A Wearable Tracker Works Only While It Is On Her: Check the Charge, the Strap, and the Signal First

A wearable tracker is only useful on the day it is on her. That sounds obvious, but the trouble families describe later is usually not the device itself. It is the battery that was not charged, the strap she took off, or the signal that dropped in the one place she went. Before you choose one, check those three things, in that order.

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Check how it charges

Ask how long the battery lasts with normal use and how it is charged. Some trackers charge on a cradle, some on a cable, and some have to be removed from her body to charge. Each one asks someone to build a routine around it. Write down who will charge it, at what time, and where the charger lives. If the answer is 'whoever notices,' the device will go flat on the evening you need it most.

Ask what the device does when the battery runs low. Does it send a warning to the phone of the person who watches it? If the warning goes only to a phone that is often in another room, it helps less than it seems.

Check how it sits on her

Try it on her, not just in your hand. Look at whether it fits without pinching, whether she can reach it or pull at it, and whether it sits in a spot she is likely to forget or remove. A device that feels secure in the store can become a loose bracelet after a week of hand washing. Ask what happens if she takes it off and puts it in a drawer, and whether anyone would notice within an hour.

Check the signal where she goes

A tracker is only as good as the network it reports through. Ask the maker which networks the device uses and whether it finds her indoors, in a car, or in a basement. Then walk the places she is most likely to go, including the nearby park, the route to a neighbor's house, and the parking lot she might cross. Test it with the phone you will actually use to look for her.

Check the account behind it

Most trackers need an account, a login, and a service that keeps running. Decide who owns that account, who can change the settings, and who receives the alerts. If only one person knows the login, the device can stop working without anyone realizing it. Write the account owner's name next to the device so the next person can find it.

Once the tracker is chosen and tested, keep the first moves written on paper next to it, not only on the phone. For the order of those moves, see Start Here: Dusk to Morning, in Order.