Start with what you're tracking
A vehicle tracker can be hardwired for permanent power or magnetic for quick placement under a car. A tracker for a child or an older relative is usually a watch or pendant with an SOS button and two-way calling. A pet tracker attaches to a collar and needs to be light and waterproof. An asset tracker prioritises battery life over update frequency, because equipment does not move most of the time.
Battery life is decided by how often the tracker reports. A unit updating every ten seconds runs for days; one updating hourly runs for months. Hardwired vehicle trackers avoid the question entirely.
Trackers with live listening
Several of our 4G vehicle trackers add live audio and voice recording alongside location, you can hear what is happening as well as see where it is. They are the most capable units on this page and are also listed under listening devices.
New Zealand's 3G shutdown
All three New Zealand networks completed their 3G shutdowns on 31 March 2026. Any older 3G tracker stopped reporting on that date and cannot be reconnected. Everything here is 4G.
Do you need a subscription
It depends on how the tracker reaches you. Every unit that reports over the mobile network needs a SIM with data, and that data costs something. Some trackers include a SIM and bundle the cost into a monthly or annual plan. Others take your own SIM on a prepaid plan, which usually works out cheaper but means you manage the top-ups.
What matters is not the word subscription but two questions: what happens to the tracker if you stop paying, and can the SIM be replaced. A unit locked to one provider becomes a paperweight when the plan lapses. A unit that takes any SIM keeps working as long as there is credit on it.
Reporting interval, and why the advertised battery life assumes the slowest one
A tracker that reports every ten seconds tells you almost exactly where something is. One that reports every ten minutes tells you roughly where it was. The difference in usefulness is large, and so is the difference in power draw, because the radio is the part that empties the battery.
Quoted battery figures almost always assume the longest reporting interval and a small number of position fixes per day. A unit advertised at several months on a charge may run for a fortnight at live-tracking rates. Read the stated interval alongside the stated battery life, and size for the interval you will actually use.
Coverage in New Zealand
All three New Zealand networks completed their 3G shutdowns by 31 March 2026, so anything older than 4G no longer connects. Coverage is good on main routes and thin in parts of the back country, which matters if the tracker is going on a vehicle, a boat or an animal that leaves town. A tracker out of coverage stores its positions and uploads them when it reconnects, so the history survives even when the live view does not.
Common questions
Do I need a subscription? Each tracker needs a SIM with data. Some include one; otherwise any New Zealand prepay SIM works.
How accurate is it? Typically within a few metres outdoors. Accuracy drops indoors and under dense bush canopy.
Will it work in the back country? Only where there is mobile coverage. A tracker records its position but cannot report it from a dead spot, so it will fill in the gap once the vehicle or animal moves back into signal.