly contract? I’m actually working on a system that’s a back up if your dog’s collar comes off, or if the gps battery fails or if the microchip is registered wrong… We’ll be releasing it later this year… S.
First time I’ve read a review about the apple pocket finder. My dog is only 15 lbs., so I’m wondering if it would work for him. My main concern is when we leave him with the pet sitter…
To Barbara,
We’re actually working on a system of lost&found as a back up for when GPS fails, when the collar & tags come off or when the microchip is registered wrong.. It will also include a way for a pet sitter to send alerts in your absence. If you’d like to sign up for information as we approach our launch, please visit http://www.fourleggedtribe.com Thx!
I just ordered and received a Tagg Pet Tracker to test out. As I expected, its way too big for use on my cat, and I do not have a dog, but since tracking systems are my life, I wanted to test this unit out anyway. I have yet to activate it and I will post again after I play with it for a month or so, but I did want to point people to the cat and dog tracking system offered by Communications Specialists at http://www.csilocator.com. I have used this system for about 6 years, first on my girlfriend’s dog and now on my own cat. Because it uses radio frequency tracking technology instead of GPS, the range is somewhat limited, but there are no monthly fees and the battery lasts a full 40 days. I make a habit of changing the battery on the first of every month. First, the tracking range is about 1/8 to 1/2 mile, depending on the terrain. This is more than enough to find a wandering cat as my cat never goes more than a block away. Two of the four times I had to find my girlfriend’s dog, he was well beyond that range, however, I drove around the area for a while and eventually picked up a signal, tracking him to his exact location. Its a $300 investment for a collar and receiver, but that’s a one-time investment, plus a $1 battery every month. Additional collars are $50 and only one receiver is needed for up to 100 collars. It may not be as “cool” as GPS, but it works very well and my girlfriend’s dog would have been gone forever if not for this system. Check it out.
This product did not work as advertised straight out of the box. After TWO MONTHS of complaining to their extremely unhelpful customer service and being told that “nothing was wrong with the tracker,” (even though the battery died in 2 days with great cell service and would constantly tell me “unable to locate, try again later” when I tried to locate my dog) someone finally sent me a new one that worked slightly better at first, and then failed. They did not offer to try a new docking system, but I honest do not want it. This has given me more stress than peace of mind. I finally just unplugged the thing threw it in the closet.
I really wanted this product to work, but the combination of faulty equipment and poor customer service made me ditch it.
I have used the Tagg for all 3 of my dogs for about 2 weeks now. I have not had to charge the units at all since the first charge. I believe this device is just one, of many tools to help find your pet if he or she gets lost. I have 3 Shih-Tzu’s which are all in house dogs, except when it is time to do their business, and sometimes they don’t even go out for that :). The reason I got Tagg is when they do and if they ever get outside the zone I have set up, I have a better chance than a poster on a telephone poll of finding them. All my dogs have a Tagg collar, all are chipped, when I am away from home they have the run of the dining room which I can check on them with a pan and tilt camera with my smart phone when needed, if they do manage to get outside I have cameras mounted on the house as well which I get an email within about 30 to 45 secs of movement going on around the house. And yes I do have OCD but I love my dogs. There is never going to be nothing as good as eyes on a pet 24-7 but there are a lot of tools out there to get you pretty close.
Saw the Tagg item in the Apple store today and was wondering if it worked any better than the PocketFinder (which is not made by Apple, incidentally). Based on the analysis on this board, definitely made the right choice with PocketFinder. It’s waterproof, much smaller than the Tagg device overall (about the size of 1.5 stacked oreos, i’d say) and does things like let you see a history of where the thing has been over any hour. I actually used it to prove our dog walker wasn’t taking the dogs out for their walk! Battery life is a couple of days to a week depending on the settings you use (all software; the thing is a featureless white circle). The biggest pain i have with it is attaching it to the collar; it comes with these fragile gel cases that tear easily; when I complained i got a bunch of new gels plus a test case they’re rolling out soon; the test case is much more rugged. Customer support is excellent so far. It’s not exactly precise; sometimes the map shows my dog in the yard next door but my understanding this is a limitation of the GPS technology; it’s generally accurate to within ten feet or so. I wish it were thinner; I’d be willing to charge it every day if they could make it half the size. That’s what initially attracted me to the Tagg but now that i’ve looked at it it’s not much thinner than the pocketfinder, and it’s definitely much wider.
There appears to be a little bit of misinformation higher up in the comments; since I’m a new owner of a Tagg device I wanted to clear them up for people in the future who might be stopping by.
First, the PocketFinder device linked to above is not made by Apple. Apple sells the device on their store, but is made by a third party. Coincidentally, I found out about Tagg from the Apple Store myself. http://store.apple.com/us/product/H8935LL/A
Second, someone stated above that PocketFinder uses GPS, while Tagg uses cellular technology. This is only partially true. Both units use GPS. In addition, they both include a cellular wireless connection. PocketFinder uses AT&T’s GSM network while Tagg uses Verizon’s CDMA network. So how they perform will likely mirror the way those carriers perform in your location. If you’re using a GSM smartphone and a CDMA pet tracker (or vice versa), one may work while the other doesn’t in any particular location. In my area Verizon’s coverage is far better than AT&T’s, and so far I’ve had a good experience with my Tagg unit.
Third, as both trackers use fundamentally the same technology, they’re both subject to the same limitations: coverage area, accuracy, frequency of updates. One difference I noted is that the PocketFinder’s website states that the frequency of location updates can be customized. Unfortunately I can’t find any mention of what options are available. Tagg’s stated update interval is about 10 minutes, but noticed that on my first walk with my dog outside the “home” zone, it took about two minutes for me to receive the text message alert telling me where she was.
Fourth, as someone above mentioned, the blue dot on the Tagg iPhone app shows your current location. This was confusing for me at first too — it’d be nice if they more clearly indicated what the blue dot meant — but it’s a handy feature as it allows Tagg to quickly show you walking or driving directions between you and your pet.
As a previous commenter mentioned, the smallest possible “home zone” size is quite large. It’s a good fit for our 1-acre yard, but I’d be irritated if I wanted to monitor a smaller area, as would be the case in most urban areas. I’d also prefer to be able to customize the shape of the home zone to cover our irregularly-shaped lot, rather than just the default circle. Without having used the PocketFinder, I can’t speak to how they compare on this point.
PocketFinder does offer some features that Tagg does not. Tagg sends alerts via email and text message, but PocketFinder can also send them via iOS Push Notification, which are free and, in my experience, often faster to arrive than text messages.
Lastly is price. PocketFinder is $150 vs $100 for Tagg. The PocketFinder monthly service plan is $13 vs $8 for Tagg. PocketFinder comes with two months of service included, Tagg comes with three.
In the end, I purchased Tagg because Verizon’s coverage is much better than AT&T’s in my area and because of the lower ongoing cost. Your mileage may vary, though, and I think the primary factor should probably be which wireless provider has better service in your area. If it’s AT&T, try PocketFinder. If it’s Verizon, try Tagg.
This system is a good idea, but has too many flaws for that amount of money and a monthly fee. My pet tags use QR Code technology and each pet receives their own personal web page. This does not link to a nationwide outdated datbase, we maintain our own site and owners can update their contact info quickly and easily. If your pet is lost, the rescuer can simply scan the pet’s tag with their Smartphone. Your pets page appears on their phone and they simply touch your phone number and notify you. No monthly fees, beats microchipping, and just as good of an idea as this more expensive contraption here.
Thanks for posting the QR code pet tag info. Its an extra to have. Not everyone has SmartPhones so that is a drawback, especially in this economy many of us have gotten rid of the overpriced smartphones.
Also pet tags and collars can fall off, be pulled off running thru bushes, or taken off. So a Microchip is a Must Have. As a Pet Microchip cannot fall off or be removed. With the Pet Microchip, one must update the info when they move but you can add unlimited info to the Microchip, just by call the Microchip Number on the stainless tag that comes when you get your pet microchipped. Add info to your microchip like home and cell phones, pet sitter, vet, groomer, relatives, friends and neighbors. So hopefully you will be reached if your pet is lost and the tags and collar are missing.
The TAGG GPS Pet Locator is overpriced as it does still have major problems as not being able to locate. But when and if they ever get it working, make it waterproof, as a lost dog can be rained on, get it we while drinking, could go into a waterway, etc. It may be a possibility.
I think the QR Code Pet Tag could be used in addition to a regular tag. I have found the best Collar Pet Tags that never fall over or pull off, are the stainless steel Adjustable Collar Tag at http://www.BoomerangTags.com They are high quality stainless so they never rust, I know that because my dog swims in the sea daily. And in the winter my dog runs on trails and fields running thru bushes and the Boomerang Tag Adjustable Collar Tag has never pulled off. Also BoomerangTags.com deeply engrave in large print the info, up to 5 lines for the Large 1 inch collar size Adjustable Collar BoomerangTag. So one can read the print without glasses, and it never wears out. The typical aluminum pet tags at big pet stores, are stamped and the soft metal is no longer readable after 3-6 months. I use to have those and had to replace every 3 months as they were unreadable or would fall or pull off. Once I found BoomerangTags.com stainless steel Adjustable Collar Tags guaranteed to be readable for the life of your pet, I have never gone back to any other pet tags. Every Veterinarian and dog walkers ask me where did you get that great pet tag, never seen such a great pet tag that is easy to read and never falls off.
I just purchased two more BoomerangTags for my other harness and collar. I put the Collar Tag on the harness and one on the Collar. But it is easy to move the BoomerangTag to another collar or harness as needed. Hope this is helpful, I wish I had known about BoomerangTags a lot sooner, it would have saved me time and money constantly replacing the cheap aluminum tags that wore out or fell off in 3-6 months.
Fair enough and thank you immensely for feedback. If you will allow, my rebuttal. 60% of people have a Smartphone, and that number will of course grow. My tags also have our website engraved on the back as well as their unique code, so anyone that finds dog can pull up page on a computer. Lastly, they are engravable as well. They are also stainless steel with an enamel protecting the QR Code, so no they will not weather or wear down in any way.
As for microchipping, I contend that my product works better. A tag can fall off I guess, but my necklace can come off too and it hasn’t in 25 years. Microchipping is not as GUARANTEED as they make it out to be. Here is my primary argument to the 100% theory.
1) Is it 100% guaranteed a stranger will drive a strange dog around town looking for an amimal hospital/vet?
2) Is it 100% guaranteed that each vet/animal hospital has the correct scanner needed for every entire chip out there?
3) Is it 100% guaranteed that the chip has not moved under a shoulder blade where the chip can not be scanned?
4) Is it 100% guaranteed that the information at that vet is the correct updated information for the pet’s owner? Did they update it from 1985?
5) Is it 100% guaranteed the lost animal you rescue will even have a chip in it to begin with? How would you know either way?
6) How many times has your dog lost his collar?
I appreciate the feedback and discussion. I am not necessarily here to sell my tags, although I 100% believe in them and feel it is the best way to protect my shar pei Myla.
QR PetCodes
This type of answer infuriates me because no matter which QR company you work for, EVERYONE knows that collars do come off – 8 million pets end up in shelters every year with no id… The ones that have microchips stand a better chance of getting home and you know it. Yes, they have their flaws and in fact, 42% of chips are not registered correctly, but for you to tout QR codes as better than a microchip is IRRESPONSIBLE.
And honestly, why pay $20 for the QR tag and then $39 to $50 a year for a profile when an ordinary tag with a name and phone number do the job just fine.
Look at shelter numbers, look at Craigslist ads… See how many of them have no tag or collar. Be responsible, not inflammatory.
And if you want to know the real issues of microchipping, visit http://www.fourleggedtribe.com and check out the microchip page.
Well for the record it is my company, started it for my Shar Pei that runs away all the time. These tags are an “alternative” to microchipping, or they can both be done together. Facts are facts. I’m trying to help the dog before he gets to the pound. I’m trying to help the dog who somebody grabs and is in a hurry to be somewhere else, like most people are. My “alternative” is that most people have smartphones and most people at the very least will scan the tag and call the person. Most people will not drive the dog around town, especially if they have no idea if the pet has a chip or not. I ran into a girl who adopted a dog 2 days before it was suppossed to die from the pound. They actually told her the dog had a chip but they could not read it. I’m saying that owner is still waiting for a phone call. What I do know is my tag can be scanned by 100% of Smartphones. I guess that is my point. I also doubt that of the 8 million dogs in a shelter, most of them had tags in the FIRST place.
I’m sorry if I offended you. By no means am I saying microchipping is bad and shouldn’t be done as well, I was just disproving the “It Works 100% of the time” belief the Humane Society states, as well as most veterenarians and animal hospitals. Have a great day, I’m on the side of the pet. If a pet could talk, he would say give me what gives me the best chance to get home. I listened to my pet and the countless feedback I got from people.
And even further for the record, my tags are a one time 20.00 fee. I do not have any fees after that, period. And to answer your question, have you ever tried to grab a pit bulls collar and fumble around with the tag? If one of the numbers rubs off or the dog squirms away, then what? Don’t you wish you could just scan the tag with your phone and instantly have the owners UPDATED contact number pop up instantly? How about special needs he has or how she acts with children in case you take her home for the night? How about a note she is microchipped as well? Oh and all that for a ONE time fee of 20.00. Ya that beats a plain old boring round tag with some scribble engraved in it which costs about the same as my tag anyways.
To QR Pet Codes
No, I disagree. They are not an alternative to microchips. Microchips, if they are registered correctly and updated and scanned with the correct scanner are near foolproof.
Your product is an alternative to a traditional tag and comes with all the issues of traditional tags… They come off. They’re not always legible. If you didn’t update the information in the profile (just as with microchips) it’s useless. AND, a microchip is permanent ID. Tags can be removed by unscrupulous people who never intend to find the owner in the first place.
As a pet owner myself, I’ve not been able to catch some loose dogs, I’ve driven all over town on Easter Day in a thunderstorm with a lost dog with no tags looking for a place to get him scanned for a chip (no chip, vet won’t keep him because he’s not hurt, can’t take him home as don’t know his character and ended up leaving him at the animal shelter overnight kennelled – They weren’t open… Put an ad on Craigslist and found his owner the next day), have caught two dogs on the same day twice with outdated info on their tags, have corralled 3 dogs running together with a voicemail on one number and a disconnected on the other, have fought off a couple of “at large” aggressive dogs who attacked my on-leash dog… I’ve done it all. Microchips work, if used correctly, better than tags because they can’t come off.
Also, yes, 60% of people have smartphones but not all have QR readers.
I’m glad you’re doing your part to help but please stop saying your product is an alternative to a microchip because it isn’t.
After looking at your website, I see why you diasagree. But it doesn’t make you right. I have simplified your complicated process, and it worries you. I have talked to hundreds of people and nobody believes in microchipping. Even many of the vets I visited agreed and told me I had a good alternative. QR Codes will shortly be a part of our life, and these dog tags will as well. And I don’t just mean mine.
As for your comment about the reader, you are unfortunately more and more appearing as the uninformed one here. All Smartphones come with a free QR Reader App. It’s really quite simple. And yes, I have produced an alternative to microchipping. There is absolutely NOTHING fullproof about either method. PERIOD!
To QR Pet Codes
I guess you see things in black and white… No need to be insulting and condescending unless you cannot think of something more factual to say.
We all have the same goal – To create a better system of pet recovery. It is not a question of right or wrong. You are saying a QR code tag is an alternative to a microchip and it is not. It is an alternative to a tag. It is not permanent. To make a good argument, you at least compare apples to apples (tattoo versus chip for example). And you are incorrect. Iphones, for example do not come with a QR app (purchased new phone last October). You download it.
Vets and shelters may agree that it is a good alternative but not instead of a chip. And if the powers that be, shelters, vets and municipalities across the USA didn’t think microchipping was a good idea then they wouldn’t be making moves toward mandatory chipping… Especially with shelter adoptions… Cities are making the move to mandatory chipping all the time and in Europe, mandatory chipping is already in place in many countries as well as countries further afield like New Zealand. Or put another way, if you are concerned with right and wrong, are countries where success rates with pet recovery are considerably higher than the USA (due to microchips) all wrong and you are in fact right?
YOU are uninformed and making your product seem like a great alternative when it is not (because it suffers from all the same problems as any tag), is misleading. By all means, promote your product as an “as well as” but don’t be irresponsible and keep saying “instead of”. If you’re appealing to the 95% of the market that hasn’t chipped their pet, it is still responsible to sell your product the same way… alternative to tag but promote the chip.
To QR Codes
As an addendum, after visiting your site, I can’t believe you would promote your tag as the alternative to chipping… No Need to Chip Your Pet? What do you tell the person who loses their pet permanently in the system because the collar (and tag) came off and there was no microchip?
Can i call a truce here? I signed up to these comments to hear about pet-trackers, something that would allow me to see where my beagle is and chase her down when we’re out in the woods. (Unfortunately, none of the options have worked as advertised so far, but i remain hopeful that someone will invent the right device.) Discussion of tags, chips or QR codes aren’t as relevant. My beagle has boomerang tags and a chip, but neither help me find her in the woods. Neither will a QR code. Back to trackers please … thanks! 🙂
Lisa,
Thank you. Yes. Absolutely. I wish there was a great gps tracker out there but outside of the ones used by hunters that cost upwards of $600 (you get a transmitter and receiver), the consumer solutions aren’t good solutions… yet.
Happy Fourth everyone! Look after those puppies!
S.
My update on the Tagg Pet Tracker, I read some of the above comments about the QR codes and micro chips and stainless steel collars, I think these are all great ideas, I will be looking into some of them to, and like I said in my 10 May post there are a lot of tools out there to put you on the right track of finding a lost loved one, I think by putting a set of them that works for you is the best way to go about it. I am thinking of looking into the QR code and the stainless collar to add to my Tagg, and my dogs are chipped also and have the classic dog tag also. Since I have had the 4 Tagg Units, I have one as a spare that I keep on the charger at all times so when I do have to charge a unit up for one of my 3 dogs I just rotate it in. That way there is never a dog not covered. I have charged them twice since getting the units, once when I got it, and another time when I got a message that battery was getting low. I will be charging again tonight, they are about halfway drained according to the My Tagg Homepage. Also took the dogs out for a walk tonight and did a Tracking session as me and my wife were walking the dogs, about every two minutes I would get an update of there location, and what I did not know that I thought was cool, that there collar started to blink a blue light when a started the tracking session, great if your dogs are lost in the woods at night or even out on the street, gives your dog a better chance I think. Later I will be doing a test to see how long a Tagg unit will last once away from Tagg Charger Unit.
Happy 4th
And thanks to all the Men and Women and Pets that have served in our armed forces.
Amen to that, a big thank you to all who have served. Susan, yes we are on the same team. But I will still stand firm on my opinion. A chip is not guaranteed. Not at least by the hundreds of people I have talked to or extensive research I have done. You are a good person and are willing to drive an animal from vet to vet seeing which one has the proper scanner for any chip. You are a good person for hoping that the dog has a chip and hoping that it has not shifted under a shoulder blade. You are a good person to hope that the owner contact information is current in a nationwide database that is rarely updated. My main point of contention is that it is an “alternative” because if you had a Smartphone, which most people do, wouldn’t you rather just scan the tag and call the person directly as opposed to driving the dog in your car? And yes you need to get the free App on on Iphone, but it takes 2 seconds and most people have already done that to scan a magazine ad, Home Depot sign, promotion, business card, or at work. I met with hundreds of people and almost all had Smartphones and the QR Reader on their phone. 64% of QR codes are scanned using a Droid, and the QR Droid Reader comes pre-loaded.
I agree microchipping should still be done. This GPS tracker is a great idea too and I debated adding it to my product as well. I just at the end of the day tried to come up with a product that did not cost a lot of money and still would work to the advantage of the dog. To me, my product is more of an addition to microchipping. I appreciate the hard work you put in and we are definitely on the same team. I would rescue your pet and you would rescue mine. Happy 4th of July everybody.
Yes, collars and tags do come off.
I myself have found several dogs and cats with a collar and no tag, or no collar at all.
Most vets and rescues and shelters will let you bring a dog or cat in to be scanned for a microchip for free.
With the QR pet Tag. Since only 60% of people have the overpriced smartphones, you are betting on the person finding your lost pet to subscribe to the smartphone. What if they are part of the 40% without a smartphone?
I agree, that the more options you have the better. A microchip, a QR tag, a GPS locator, a stitched in phone number on the collar, and a boomerangtags.com steel Adjustable Collar Tag. Hoping one or all will bring your pet home.
The http://www.BoomerangTags.com stainless steel deeply engraved Adjustable Collar Tag is very readable for the life of your pet and only costs $9 and it stays on the collar and or harness and doesn’t pull off like the cheap pet tags on a tiny aluminum ring that easily pulls apart or rusts off.
I can’t tell you how many pet tags I have found on the beach, on the sidewalk, in yards, on trails. So if I found their pet tag, then guess what, their pet does not have a tag and if the pet gets lost, the only other option, is hopefully they had the pet microchipped.
How does the QR Pet tag stay on? Does it have the typical cheap aluminum ring hooking it to the collar?
Because that is the biggest downfall of cheap pet tags is that cheap wire ring. If you have it, then replace the cheap wire pet tag ring with a much thicker high quality rustproof stainless steel keyring, sells for about a $1 or $2 for the high quality rustproof stainless rings. Only can find rustproof stainless steel keyrings online, I haven’t seen those in stores. Must check that they are rustproof, many keyrings are made of cheap stainless and will break down or rust thru. So look for the rustproof only for the highest quality that hopefully will stay on your collar.
But then I came across BoomerangTags Adjustable Collar Tag, and no ring is needed.
And I have found pets with the cheap aluminum tags, and the phone number has worn off, so what good is a tag if the number is worn off.
And I have pets with tags with disconnected phone number or wrong ph number. When you move or get a new ph number, buy a new pet tag asap.
Also for extra protection have engraved 3-4 ph numbers on your tag. I have 3 phone numbers on my BoomerangTags.com Adjustable Collar Tag. Home, Cell, Microchip 800 number and the microchip tag number under the 800 number.
The more ph numbers, then hopefully one will work and find you. You add phone like the vet, relative, work, etc.
Another option is to buy the collar with your phone number stitched into the collar, I think LLBean has that.
Then still add a microchip, add a Adjustable Collar Tag, and a QR Tag, and a GPS locator, then at least you are covering all the bases including your phone number stitched on the collar.
And if one fails or falls off, maybe the other option will still work.
This is important because I cant tell you how many pets are lost even though they were lost with a collar and tag on but somewhere along the line that collar and or tag fell off or were taken off.
Many great stories of lost pets eventually being checked for a microchip, and that is what got them home sooner or later.
I just tried to go to your website QRPetCodes.com and the server is down. I keep getting the Error window Internal Server Error. I tried several times, searched on Google, clicked on your link, still an Error Page.
This would concern me. If someone looses a pet, then the finder who you hope happens to have the overpriced smartphone, scans the tag, and keeps getting an Error Page.
How will they find the pet’s home?
Thats why it is important to have several levels of protection, including a Microchip, BoomerangTags Adjustable Collar Tag, a phone number stitched into the collar, and a QR code tag as well, a Pet GPS Locator, etc.
I see while trying to get to your site that is down, there are several QR code pet tags available, some are slide on type for buckle collars only, some have the cheap aluminum wire ring, etc.
Good luck with your QR code pet tag idea, it is certainly another level of protection to use, for those who may find your lost pet and hopefully does have a smartphone and hopefully your site will be up as well.
But I still recommend a microchip for all pets too. The more layers of protection, the better chance your pet will make it home.
I tried to see what yours has, but your site is down now.
QR Pet Codes
Can we please move on? If you agree that microchip ping should still be done then amend your site and remove the message “No need to Microchip your Pet”. It sends the wrong message.
Hello Anna, thank you for joining the discussion. If you search for Amazon server error today, you will notice that Netflix was down too, as well as many huge companies. We have 2 dedicated servers backing up our data base, and as you can see our website is live and has been live for at least an hour. The server issue is very important to me, and I have spent a ton of money on that issue alone. Obviously, so has NetFlix. I aplologize for this error as Amazon aplogized to me. As the company grows, I will indeed grow the number of servers I employ. This was a major nationwide error, and I fell under this too. If these GPS tags are powered by Verizon or ATT, can’t the same thing happen to these?
As I described in preliminary email, our website is also engraved on the back of each tag, as well as a unique code. The rescuer can go to any computer and simply enter the code. They are engravable as well. The rescuer can scan, log in, and grab the tag.
I also think a couple of you are overstating the “tag will fall off” idea. My dog has had his tag for over 5 years, and she runs away all the time. I seriously doubt that every dog’s tag just falls off. My tags are also stainless steel and do not have any cheap parts. If anybody called me and said their pet’s tag just “fell off”, I would not only send you another one but redesign the whole process itself. I still firmly believe that most dogs that end up at the pound were not wearing a tag to begin with. My tag looks nice, is high quality, comes in 2 cool shapes, is not cheaply made, and yet has a way to instantly contact the owner if the pet is lost. These tags will be in every major pet store and boutique shop before you know it. It’s not because I really want them to, it’s because I have already already got them there. Do not fall for the cheap imitations out there that have montly fees and an outdated database. My company was the original and did it right from the start to make sure lost pets get home. I’m not saying my product guarantees they will, we are saying that our product gives your dog a fighting chance.
Yes Susan I can and will change that on my website. I think that is a valuable lesson learned. I guess we both have a similar frustration, and I appreciate where you are coming from. You feel as if some start up company shouldn’t say microchipping doesn’t work. I go in to vets and they say, microchipping work 100%. We both have a right to disagree with both stances, and we probably can both agree it’s all for the good of the pet. I designed my website and product so it works, not so I can get rich. Hopefully they sell well, save some pet’s lives, and put my 7 month old through college.
Thank you for your feedback
Thanks QR Pet Codes… By the way, can u tell me what the minimum and maximum distances are for scanning the tags? Thx
Thank you Susan.
They say for this size 2 feet away, but it typically works best scanned at 1 foot or less away. It is a relatively fast scan and works basically like a bar code scan at the supermarket.
On the 3rd of July I took all the dogs to the groomer at 8:30 a.m. with the Tagg units on, I started a tracking session once I left the groomer just to see how long the batteries would last, I continued to do this until it was time to pick up my babies which was about 3:00 p.m., I started a tracking session after each 30 min session would expire, but at one time I forgot, an hour went buy without a tracking session taking place. I called the groomer to make sure all the collars lights were blinking, and she did confirm they were. I ended up getting over 200 messages to my cell phone between that time also. Since the dogs were inside a building, I assume there location was being done from the cellular part of the device and not the GPS, It took a good 45 min to narrow down were they were at, give or take a few feet, but again I stress they were inside a building. When picking up my babies the battery life was still a little over half charged according to my Tagg page. Today 9 July I loaded all babies in the truck and took a 30 mile drive, I activated tracking sessions on all collars, while in the truck I was able to get a location and update right away and about every 3 minutes after that, I assume this time it is working more with the GPS function because the sunroof is open and a GPS signal can get through. Both test seemed to be a plus for me. As far as the Tagg units falling off, well my dogs are pretty small 14lbs is the biggest one. But I have taken them to the back yard and thrown the a ball and they would run to get it, and I have had no problem with any of the units coming off in play. But like I stated above my biggest dog is 14lbs, one 13lbs, and the other is 12lbs. They are pretty mellow dogs for the most part and have never tried to chew on the Tagg units attached to there collars. My overall experience so far with the Tagg system has been great. I even called the customer support and asked a few questions, and they were very polite and knowledgeable about the system. This system my not be for everyone, but for me it works great. My dogs are for the most part indoor dogs, and mellow most of the day until we play ball, or if anyone comes by the house. I like the system because it is one more line of defense of finding my babies if by chance they get out, I never like to put all my eggs in one basket.
My line of defense for my babies.
1. Standard name tag with all my info phone number name etc…
2. Merial tag, with a number and website go to website my info comes up.
3. Pet insurance tag, also number call and my info will be given to who finds dog.
4. Camera mounted front and back outside of house, get and email with pic within about 1 min of movement to cellphone. (great for security also)
5. Gate on the front porch dogs like to dart out the door if they can.
6. All dogs have been chipped and info with pics is up to date.
7. Camera mounted indoors on doggies sleeping and play area which can also be checked will cell phone.
8. Fenced yard and a double layer of fence on one part of yard with hardware cloth when dogs are out playing unsupervised.
9. Tagg units if it has to come down to a search.
What I don’t want is wasting time putting up posters on a telephone pole, I want to spend more time looking for my babies if they get out.
Yes I do have OCD as I said before. But I love my dogs : )
Have a great day enjoy the summer, and I hope my review was helpful.
GRRRR I having huge issues trying to Activate my Tagg on AOL and Internet explorer. Everything is Super slow. I just bought it for 100 bucks and I can’t even use it. I have a feeling I’ll be returning it. Pissed……..
Not pissed anymore.. I figured it out and got it all done on AOL. I was putting in the profiles first then trying to Activate but you should activate before doing you pets profile. Lesson learned..
There is a tracker for pets called PocketFinder. This is one that is MUCH smaller than Tagg. AND it hangs from a keychain type clip on the the actual metal part of the collar thus preventing falling off and completely losing an expensive piece of equipment! I found this researching GPS trackers for pets. Reviews seem to be pretty positive. After stumbling upon it, I would absolutely purchase that over Tagg. The monthly rate is $12.95/month, so a little more expensive. BUT for something that won’t fall off and isn’t so bulky (especially for those of us with small dogs and cats) it seems to be worth the extra money!!
BUT (and it’s a huge “but” in my mind) … the PocketFinder uses the AT&T network (last i checked). So, if you don’t get a good, strong AT&T signal where you live/work/play … don’t bother. 🙁
Spidy or anyone:
Tell me more about this: Camera mounted front and back outside of house, get and email with pic within about 1 min of movement to cellphone. (great for security also).
I have four Labradors and live in the hill country of central Texas. After one of our pets ran away for a day, we decided to try the Tagg product. At first all was well, for about a week or two. Then we noticed that the batteries in the trackers would only last a day or so (24 – 30 hours). We went through months of trial and error, working with support, trying to troubleshoot this issue, and eventually replacing three of the four trackers we had, to no avail. My suspicion is that the charging/base station had some sort of problem and could not easily ‘see’ the trackers, even though all of my dogs stay within about 10 to 30 feet of it 98% of the time. What would seem to confirm my base station diagnosis was that when we had a tracker become detached from a collar one day, the iPhone app worked like a champ and led me directly to the tracker out in the woods. It had become detached while the dog was rolling in something dead… oh joy. So the cellular system had no problems keeping up with that tracker that day, but can rarely keep up with the base station.
The batteries would fail and we would never get a “low battery” warning as we should, so we would not know it until a day or two later unless we were regularly checking them. Tracking them online was equally frustrating because the system could not really keep track of them properly; most of the time the online icons showing location would be a couple of days old or would show them being out and about when in fact they were sleeping next to the base station. This does not give you a sense of security when you know you might have to track a dog down…
Eventually (after approximately 2 to 3 months…) the Tagg support people basically gave up. They simply said that it is a cell coverage issue and we will not be able to do anything about that, so your batteries will always run down very fast. The escalation support person even acknowledged that it sounded to her like the base station was bad, but that they “had a process they had to follow…” and would not be able to replace the base station. She then said that she could offer me a full refund on all of our trackers, even though we bought them 7 or 8 months ago.
So basically (it sounds like to me…), they gave up and are getting us out of their hair so they no longer have to deal with us.
I think the product is a very good idea and is something I desperately want to use because of where I live. I spent months working with their support trying to get the devices to work as advertised, but failed.
Buyer Beware! YOU ARE NOT TOLD EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE UNITS BEFORE YOU BUY THEM. Tagg is owned by Qualcom, a huge soul-less corporation which is populated by drones who will follow their process to the letter, even if it costs them money or failure. If you live in a big city, you will probably have few problems. If you are out in the country where they can blame the cellular company for their failure, you may be out of luck. I hope you have better results than I did.
For Chelsea, the cameras are made by Logitech, Logitech Alert™ 750e Outdoor Master System, a little pricey but worth it.
Hi, I just bought pocketfinder for my very active dog. However he is not left loose in the yard with out me being there. I love the software; after getting help with initially locating my dog I could see the blue dot in real time with a few wonky movements that didn’t make sense but basically working perfect. I could even tell when he went from one room to the other side of the house. My only concern is that the battery is just too easily depleted. they tell you you are supposed to charge it every day like your cell phone. Does it mean it won’t last more than a day? That’s no good. I tried calling them and it’s Saturday and they aren’t available on weekends. I have a feeling the right GPS system doesn’t yet exhist. Someone mentioned a new one coming out in a couple months that would last 2 years…that would be fantastic and I would get it in a heartbeat. He didn’t say the name of the product. I would like to be notified if it comes out.
My first tracker’s battery lasted 30 days in the first month, followed by 25 days, then 20 days, then 15 days. I called tech support and they said that 15 days is normal. The next month it was 12 days, then 8 days. The Tracker also had a habit of falling off, so I resorted to using zip straps to hold it in place. I called tech support and was told that 8 days is normal. They replaced it because it kept falling off and they had a new design to prevent it from falling off. The replacement held a charge for 5 days, followed by 5 days after charging. I called tech support and was told that this was normal. The replacement Tracker fell off after one day. I called tech support and asked for a refund as the product did not perform as advertised and was not ready for sale to the public. The company was kind enough to give me a refund. In all the time I had the tracker, the dog never left the zone and the zone was set to the smallest possible size. Unfortunately I have not found a similar product that offers more than 5 days between charges.
I purchased a Tagg a while back despite some concerns I had with the limitations. It was a very appealing and nice looking unit but functionality was a complete joke. It would take up to 30 mins to notify me and the minimum radius covers 4 yards plus a road that people drive very fast on. There was NO WAY I would trust this unit to rescue my dog. So I packaged it up and gave it to my girlfriend to drop off at the at UPS. Several hours later I got a notice that my dog was out of range!
Now I read stories of people who have had similar experiences and lucky their dog came back on their own. I really had hope for this device but it provides a sense of security for people and in turn does not work very well.
I’m going to try the pocket finder. I have always said I would be happy to pay extra for “real-time” tracking and charging every night or (3-4 days) is not an issue. I do wish pocket finder used Verizon as they have better coverage but AT&T is not bad, at least it’s not Sprint!
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!
A follow up on my 4 Tagg units, had a small problem with one not working with the new activity timeline feature, the tracking feature still worked though. Tech support was great got it fixed right over the phone, was as simple as turning unit on and off. I also had one tracker clip used to connect to collar come off. Tagg is shipping a replacement device, and will even pay for the shipping of the old one back to them. So far still very pleased with Tagg and their tech support as well.
Spidy
Got my new Tagg unit in 2 days, Great service!
Spidy
Been a customer for over a year and a half using the device on 2 of my 3 dogs. I did a LOT of research and tried other methods/companies before using Tagg. Overall they get a B minus. When it works, it’s a huge help and provides a lot of peace of mind. The smartphone apps (iPhone and Android) are clunky and function poorly in some respects, but are largely reliable. The customer service from the company is abyssmal…there is no way to talk to tech support directly, they push out mandatory updates (bug fixes) with no explanation or warning, there is no customer support forum to compare notes or report issues. If your dog is lost, do not bother calling customer support for assistance: they can’t help when the units fail or detach from collars, and they will take 20 minutes to tell you that. (They are super inefficient on the phone for reasons I cannot discern.) You MUST secure the units with velcro yourself, as their clips are practically useless and the sleeve they expect you to buy to make the product attach more reliably is another engineering design mistake – it only works on collars, not harnesses, and it doesn’t work well. So, they sorta suck, but on the other hand, no one else has entered the market to provide something better. Privacy laws make it difficult to market this product effectively and stay on the good side of the FDC, so I don’t think we will see any other contenders any time soon despite the enormous need and interest in GPS products for dogs and cats. Sigh. Tagg is better than nothing, but expect to lose some and expect performance issues.
Anyone have thoughts or experience with garmin’s GTU 10? Seems like a decent alternative.
I was at the Toronto Pet show last week…Motorola was introducing a new pet gps system looks good…hopefully they will have all the answers for the problems mentioned below…QRpet.net has a pet tag that enables you to have a website for your dog and uses the qr technology to help persons with either access to the web or a smartphone to get the pets home…this one is made of plastic and lasts longer than the metal tags that are useless after two months…
If you’re considering a pet tracker, consider the need as there are so many different factors. I have a lab and he is usually outside, running around and getting wet/dirty. He also likes to roam around our property and the dog sitter will take him across town to go for his walks. We have the pocketfinder device from Apple. It just feels more solid and can withstand the abuse.
The fact that you can customize the power options and location frequency helps us control battery power or have better control in times when we know we need more frequent locates.
My guess is both products will serve your needs but I like the pocketfinder device.
One other non-related perk is that you can use the pocketfinder device for other things. You can take it in the car or use it for your luggage. So it’s like a pet device but also more.
Check out Pet Video Verify, it uses video identification for lost and found pets. It doesnt have the failings/problems that is being discussed here.
Do not buy this ! Very misleading product. The battery life is about 2-3 days. I was told that it was the area I was in the the way my house was built, etc. I live in a suburban area with great Verizon coverage and my house is U shaped with a center courtyard for the dogs. No distance grater than 50 yards from the base – I was a slave to the charger ! I moved to another area and another house and it was worse ! I got a lot of run around from some very nice people….now the tag ” fell off ” after being on tightly for a day – I changed my geo fence to see if this thing was accurate. And of course, it is not ( I bought two, same problem with both ) – The misery of the product is greater than the peace of mind it is supposed to offer – Save your money
I’m really surprised there are so many Tagg haters here. I am in no way affiliated with the company, just a happy Tagg owner. I have lived through the heartbreak of losing a dog who ran away due to illegal fireworks in my neighborhood and just can’t live through that again. I now have two greyhounds and bought two Tagg units for them two years ago. I love them and haven’t had any real problems with them.
I walk my dogs in two of the largest parks in Los Angeles and they track perfectly even in hilly areas and areas under heavy trees and brush. At my s/o’s house when I tested the unit it actually showed me that one dog was in a far end of the house near a street and the other deep in the middle of the house. Scary accurate.
I had done a lot of reading about various units before I bought the Tagg. I was going to buy the Garmin GTU 10, but was dissuaded when I read a real-time account from another greyhound owner who bought one and was very disappointed.
FYI, they now sell a Tagg guard that helps the unit stay on the collars of very active pets. They aren’t pretty, but get the job done.
I’ve been reading these comments with interest, greatly stimulated by the overnight loss of my coonhound Tess 3 days ago. We live on 23 acres in the southern Missouri Ozarks, surrounded by many thousands more, and very few mapped roads. On that particular night the temperature hovered around 16F. I had let her out to do her business and after 2 hours was obliged to try to find her. I ran around those woods all night in the freezing dark with no success. I was about to give up (on the BOTH of us) when she came limping in with a badly mangled foot. She has been microchipped for years, but that of course was useless for a pup without human contact. Obviously, the tracker serves an entirely different purpose. We also have a pit bull girl that was lost 2 years ago in the same way, that time for 5 days until she finally broke loose of what was restraining her and made her way back to us. Can’t go through that again so the search for a solution brought me here. I have contacted several manufacturers of tracking devices, including Garmin, with a question that only Tagg has answered. Does the map display have photographic detail? Why do I need to know? Because if it is just the ordinary GPS type display, little more that street traffic, my zone would look like just a white rectangle (or circle). I need a map that shows me the structures, ponds, and other such features in my zone of many rural acres. The only response has been from Tagg, and that was in the affirmative. Bears mentioning that the only carrier that works here is Verizon. I’m leaning strongly toward Tagg, just because of the basic information available.
Some of these complaints are really quite absurd. If you spend a few minutes reading about the limitations of Tagg before ordering it, you’ll avoid a lot of disappointment.
Just like any electronic device that uses a cellular network and GPS — battery life varies. Does the battery life in your phone vary based upon how often you use it? Yes. Why would this be any different?
There will not be an invincible, high speed, true 30 day battery, always on, ultra accurate GPS tracking device that works anywhere in the world for less than $200 in the next 10 years. We don’t live in minority report, people.
Anyway. I’m a new Tagg owner. My 60 LB pitbull boy got out of our office and we’ve got a few hundred acres of wilderness in the back yard. A neighbor saw him, but unfortunately because of the bad status of the breed, did not grab him. That lead to an 18 hour wilderness adventure in which he got very banged up by who knows what. Luckily after round the clock searching my Dad saw him going onto the only road in the area as the sun came up, and it was snowing. Our dog boy had about 20 ticks (lime disease!) and a massive gash on his paw from stepping on something very sharp, likely a glass bottle. He’s properly tagged but that doesn’t matter if no one is around to find him. The hope with Tagg is if he does escape again, he will likely be in an area with Verizon coverage, and I will be able to locate his general area, then hike in and find him with a package of hotdogs and a whistle 🙂
The Vet bills are already at $600 and climbing for his wound. Combining the stress of loosing him, missing a bunch of work to take care of him, and the vet bills, this device is much cheaper than all of that – year after year.
Honestly, the QR code is a low quality idea when compared to a quality stainless tag that slips directly on the collar. Especially when a quality metal tag costs half a much. Everyone has a telephone, and telephones are notoriously reliable (far more than Amazon’s Cloud that hosts your site) But more power to ya dude for starting your own business if people are buying it.
TLDR: Tagg works well if you want to track a dog in an area with Verizon coverage. If your dog chews on everything and is a clown, he will probably pull this off and eat it. Don’t expect a military grade device for $90.
Experience: I work for a startup company that designs compact GPS + cellular tracking devices used in the consumer light weight vehicle market.
Love the tracker device and the tracking service. It’s a great idea (though I wish it was smaller and lighter, as I’m sure future generations will be). I loved the first device so much I even wrote a testimonial on Tagg’s website singing their praises.
I wish I could say the same positive things about Tagg Customer Service. Unfortunately, the customer service doesn’t live up to the quality of the device itself.
I loved the first tracker so much, I ordered a second for a new dog I decided to adopt from a rescue organization. I planned my adoption date around the tracked arrival of the device itself (I don’t have a fully fenced backyard, but the adoption agency agreed to let me adopt the dog when I explained to them what Tagg is, and that I would order one for him. The agency will allow me to take the dog as soon as bring them the Tagg device).
When the second device arrived, it was defective, and would not activate. After three failed attempts to activate the device (including one online chat session with customer service, and two phone calls with customer service agents), I was informed that the second Tagg device must be defective, and they would have to mail me a new one–and that it would take 5 to 10 business days to arrive!!! I asked the rep if they could overnight it to me, but they told me that I would have to pay for overnight shipping fees, even though it was their fault for shipping me a faulty device. I explained that I had been waiting for the device for my new dog, who was awaiting adoption, and would be forced to stay in the pound for another 5 to 10 business days. I was told that there was nothing they would do–they could only ship it ground and would only overnight it if I paid for the shipping charges.
I will keep the Tagg for now, ONLY because it’s a great way to track my dog, and I’m not aware of another device that’s on the market yet. However, as soon as a competitor is able to come up with a similar device, I will be switching. It’s crazy that a company that’s founded on caring for pets would basically force me to wait on adopting my dog for another 5 to 10 days due to a faulty device.
When I was supposedly transferred to a manager named Steve and discussed the matter with him, I read him the above review (which I had written on the numerous holds I had been placed on), and I told him I would be posting online, he said he “would lose thousands of dollars if he had to ship everyone a device overnight.” I told him they didn’t need to ship them out overnight to everyone–but that it was their fault they had sent me a defective device, and I asked them to make it right ASAP so I could bring the adopted dog home. Steve told me that he “had to run a business” and accused me of “resorting to social blackmail” if I posted the review I read to him. Unbelievable.
What a horrible way to treat a customer–and basically force a dog to wait in the shelter. Here’s to capitalism and the benefits that come when competitors force companies to be better than they are when they have a monopoly. I look forward to taking my business to someone with a smaller device with better customer service.
Hi Darin, yes TAGG GPS pet locator has terrible customer service. Part of the problem seems to be that the manager Dave Vigil from Qualcomm is quite a jerk. Quite rude and crude to customers and employees. So imagine working for Dave Vigil. I think Dave said he does not even have a dog so that must be his problem. Dave doesn’t have any passion for dogs he just wants to make money from a technology product. He is just a corporate jerk for Qualcomm. Read the Qualcomm TAGG complaints. Qualcomm corp doesn’t give a crap about pets that’s why they didn’t care that the dog that you were adopting would stay in the shelter for more days and long long nights in jail at the shelter. Qualcomm TAGG is in it for the money not for the pets that’s why they refused to overnight it to you, or at least mail it two day priority mail which costs $5. When the attitude of any corp is as bad as Qualcomm and Dave Vigil, its best to take your business elsewhere. As you have seen TAGG’s true colors, they could care less about dogs, that is why their customer service is beyond dismal. I am looking at other GPS Locators. I refuse to buy TAGG. I have been without. But I know you must find one to save this dog from the jail shelter. Darin, thanks for caring and saving a life.
Qualcomm doesn’t care if all the dogs die in the shelter jail. Qualcomm should lock Dave Vigil at the shelter for 3 months and see how he likes it. Maybe Dave Vigil would get over his terrible rude attitude.
This Dave Vigil should be thankful he even has a job. Hopefully other pet lovers won’t buy this from this Qualcomm TAGG dog hating corporation and Dave Vigil will be fired.
If Qualcomm wants to sell more TAGGs, they need to fire Dave Vigil. Just a note from many who have dealt with TAGG and refused to buy TAGG GPS pet locator.
I’ve had the Tagg tracker for 5 months, and just now my 3rd tracker (already the 2nd replacement) has malfunctioned to the point of being unusable.
Pros:
– The product features are great – if they worked, they’d be nearly perfect. You’re supposed to get email and/or SMS notifications when certain things happen, e.g. tracker falls off, turns off, battery is low, dog is out of the tag zone, etc.
– Visually the product looks good, solid/durable, and small enough so that it doesn’t make the dog uncomfortable.
– Customer support is excellent. They are very quick to respond, very knowledgeable, and courteous in paying for the shipment of replacement trackers.
So all that works in theory, but not in practice.
Cons:
– The tracker keeps breaking. I went through two replacements, patiently understanding that things do happen. Now is the 3rd broken tracker in 5 months. The tracker is designed to be very durable – after all, it’s for dogs. Instructions say it can remain on when the dog is swimming, etc. My dog is very calm and has never worn the tracker near water, except in the rain. The first tracker broke about a month in, at which point it became unresponsive (showed some abnormal purple light and wouldn’t turn on). Second one broke a couple of weeks in but in a different way (visually everything would work but it wouldn’t send out any signals). I debugged everything thoroughly with tech support with no success and it was determined that this 2nd one was faulty as well. They mentioned that there was actually a software bug in a recent version that prevented the battery from being charged – unrelated to my problem but suggests that bugs on their end are quite typical. So I am now on the 3rd one, 2 weeks in, and all of a sudden the battery died and I was never notified about any low battery as it normally should. It seems to be charging now and able to turn on, but I could have easily left it on for another 2 weeks thinking that it’s working and trusting it with my dog’s life. Most likely they will continue having reliability issues and sooner or later something else will break again.
– Seeing no improvement in reliability after 5 months, I have decided the tracker is essentially useless. I’ve returned it for a PARTIAL refund of the monthly fee. I didn’t get any refund for the tracker itself because they only issue refunds within the first 30 days after purchase. I tried to argue with no success.
I don’t care if the the Activity Tracker doesn’t work (it’s a nice-to-have addon feature), but it’s a big problem when the product fails at its core function. And this isn’t a toy like a mobile app where I can share funny pictures with my friends; it’s a serious device with which I trust the life of my pet. It should never fail. In the worst case, it should at least text me when the device becomes unreachable for some period of time, but it doesn’t even do that.
Alternatives: unfortunately there don’t appear to be any good ones. I thought of trying the Garmin GTU 10, but I see it also has some bad reviews about its software (e.g. their servers go down or something like that). Someone suggested the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, but it also has many comments about poor reliability. Things that break and require replacement are just a waste of time. If the servers go down, at least you don’t have to replace the device and it sounds like the tracker might work most of the time… so maybe the Garmin GTU 10 is the best choice.
This device is a great idea, problem is , it simply does not work! Support has some great people that can convince you that you simply have a malfunctioning unit or possibly a defective unit, but they are going to get it working for you regardless of your previous bad experience. They are masters at delay, delay, delay – until your 30 day return warranty runs out.
So here is the biggest problem. I had 3 different units over a period of 2 months. The longest that a battery charge ever lasted was a little less than 2 days – the shortest was about 4 hours. The average battery life (95% of the time) was from 8 to 12 hours. They claim the battery life is “up to 30 days”. When you call tech support they have never heard of battery life that short. You never get the same tech person twice, and in fact they will refuse to let you talk to the same tech again. All you need to do is go through a reset process that will restore communication between the Tracker and the base station – that will solve the problem. So they take you through the process and confirm that it now is working. The next day it is again dead in 8 to 12 hours. When you call back you have to explain your complaints to a new person an once again reset the device. After doing this several times and when they see that you are ready to return the device, they say that they are going to” escalate the case to tech support” and they will call you back within 24 hours. With me calling daily, it was 5 days the first time, 8 days the second time, and 5 days the third time for them to call back. When they did call they said what I needed to do was reset the unit , and then the entire process starts over again. If you insist on replacement, the new unit is exactly like the old one.
Next problem, the Tracker falls off the collar often, and you are notified of that, but if it came off in the Tagg Zone (5 acres in my case) it cannot be located by the system. My third unit was finally permanently lost the day before I was going to return it.
Haven’t heard enough yet? The unit often notified me that Dixie was out of the Tagg Zone when she was sleeping at my feet within 15 feet of the base station. When I took her for a road trip I often got no notice at all or not for several hours. The only time Dixie was actually lost, I had charged the unit over night, put it on the collar before I left for work, got a low battery notice 4 hours later and no other notices. When I got home 9 hours later, Dixie was gone, and could not be located because the battery was dead.
I ordered 2 of their trackers over a week ago and they still haven’t been able to activate them. They can’t even connect me with Tech support! Each time I call in after my activation is denied online they put me on hold for 15 mins only to tell me they cant get it to work on their end and I will have to wait 72 hours for Tech Support to reach out to me to handle the issue! I then asked if they could just give me the # to Tech support so I could just call them direct to cut out the 72 hr wait and they told me they don’t have the # ????? They are not open on Saturday or Sunday to take calls at all you will only get a computer to answer. This company has to be run out of someones Garage as they are a joke! They have no problem taking your money but when its time for them to hold up their end BE PREPARED TO WAIT A FEW WEEKS
I bought a Tagg Tracker in Feb (2013) for our dog who was going to be traveling with us on our 2 week vacation to Surprise, Arizona in March for some spring training baseball. Our dog loves to follow her nose and will keep going if she gets off the leash and we thought this would be the best way to prevent losing her if she accidentally got out of the RV while away from home. The unit worked well for us the entire trip and even worked while in the Davis Mountains in SW Texas.
We keep the unit on her pretty much 24/7 except when its on the docking station charging the battery. When I take her for walks in the morning and late evenings, I get push notices on my Android phone usually within 3-5 minutes of us leaving the defined “Tagg Zone” and again when we return home.
The battery life doesn’t last 30 days unless the tracker is inside the Tagg Zone near the docking station most of the time. Once it’s outside the zone, the unit starts communicating with the cell towers triangulating its position. That’s why Tagg recommends taking the docking station with you when traveling. Makes sense for the most part.
Now for the downside; We haven’t really had any issues with the unit till now. I put the unit on Timber as always after charging the unit and twisted the unit a little from side to side to make sure the clips have the unit locked into place. This particular time, the unit popped off in my hand and one of the two clips fell to the floor. When I examined the unit I found that the corners of the bottom plastic housing had broken off on both sides of the retaining clip pin. Without going into detail on the groove for the retaining clip pin, I’ll just say this is a weak point of the outer unit design because one corner of the other clip had also broken off. It would only be a matter of time before the remaining corner broke off and the clip and the tracker would fall off. It could have been designed much better than this. The upside of this is within a few minutes I got the usual push notice that the tagg unit had detached from Timber’s collar, even though we were still near the docking station.
After reading the posts of others who have had issues with Tagg customer service, I’m not encouraged I’ll receive any useful assistance on getting the unit repaired or replaced even though the unit is still within the one year warranty period. I figure I’ll have to find a way to secure the pin in place (epoxy it most likely) or devise a way to clip the unit to Timber’s collar that won’t make the unit any more cumbersome for her than it already is. Stay tuned…
Jim, Don’t use epoxy. On anything subject to much shock it will fail, not because the bond will weaken, but because it makes a brittle connection and will break loose. Tagg has a pretty good chat line, easily accessible, where you can learn real time if they’ll honor their warranty. It’s a personality cult out there, so it depends on the agent you happen to connect with, but it’s worth a shot.
I’m here to testify that this thing truly works. I was on a cruise, out in the Pacific and unreachable. My greyhounds were staying with a friend who also has greyhounds and her house is virtually Fort Knox for dogs…except, that one of my greyhounds managed to get out.
She and her family were out to dinner when she got a text from Tagg that Carl was out, she called a friend to run over and do a head count. She thought that maybe the unit had malfunctioned as its charge was getting low. Her friend ran over to check and found a woman walking Carl on a leash towards my friend’s house. Now, Carl’s tag did not have my friend’s address on it (I plan to have a second set of tags made for when they stay at her house from now on), but the woman was walking him back the direction he came from. If it weren’t for the Tagg unit notifying my friend that Carl was out, I don’t know how it would have ended. I was out of telephone range for days.
I’ll never again have another dog without a Tagg unit – ever.
Frances on January 20, 2012 at 1:41 pm
I recently purchased the Tagg unit but after reading all the legal and safety information I am a bit concerened. There is contradicting information about the RF emissions produced by the unit. One section of the legal disclosures sates that since the FCC does not set RF safety standards for pets Tagg chose to use the standards set for humans. Sounds good, right? But deeper down int he legal info it specifically sates “To comply with FCC RF exposure compliance requirements, a separation distance of 20 cm (8 inches) must be maintained between the antennas for the Tagg tracking device and all persons.” So, it is not safe to bring the tracker within 8″ of humans? Then why is it safe to attach to my dog’s neck? I have called Tagg twice with questions about this but was both times referred back to the leagel & safety info. I have requested the specific RF SAR values so I can comare it to that of a cell phone, which is what the Tagg representative tells me it is comparable to. I would love to hear info / advice from others about his.
I think that worrying about RF exposure is really over-thinking the possible negatives of this device. First, you have to compare the real risk of losing your pet with the possible and unproven risks of RF exposure. Second, even if the RF exposure risks are real, they are based on a person who talks on the phone for a specified amount of time each day. This device is never going to transmit for anywhere close to that length of time on a daily basis. Because the Tagg device is only transmitting very small packets of data and doing so very infrequently, RF exposure is far less than if a voice call were being made.
I just cancelled my Tagg membership. The last few months I’ve received many false reports. They said it was because of solar flares. Bullshit!
They also renewed my membership without telling me. They just charged my card again. I called to cancel and was told they were sorry to see me go but would not refund the fee they charged. They said it is non-refundable. I am not happy and will not recommend them to anyone.
I use the tagg on a Siberian Husky, yes there are improvements need be made , but I am pleased with the product. You can track your pet in 3 minute intervals. My dog also has a walkie talkie two-way for commands. I have had some trouble in cloud cover days. You must remember you get out of your pet what you put in. The set up should have a car adapter for charging added. Battery life needs improved. And the collar should be made into a antenna for better reception. As far as a chew toy or in coming detached I have not had a problem and the pouch that can be used is very secure and you get a text when the device has become detached, also you can monitor the battery level at all times and it has a power saving mode when near the home base. I would like to see a selection of 7 tones added to the device to teach commands to the dog since it is already being a transponder elimanating the two ways. 90% satisfaction with this product.
A quick note now and later I will give more information on the collar I still have. I asked via chat before purchasing and was told to use a break away collar with the unit on my cat. I asked if it was difficult to find if it came off pet. I was assured it was easy to find the collar just using the system in the same manner as you would find your pet. One came off of one of my cats. I could not locate it. Some where a specific GPS location was given for the collar, can’t remember if it was on website or iPhone app. I tried to locate it this way with the help of three people for hours, only to learn it does not work off. Of GPS, it works off of cell towers. Where or how they produced that address then, I do not know. 4 different technicians all gave different advice in finding it, last one stating it is usually about 20 feet north east (I think that was the direction) from the icon that shows its location on the map. I was them told ALWAYS should use a regular collar and never ending reasons of why it is NOT always easy to find lost collars. I explained how I had been misinformed before placing my order and asked for a replacement. They offered nothing even though false information was given to me and was what solidified my decision the buy one for each cat. I ask about this every time I call with questions about the remaining collar, though I always told someone will get back to me. Wrong information before buying unit and an obvious lack of training of technical support wrapped up with no desire for client satisfaction. I have numerous vets, stores etc. that would recommend this product, as they have seen the collar on the other cat, if I could honestly say I have confidence in the company. I do not now, hopefully they will improve. For example I will shop at a higher end priced store that also has an online catalog, Dover Saddlery (dog owners their dog coats are of great quality). I never hesitate with purchases because they have incredible customer service. Tagg could learn quite a bit from them. Sadly, I have not found any other company that makes a tracking collar for cats. I use the one that remains on the former stray, as he ROAMS! I can give further information on how it works if anyone is interested. I have used it to track him ENDLESS times as I like him in before dark.
Hi did you search or research online for Qualcomm Tagg Pet Locator Complaint?
I now search and research the name of the product Complaints and read many comments about those that purchased the product.
Just watch out, as many corporations like Qualcomm hire employees to post lies about their product with over the top glowing reviews. Those reviews are fake paid for by the corporation like Qualcomm TAGG to dupe, lie cheat and steal from unknowing potential customers.
Read many complaints and reviews on numerous websites to get an idea of the type of complaints. After awhile I have learned to easily spot the paid reviews, like best product ever,
best corporation, corporation loves its people, best product since sliced bread, buy this everyday its the best, etc.
Be very wary of buying or using any veterinarian, dentist, doctor, etc if they use DemandForce for reviews, as Demand Force hires thousands of employees to post fake reviews for corporations to dupe their potential customers to buying a bad service from a horrible vet, horrible dentist, horrible doctor, etc. Demand Force scam reviews.
Just keep in mind anytime you buy from any corporation, corporations are only concerned about profits not happy customers. corporations are a group of immoral people stealing from unknowing potential customers.
Avoid yelp reviews, as Yelp hires fake reviewers.
Avoid BBB Better Business Bureau, they charge corporations for a high rating to dupe potential consumers. Avoid any gov websites, as the gov also hires many gov employees to write fake reviews to increase corporate profits, as corporations and gov work hand in hand to screw the people or as the gov calls everyone the sheeple, the stupid idiots who believe anything they put on the news, TellLieVision. Now 99% of the news are lies to influence the people to follow orders and to spend money with corporations.
There are many long detailed complaints on many smaller unknown websites that will have comments about a corporate product like Qualcomm TAGG that will have the real complaints and reviews.
Try searching the name of the product or service, complaint, ripoffreport.com or complaintsboard.com complaints.com or complaintwire , consumeraffairs, etc
Qualcomm hires a lot of liars to sell potential customers, once they have your money, you are screwed, as Qualcomm is all about profits and screwing the consumer. Qualcomm TAGG will say anything to make you want to buy their product but they do not stand behind it and they refuse to spend a dime to improve their product. Qualcomm spends money on hiring more liars to get the sales up, instead of making the product work.
Anytime you buy a bad product or service from a corporation, at least take a minute to share your experience on complaintwire, ripoffreport, complaintsboard, complaints, consumeraffairs, etc. Write your complaint and copy and paste at all the sites you can to increase customer awareness to warn others.
Sorry that Qualcomm TAGG lied to you. You have learned to search complaints before buying anything from any corporation.
The last reviewer is a nut job. Corporations provide most of the products and services that everybody use every day. Without corporations, you would not be able to buy a car, take a bus, fill your tank with gas, sleep in a bed, buy a nice meal, etc, etc… Nor would most people have a job. See what happens to employment if you eliminate corporate provided jobs. Profit is the motivation, of course, but that is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing for without motivation, nothing would exist except a broke welfare state.
Regarding the prior reviewer; I use a cat tracker from com-spec.com. I am able to locate my cats any time I need. It does not use GPS, rather it uses radio location. Far simpler and much more reliable and precise. The collar is a break-away color and I have always been able to locate the collar on the few occasions that it came off. Never use a non-breakaway collar on a cat. I did this once and my cat hung itself. I would rather risk losing the collar. The coin cell battery lasts a month and costs about a buck to replace. Tracking range is only 3 or 4 blocks in the city but that is more than enough to locate a cat. In the country, range is about 1/2 mile. Check it out…
Sitting on the desk in front of me is the third broken Tagg Tracker in four years. They replaced the first broken one for free, and since then we’ve had to buy a new one regularly. Why? The clasps that snap the tracker onto the charging mount or onto our dogs collar are flimsy and break. The last time Tagg had the nerve to accuse us of treating their product roughly! We love our dog, but to spend another $100 bucks for something we know in advance is going to break seems, well, unwise.
Good example of the former deplorable customer service for this product. I left them because I moved to the city from rural acreage and no longer felt the need. Tagg has been sold so customer service may have improved (I don’t KNOW!). Also the product has been redesigned, including a new system for fastening, so on those two accounts you might want to look into it again.