Nextech 4G GPS Trackers setup help

How Nextech GPS trackers work:

You cannot login to the GPS tracker website or app

You successfully login to the tracker website or app, but your tracker does not update its location.

The tracker does not respond to SMS texts

The tracker SMS response does not have an accurate GPS location

The tracker date and time stamps for the tracking history are wrong

Notes on changing the default tracker SMS password

How Nextech GPS trackers work:

You install a SIM card with a 4G telco data and SMS plan in the tracker. The tracker gets its location from GPS satellite signals 1 or 2 minutes after power-on, and then every 30 seconds it sends this location to a remote internet server using the 4G internet data connection.

You can see the tracker location and movement history by logging-in to the Nextech tracker app, or www.response1gps.com, using the last seven digits of the tracker ID as account and password.

You send commands to the tracker by sending SMS texts from your phone to the tracker’s SIM phone number, and it will reply with SMS text to give you its current operating status. You will need a SIM with SMS access to setup and change any of the tracker's options.

You cannot login to the GPS tracker website or app

 Make sure you are using only the last seven digits of the tracker ID from the sticker on the tracker, as both the account and password. Call 1800 738 555 or contact us if this does not work, as your specific tracker ID may require manual activation by the remote operator.

You successfully login to the tracker website or app, but your tracker does not update its location.

Trackers showing they are located in China have yet to upload any tracking data. They are configured at the website and ready to receive data, but none has been sent by the tracker hardware yet.

You can find out if the tracker has successfully picked up a signal from the GPS system, by sending a text from your phone to the tracker’s SIM phone number as follows: url*12345678

It should reply with a SMS containing a Google Maps link you can click. If the tracker replies with an accurate position, either the tracker does not have a working data connection, or the tracker’s telco APN (Access Point Name - a setting for the gateway to the internet for mobile devices) is wrong or missing.

Check the data connection: Put the tracker’s SIM in a phone, check there is mobile signal reception and data available on its phone plan, and then use the phone to browse the internet with the phone’s Wi-Fi turned off. If the phone cannot get on the internet via the SIM’s data, make sure the plan has sufficient data, or try another SIM. Check with the telco if GPRS/LTE has been disabled for your SIM.

Check the APN: You can find out what APN the tracker currently has by sending a SMS text from your phone to the tracker’s SIM phone number as follows: check*12345678

It should respond with a SMS containing a status report - the APN name is the text after ShockControl, like this: -95dBm, ShockControl, telstra.internet, User, Password, 46000

You can give the tracker your telco’s APN by sending it a SMS:  apn*12345678*telstra.internet

Change telstra.internet in the example above to suit your telco APN if not using Aldi, e.g. telstra.mms for Telstra, connect for Optus, live.vodafone.com for Vodafone and their resellers. Ask your Telco to be sure.

Australian APNs - check with your telco in case they have changed: 

Aldi - TELSTRA.INTERNET or MDATA.NET.AU

Amaysim - INTERNET or YESINTERNET

Optus - CONNECT or CONNECTME

Telstra, Boost - TELSTRA.MMS, TELSTRA.WAP, TELSTRA.INTERNET

Vodafone, TPG, Kogan - LIVE.VODAFONE.COM

Make sure the tracker has moved from its last location and is outdoors. It will not send further updates, if the location has not changed in the 30 minutes since it was switched-on last time. It needs to have access to the GPS satellite signals, so trackers that are indoors, under cover, underground, or buried deep inside vehicle interiors may not send updates reliably.

The tracker does not respond to SMS texts

Make sure the tracker is on: LA9038 has a switch under the cover that needs to be in the ON position, both the red and white wires need to be connected to +12V and the black wire to -12v to power-on the tracker. LA9038 has two status LED lights - they should each be blinking once after a few minutes if the tracker is working OK – solid green means no mobile connection is available. LA9039 OBDII tracker will only send updates whilst the vehicle ignition is switched on, and it will take several minutes after ignition switch-on for the first GPS position update to appear.

Make sure the SIM has SMS access available: If the tracker is powered on successfully, but not responding to SMS commands after more than a minute has passed, remove and test the SIM in a phone to make sure it has good mobile phone signal reception, and can receive and send SMS from the same specific location as the tracker. Data-only telco plans may not have SMS access – these are not recommended.

If the tracker is located far from a metropolitan area, make sure the SIM’s telco has towers nearby (some telcos, eg Optus, don’t support all frequencies outside metro areas – try a Telstra SIM in the tracker to see if this is your issue, as Telstra usually have towers for all frequencies in most parts of Australia). See https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=505&MNC=1 and change to suit your telco.

The tracker SMS response does not have an accurate GPS location

Take the tracker outdoors for a few minutes: it needs to have access to the GPS satellites, and some roofs/garages will block their GPS signals. If installed in a vehicle, put it on the dashboard to test this – trackers buried deep inside vehicles may have GPS signals blocked by the vehicle’s metal bodywork. Use the LA9037 extension cable to move the LA9039 OBDII tracker to a better reception location.

The tracker date and time stamps for the tracking history are wrong

Choose the correct time zone in the tracker website: Log in to www.response1gps.com using the account and password of the last seven digits of the tracker ID. On the top-right corner, click More and then My Account. Now choose Timezone, pick your location from the list, and press Save.

Notes on changing the default tracker SMS password

The trackers come with a default password to give them commands via SMS, and will accept SMS commands from any phone number. Whilst this might seem insecure, any bad actor would need to know the tracker's SIM number, default password, and what kind of tracker it was, in order to do anything with it via SMS, so no-one is likely to do this by accident.

The manual covers SMS commands that will let you change the default password. However, if you choose to change it, and then forget the password, you will not be able to send any more commands to the tracker at all (LA9038) or until you factory-reset it (LA9039). The password is not stored anywhere else other than in the tracker itself, so we can not reset it for you.