This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential tracker?

Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Messages
84
Reaction score
0
Looking at this GPS tracker, and wondering if I could just take the SIM card out of our "spare" iPhone (one our kids use when they go places) to create a Phantom tracker.

Since I'm already paying for service for this phone (which doesn't get used much anyway) perhaps I can use it in this device and have an easy and relatively cheap solution.

Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

You might look it up on amazon.com. They seem to list this unit or at least one that looks like it and have some reviews that might be helpful.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

jthorstad said:
Looking at this GPS tracker, and wondering if I could just take the SIM card out of our "spare" iPhone (one our kids use when they go places) to create a Phantom tracker.

Since I'm already paying for service for this phone (which doesn't get used much anyway) perhaps I can use it in this device and have an easy and relatively cheap solution.

Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?

I wouldn't worry about putting a SIM card in - at 362 grams in weight by the time you have a gimbal and all the other stuff attached the Phantom won't even lift off the ground so you'll never lose it !! :lol: :lol:
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

362g? That's like 2 phantom batteries! Garmin has a soon-to-be-discontinued tracker that weighs 48g. But it's going to be discontinued because AT&T is allegedly going to be deprecating their obsolete GPRS network. If they do that, this one won't work either.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

The Editor said:
I wouldn't worry about putting a SIM card in - at 362 grams in weight by the time you have a gimbal and all the other stuff attached the Phantom won't even lift off the ground so you'll never lose it !! :lol: :lol:

It weighs about 1.75 ounces (50 grams).

I can't answer the question about using an existing SIM card, but AT&T offers a SIM card for $10 which you can combine with a pre-paid plan to avoid monthly fees. I've used one on my Vision with mixed results. See:

http://www.visionflyer.com/adding-a-gps ... -2-vision/

-- Roger
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

jthorstad said:
Looking at this GPS tracker, and wondering if I could just take the SIM card out of our "spare" iPhone (one our kids use when they go places) to create a Phantom tracker.

Since I'm already paying for service for this phone (which doesn't get used much anyway) perhaps I can use it in this device and have an easy and relatively cheap solution.

Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?

I orderd one of these from China which arrived 10 days later for a mere £19.99 inc postage thinking that it can't be any good at this price. In fact this unit is fabulous. I have been running around with it in my car for the last three days and even though it is in the car and inside my Phantom case, it always reports an extremely accurate fix. BTW it has been running now for 80 hours and the battery is reporting a 60% charge still. I used to work in the GPS tracking industry and I think that this is quality gear. I bought a pay as you go no contact SIm with £10.00 credit and if I need to find my Phantom I ring the tracker from my smartphone it rings twice and then hangs up and within 20 seconds I receive a txt showing the position including a fully formatted link to google. I click on the link and the map opens showing my position and the position of the tracker. If I then select navigate, I am roffered a route to the tracker/ ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. With this Velcro'd to the bottom of the Phantom, no one has an excuse
for loosing their quad. The unit is supplied with two batteries, a mains charger and an external battery holder for charging the battery. Get one - get two and fit one to your car :)
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

jthorstad said:
Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?
These things only work with 2G sim cards, make sure your's isn't 3G.

Also, beware of fake devices from China. While they are pretty much all the same, get a reputable one like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Real-Tim ... 1201679112

Another thing, make sure you do some close quarters testing. As I understand it, these things kick out quick a hefty frequency when they transmit back the SMS (it's essentially a 2G mobile phone), so if your Phantom is in the air, this may interfere with the GPS/Compass etc.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

jthorstad said:
Looking at this GPS tracker, and wondering if I could just take the SIM card out of our "spare" iPhone (one our kids use when they go places) to create a Phantom tracker.

Since I'm already paying for service for this phone (which doesn't get used much anyway) perhaps I can use it in this device and have an easy and relatively cheap solution.

Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?

Let us know if you try this and it works. I got one and bought a sim card from T-Mobile. When I go on T-Mobile's site to activate it, I get an Invalid IMEI number when I enter the number from the label inside, so I thought maybe I could get a cheapo telephone just to register the sim card and then swap it out to the GPS Tracker.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

@Jaybee - I wish I could order the one you linked to, as it gets favorable reviews. Unfortunately they don't ship to the US.

I ended up ordering THIS ONE on Amazon. Hopefully it's not one of the "cheap Chinese knockoffs" everyone mentions.

I'll report back on how it works. We have excellent AT&T coverage in my area, so hopefully this will be helpful.

On a side note, I came to an agreement with the vendor that sold me the fly-away Phantom in November. They agreed to sell me a replacement at 50% off. Not ideal, but not too bad either, in a case where neither side can prove who was at fault.

I expect my new Phantom and this GPS tracker to arrive late this week.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

jthorstad said:
@Jaybee - I wish I could order the one you linked to, as it gets favorable reviews. Unfortunately they don't ship to the US.

I ended up ordering THIS ONE on Amazon. Hopefully it's not one of the "cheap Chinese knockoffs" everyone mentions.

I'll report back on how it works. We have excellent AT&T coverage in my area, so hopefully this will be helpful.

On a side note, I came to an agreement with the vendor that sold me the fly-away Phantom in November. They agreed to sell me a replacement at 50% off. Not ideal, but not too bad either, in a case where neither side can prove who was at fault.

I expect my new Phantom and this GPS tracker to arrive late this week.

Cool, I think that device is the exact same to be honest - just that some are knock-off's. Yours looks ok and loads of people have bought that type and say they work well.

Nice one on getting a 50% reduction from your vendor, that's really good of them. I didn't even ask mine as I thought there would be no way. I did send info to DJI Europe who passed my report to their Director. The reply was [predictably] as follows:

Hi Jamie,

I´m getting back to you with regards to your PHANTOM 2 Flyaway.

We have heard of some instances of what people are terming “Fly away”, causing a loss or a crash. The R&D team at DJI HQ have done extensive testing to determine if this is an issue with our product and cannot find any problem with the product. Most of the time the issue appears to be pilot orientation issues or some external influence such as interference with the GPS, Compass, or R/C system. All these unknown factors are outside the control of DJI, as we have no influence about the location where people fly our products.

I hope you´ll understand our position in this cases.
Thanks

I sent them this reply and a link to my detailed flyaway report on here:

I'm hardly surprised that you would take that stance. It's the easiest option for you guys to suggest your product is infallible. I can ensure you that no technology this complex can every be 100% infallible regardless of the amount of testing you carry out – it has a computer onboard, right, computers can crash.

I'm also hardly surprised you would not offer more help based of the weak request for info, that RMA doc really needs a review; a) it's out of date, b) it does't ask for enough detail.

After extensively searching for my lost Phantom 2, I've done a rigorous review of my flyaway situation and spent over 4 hrs writing a forum post the other night, it's linked here and pasted below for you convenience below.

Please can you and your director ensure you will read this and tell me you still don't think a flight controller glitch / kernal panic / malfunction was a distinct possibility. Of course without the craft being available for inspection, you again have a perfect way to dismiss responsibility. I'd also urge you to read that entire section of the forum.

While I now remain almost £1000 out of pocket and am left with a very sour taste in my mouth… would I recommend your product to my friends, family, industry colleagues, and social network? Previously, empahatically yes… I proudly explained to people about the amazing failsafe feature that would "bring the craft home in the event of an issue with a broken signal, out of range situation." This primary, dealmaking feature, failed on me. I would be very hesitant to advise anyone to buy this product, at this time, after my experience.

:roll:

EDIT: I heard nothing back since.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

So I got my tracker in the mail today...the Chinglish directions are not HORRIBLE, but...I do have a question for those of you who have these:

I don't have a SIM card yet, but did put a battery (two came with) in to charge.

Immediately the small green light came on. That surprised me. I hadn't pushed any buttons or anything...

It has been charging for a couple hours, and the light continues to be green. Makes no difference if I push On/Off, hold it in, etc.

Just wondering if YOURS behaves like this? Is it always in some sort of ON state?
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

So here's a follow-up to this post.

I ended up buying this tracker from Amazon. It came yesterday.

I charged it last night with no SIM card in it. (NOTE: if you put one of the two supplied batteries in, they will have some charge. A green light will come on and it WON'T go off, no matter how many times you hit the ON/OFF button. It seems the ON/OFF only works after a SIM is installed.)

Today I went to my local AT&T store. I do all of my phone business there. It's a small shop, in our relatively small town.

I brought the tracker, and a "spare" iPhone we have in our home. It's a 4S that my two middle-school boys share when they go to events. It gets used perhaps 3 times a month.

I was really hoping to be able to utilize its SIM card for the GPS tracker, since I'm already paying for it.

The guy at AT&T looked at my tracker with interest. He was really into what I wanted to do.

The iPhone SIM card is too small to fit in the tracker; some sort of adapter would be needed.

He goes and grabs a larger SIM card and a tool for making an adapter out of it. It looked like a paper hole punch. It punched out a micro SIM-sized hole from the larger SIM.

We put the iPhone SIM in this fancy new adapter, and put it in the tracker. I sent the initialization command to it. Nothing.

I then realized I was sending MMS. I re-sent the message as an SMS, and BANG! heard back from the tracker. YAHOO!

So I send a few commands, I'm communicating with the tracker, and it's reporting its position, even inside the store. This is GREAT.

I ask what I owe them for their help. NOTHING. He made that SIM card adapter thing for nothing. I was pretty sure they were going to sell me a Pay-as-you-go SIM card with an $8/month fee. NOPE. I can now swap the iPhone SIM card in and out as needed, and it's something I'm ALREADY PAYING FOR.

I am pleased beyond belief with their service to me. Hope someone else out there is able to use one of these trackers.

In addition, my NEW v1.1.1 Phantom arrived today. The 50% discount offered by B&H Photo took a wee bit of the sting off of my fly-away. I'm hoping this tracker will NEVER been needed.
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

Mine works rally well but you are right, it appears to be permanently on when the battery is in so I just take it out when not in use. BTW it lasts over 4 days on a charge. I keep pressing the sos button by mistake so I have now sliced both buttons off for safety...

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

Philip,

How have you attached yours to your Phantom?

Have you noticed any wonkiness from your Phantom when flying? I assume not, but just wondering.

I haven't flown with the tracker on yet. Hoping the cellular won't interfere with anything.

philipfretwell said:
Mine works rally well but you are right, it appears to be permanently on when the battery is in so I just take it out when not in use. BTW it lasts over 4 days on a charge. I keep pressing the sos button by mistake so I have now sliced both buttons off for safety...

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

Hi I have attached it to the bottom behind the gopro gimbal using velcro... You will have to sand off the silicone outer coating in order for it to stick. I hovered low today and got it to txt me with no problem. The only emissions should be its handshake to the cell tower and I will only ask it to txt me when it's on the ground and lost... No wobbles btw..

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

philipfretwell said:
jthorstad said:
Looking at this GPS tracker, and wondering if I could just take the SIM card out of our "spare" iPhone (one our kids use when they go places) to create a Phantom tracker.

Since I'm already paying for service for this phone (which doesn't get used much anyway) perhaps I can use it in this device and have an easy and relatively cheap solution.

Anyone have thoughts about whether an AT&T SIM card from an iPhone would work?

I orderd one of these from China which arrived 10 days later for a mere £19.99 inc postage thinking that it can't be any good at this price. In fact this unit is fabulous. I have been running around with it in my car for the last three days and even though it is in the car and inside my Phantom case, it always reports an extremely accurate fix. BTW it has been running now for 80 hours and the battery is reporting a 60% charge still. I used to work in the GPS tracking industry and I think that this is quality gear. I bought a pay as you go no contact SIm with £10.00 credit and if I need to find my Phantom I ring the tracker from my smartphone it rings twice and then hangs up and within 20 seconds I receive a txt showing the position including a fully formatted link to google. I click on the link and the map opens showing my position and the position of the tracker. If I then select navigate, I am roffered a route to the tracker/ ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. With this Velcro'd to the bottom of the Phantom, no one has an excuse
for loosing their quad. The unit is supplied with two batteries, a mains charger and an external battery holder for charging the battery. Get one - get two and fit one to your car :)
Just out of interest which China site did you get your tracker from .
Thanks
 
Re: This device + AT&T SIM card from iPhone = potential trac

This is the one I got: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Mini-Realti ... OU:US:1120

I bought just a SIM CARD from T-Mobile and when I tried to activate it online, it said that the IMEI Number was invalid. There was only 1 set of numbers under the battery and it does not say IMEI. Last night, I picked up a Cheap $26.00 cell phone from T-Mobile with a Pay as you go account that has the same side SIM card necessary for the Tracker. Once I activated that, I switched it to the Tracker and it works as advertised.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic