Straight talk
What other tracking companies don't tell you
No scare tactics — just four things worth knowing before you buy any GPS tracker in Australia. Read this and you'll shop smarter, whoever you buy from.
01 · The networks
2G and 3G are gone — but the trackers are still for sale
Every GPS tracker phones home over the mobile network. In Australia, the 2G and 3G networks it might phone home over no longer exist — the carriers switched them off, for good.
That makes the cheap tracker on an overseas marketplace a trap: it powers up, the LED blinks, and it never reports a single position, because the network it speaks to was turned off years ago. The listing won't tell you. Check the network generation before you buy anything — from anyone, including us.
Shutdown dates above are from the Department of Infrastructure (infrastructure.gov.au) and the ACMA (acma.gov.au/3g-network-switch).
2G — gone by 2018
Telstra switched off 2G on 1 December 2016, Optus on 1 August 2017, and Vodafone through 2017–18.
3G — gone by late 2024
Vodafone/TPG switched off 3G on 15 December 2023 (completed January 2024); Telstra and Optus followed together on 28 October 2024.
Still on sale anyway
2G and 3G trackers were still being sold to Australian buyers on eBay AU and AliExpress when we checked in July 2026. Here, they're e-waste in a box.
02 · Two networks, one SIM
What "on both networks" actually means for a tracker
A tracker is only as good as the network it can reach. Plenty of trackers ship with a SIM tied to a single carrier — fine until that carrier has no signal where your vehicle or asset is parked. Ours don't: every Crucial Tracking data plan ships with a SIM that works across both the Telstra and Optus mobile networks. If one network isn't available where your vehicle or asset is, the tracker can connect on the other.
Two networks instead of one removes a single point of failure, but no mobile network covers all of Australia, and reception in any given spot depends on terrain, buildings and distance to the nearest tower. That's why you won't see a coverage percentage on this site: reception depends on your spot, not a national figure. Unsure about your area? Send us the postcode and we'll check before you buy.
The other half is the hardware. A tracker can only use the bands its modem supports, and a cheap import built for another market may be missing the ones that reach regional Australia. We publish the full hardware spec for every tracker we sell — bands, battery, update rate, alerts — so you can check it yourself before you buy, from us or anyone else.
One SIM, two networks
Every Crucial Tracking data plan ships with a SIM that works across both the Telstra and Optus mobile networks.
Not tied to one carrier
The SIM isn't tied to one carrier: the tracker connects to whichever of the two networks it can see at the time.
The bands that matter
Our trackers are 4G LTE devices and support the frequency bands both networks use in Australia, including the 700 MHz band that carries most regional coverage.
03 · The right tool
Not every tracker is a vehicle tracker
A tracker built to sit on a trailer for a year is a different machine from one built to live behind a dashboard. Asset trackers trade update speed for battery life; vehicle trackers trade portability for wired-in reliability and ignition awareness. Neither is better — they're for different jobs.
The trap is the listing that sells one box for every purpose. Put a slow-reporting battery tracker in a car and you'll watch a theft unfold in two-minute-old snapshots; wire a vehicle tracker to a boat trailer with no battery and it does nothing at all.
We're a specialist provider, so we'll say it plainly: we won't sell you an asset tracker with a big battery and call it one-size-fits-all. Tell us the job, and we'll match the device — even when that's the cheaper one.
04 · The real thing
What a proper hardwired 4G tracker actually does
These four capabilities are real and standard on Australian-market hardwired 4G vehicle trackers. If a listing can't name them, you're probably looking at a repackaged personal tracker wearing a vehicle tracker's price tag.
Ignition detection
Wired to the ignition circuit, the tracker knows when the engine is on — so trips, idle time and after-hours use are facts, not guesses.
Battery-disconnect and cut alerts
Pull the tracker's power to silence it and it tells you that too — the alert fires the moment the wire is cut or the battery disconnected.
Tow detection
Movement with the ignition off means the vehicle is being moved without its key — flatbed, push or tow — and you hear about it immediately.
Remote engine immobilisation
Stop the engine from restarting, remotely — designed to engage only when the vehicle is stationary.
See the differences side by side
Wired, plug-in and battery trackers, compared spec by spec in plain language — so you can check any of this for yourself. Ready to go? Build your kit and see the total before you buy.
Ask us the awkward questions
Tell us what you're tracking and where it goes, and we'll call you back with a straight answer — including when a tracker isn't the right fix.
We reply within 1–3 hours during business hours, Mon–Fri 8:00am–6:00pm AWST.
Prefer to talk now? Call 0413 418 743