COTX Petfon GPS Tracker - COTX Device APP Manual - Helium only mode

Created by Eason Chen, Modified on Fri, 09 Sep 2022 at 05:15 AM by Eason Chen

COTX Petfon GPS Tracker - COTX Device APP Instruction - Helium only mode

COTX Petfon GPS Tracker - COTX Device APP Instruction - Helium only mode
1. Product Introduction
2. APP download
3. COTX Device APP quick guide
4. COTX Device APP Tutorials
5. Caution
- 5.1. About the bands of Petfon devices (EU868/US915 only)
- 5.2. About Helium mode, intermittent positioning signals
6. FAQ
- 6.1. Video reference link to the FAQ on using COTX Petfon
- 6.2. Meaning of the Tracker indicators when charging.
- 6.3. About the normal situation when tracker does not report GPS positions.

1. Product Introduction

Users can use COTX Device APP to add Petfon-Helium mode GPS Tracker device, which can control Petfon GPS Tracker communication through Petfon Controller, and position pets within 1KM~5.6KM in almost real time without paying (location information is reported through BLE and LORA). When the distance of the pet exceeds the maximum distance, the user can purchase a Helium traffic pack to open the Helium data service, Petfon GPS Tracker uses the surrounding Helium network to upload GPS information, and the user can check the pet's location through the Helium Network mode of the COTX Device APP to achieve a wider range of pet positioning.

Users can also use the COTX Device APP to add Helium Only mode GPS Tracker device; when the pet distance exceeds the Bluetooth positioning distance, users can purchase Helium traffic package to open Helium data service, then Petfon GPS Tracker can upload GPS information through the surrounding Helium network, users can check the pet location through Helium mode of COTX Device APP.

2. APP download

1. Current Version: cotx device 1.0.0

2. Download Method:

For Android phones, use GooglePlay,

A.Search directly for cotx device；
B.Use the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cotxdevice.cotxpetfon
C.Scan the QR code below:

For Apple phones,

A.Search directly for cotx device；
B.Use the link: https://apps.apple.com/it/app/cotx-device/id1623968005
C.Scan the QR code below:

3. Attention:

In AppStore, China accounts cannot search for downloads because the HNT payment function in the app has facilitated cryptocurrency transactions. The app is not allowed to be listed in China because it violates the relevant Chinese regulations.

3. COTX Device APP quick guide

3.1. Register COTX Device APP

Prerequisites

Download COTX Device app
Unregistered COTX Device account
Open the application and go to the login page

Note: Users must complete registration/login; otherwise, users will not be able to access the main COTX Device page.

Operation steps

Step1: Turn on COTX Device and enter the Login page. Click [Register] in the top right corner to enter the Register page.

Step2: Enter a valid email address and click【Send code】.

Get the Registration Code from your email and enter it into the [Verification code] on the Registration page.
After setting your password, click the [Register] button to complete your account registration.

3.2. Log in COTX Device APP

Prerequisites

Download COTX Device app
With a registered COTX Device account, open the application and go to the login page

Operation steps

Step1: Turn on COTX Device and go to Login page.
Step2: Enter the account number and password.

Click [Log in] to complete your login.

3.3. Adding a Petfon device

The COTX Device APP can be used in Petfon-Helium mode, where the Petfon Controller is added before the GPS Tracker device, or in Helium Only mode, where only the GPS Tracker device is added for pet positioning.

3.3.1. For devices that have added Petfon-Helium mode, remove the Controller first

Prerequisites

· Controller and Tracker have been added to the COTX Device APP

· Wrong Tracker added to COTX Device APP

For users who have added (or wrongly added) Petfon-Helium mode to the COTX Device APP and need to change to Helium only mode, you need to remove the Controller first

Operation steps

· Click on the drop down menu in the top left corner and select Device --> select Controller --> click on Delete at the bottom of the page.

· You can also tap on the Controller to swipe directly to the left and the delete button will appear on the right.

· The Tracker will also be deleted automatically when you follow the instructions to delete the Controller.

3.3.2. Adding Helium Only Devices

When the user's pet is in a closer area (around 50m, depending on Bluetooth obstruction), the user uses Bluetooth to control the Petfon GPS tracker in Helium Only mode for positioning; when the pet is out of Bluetooth positioning range but has Helium network coverage, the Petfon GPS Tracker transmits the GPS information via the Helium network to the COTX Device App. The Petfon GPS Tracker transmits the GPS information via the Helium network to the COTX Device App, then parsing it into geo-location information in the App, enabling a wider range of positioning functions.

Prerequisites

· Complete Log in

· Turn on Bluetooth

Operation steps

Step1: Press Menu-> My Devices -> [+] -> Helium Only Mode, to add the device.

Step2: Charge the petfon tracker, then use the COTX Device App scan the tracker.

If you use charge cable, please connect the Tracker to active the bluetooth function of the tracker;

If you use petfon charge box, please put the Tracker inside of the charge box;

Bluetooth pairing is possible while the device is charging. The meaning of the tracker indicators when charging, please refer to section 6.2.

Step3: After the APP has successfully added the GPS Tracker, enter the page to set the pet's information to which the Tacker belongs, select the pet's size and click [Confirm] to confirm the binding device and add the Helium Only Mode device successfully.

3.4. Check Helium network coverage

Check if there is a Helium network around your pet. If your pet is out of Bluetooth coverage, the GPS Tracker in Helium only mode can be extended by purchasing a Helium traffic package to enable the Helium network service.

Operation steps

Step1: Open the COTX Device APP main screen and click button to see if there is Helium network coverage around the user. If a hexagonal square is displayed, the Helium network is present in the vicinity of the user and the user can turn on Helium traffic for a wider range of positioning.

3.5. With the Helium network in the vicinity, turn on the Helium traffic positioning function, purchase a traffic package and use the COTX Device APP to view the positioning information.

Any GPS Tracker in Helium Only mode can use the Helium network to report GPS data when the Helium traffic switch is turned on and a Helium traffic pack is purchased for wider GPS positioning.

Note: Users will first need to forcibly upgrade the firmware version of Petfon to support the "Helium Network" location feature.

Petfon firmware upgrade prerequisites

Click Menu-->My Devices to confirm the version number and battery level of your device:

The device version number is V1.2.1 (Please note that 1.2.1 is the version of petfon. You will be upgraded to version 0.2.3 of cotx. 2022-09-01st)
Power not less than 20%

Operation steps

Step1: After binding the V1.2.1 Controller or Tracker, the APP will automatically pop up to force the upgrade; click [Install now] and wait for the device to be upgraded successfully.

Step2: Purchase a Helium traffic package so that the tracker can use the Helium network to locate it. 10,000 DC of free traffic is available from COTX (one purchase only) and can be continued with other Helium traffic packages via HNT or credit card payment.

1: Click Menu->My Account>[Buy Helium Data] .Go to the Helium Data Plans page and click "Buy Helium Data".

2: Select Helium Data Plans: Select [Free] in the Helium Data Transmits Cost Package and click [Buy]. You can only buy the [Free] package once, and you will receive 10,000 DC of data traffic after purchase.

3: Click [Confirm Purchases] on the Confirm Order page to complete the purchase of traffic.

4: Remaining traffic in Remain Helium Data in My Account is 10000DC.

Step3: Click on the Enable Helium Data switch to enable the use of Helium Data.

Note: When Remain Helium Data=0, Helium Data cannot be enabled, and you need to purchase a traffic package first.

Step4: When the distance between the GPS Tracker and the user exceeds the Bluetooth/LoPoWAN positioning range, the GPS Tracker will report the GPS positioning information to the APP via the Helium network.

When the Petfon Tracker in Helium Only mode loses BLE connection with the mobile phone, the Petfon tracker will immediately access the network via Helium Network and wait for 5min (wait for the set reporting interval before sending GPS data, the default reporting interval is 5min) to report GPS data, the main interface of COTX Device APP will show the Helium Network location;

Step5: When the free Remaining Helium Data is about to run out, you can continue to purchase it by clicking on the Buy Helium Data button and selecting either Credit Card Payment/Cryptocurrency Payment.

Note: To use Cryptocurrency Payment, you will need to have a Helium Wallet account with a sufficient HNT balance in advance.

For example: Cryptocurrency Payment

1: Click Menu->My Account->[Buy Helium Data]. Go to the Helium Data Plans page, select the 5USD package and click on [Buy]

2: Select the payment method as Cryptocurrency Payment, click on [Confirm Paperchase], and the wallet address to be paid for the HNT purchase will be generated.

3: User opens Helium Hotspot APP, clicks My wallet-->Send HNT, scans the address of the wallet to be paid, and clicks [Send HNT] to pay.

4: Check the order you have just purchased in Menu->My Account->My Order->Processing of COTX Device APP after the payment is completed. When the Helium network synchronizes the transaction information successfully, the pending order will be paid successfully and displayed in All Orders; at the same time, Remain DC will be increased accordingly, and Petfon Tracker can continue to use Helium network service.

Step6: If you need to adjust the upload interval of GPS Tracker in Helium network, you can select the appropriate "Upload interval" in Menu-->Devices-->Pet-->Upload interval; the default minimum upload interval is 5 minutes, and you can configure it according to your needs.

3.6. When the user retrieves the pet, it automatically switches to Bluetooth positioning to provide continuous positioning service.

After the user retrieves the pet based on the location reported by the Petfon GPS Tracker, the COTX Device APP shows that the tracker automatically cuts back to Bluetooth positioning.

No manual intervention is required.

4. COTX Device APP Tutorials

For a tutorial on how to use the COTX Device APP, please refer to the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sge98HvmSw

5. Caution

5.1. About the bands of Petfon devices (EU868/US915 only)

a. The band setting of Petfon device is set automatically by COTX Device APP by obtaining the phone's geographical location. For example, suppose the user (COTX Device APP location) is in Europe. In that case, COTX Device APP will set the band parameter of the Petfon device to EU868 after adding the device, which is set automatically by APP without manual intervention. Otherwise, the tracker data cannot be forwarded through the Helium network.

b. If the user (COTX Device APP location) is neither in Europe nor North America, the default band for Petfon devices is US915. If you need to use the Helium network, you must confirm that the Helium Hotspot band is US915 to use it properly.

5.2. About Helium mode, intermittent positioning signals

The Helium mode currently suffers from intermittent signal problems, which can be caused by:

a. Due to the unstable nature of recent iterations of the Helium network, there may be instances where GPS TRACKER data is received but not forwarded to Helium, resulting in intermittent signals in Helium Network mode.

b. Petfon GPS Tracker will gradually extend the data transmission interval when the Helium network is not good (possibly because Helium Hotspot is not forwarding the location data and thus not receiving ACKs from the Helium platform) (it will continue to report at the set interval automatically when the network is restored), and the user may see disconnected location information.

Try the solution:

Try to optimize the Helium Hotspot network environment (if the user is a Helium Hotspot owner), e.g. change the Hotspot to a LAN connection; or wait for the network to recover on its own.
Try reconnecting the Petfon GPS Tracker with Bluetooth and switch to Petfon-Helium mode again to test, the device is back on the network, and the location data will be sent at the set frequency; check the location data again (depending on the Helium network situation).

c. The Petfon GPS Tracker enters hibernation mode when it is stationary and there is no response from the Helium network, stopping the transmission of Helium data and preventing the user from viewing the location data.

Try the solution: When the Petfon GPS Tracker is in motion again, it will continue to try to send positioning data.

6. FAQ

https://support.cotxnetworks.com/en/support/solutions/articles/73000585598-cotx-petfon-gps-tracker-faq

6.1. Video reference link to the FAQ on using COTX Petfon:

https://www.petfon.com/pages/video-tutorials

6.2. Meaning of the Tracker indicators when charging.

1. lights up blue: in charging.

2. lights up green for 5s and then goes off: in a fully charged state.

3. lights up red for a while and then turns blue or green: just turned on.

Bluetooth pairing is possible in all three cases above.

6.3. About the normal situation when tracker does not report GPS positions.

For reasons of energy saving, tracker does not report GPS information in the following two cases

1. @hen charging.

2. When there is a Bluetooth connection with the phone (the app shows the location of the phone).