2024 Fi Series 3 Collar: GPS Dog Collar Roundup

With the increase in the number of dog owners in the United States, the market has produced a variety of pet trackers. Fi series 3 collar is one of them. Do dog parents know about its features? Is Fi series 3 collar worth buying by the dog parents?

The company of Tryfi pet trackers was founded in 2017 by Jonathan Bensamoun and Ronald Kirkby. Its corporate headquarters are located in New York, USA.

Tryfi is known for developing smart dog collars. Its collars utilize GPS and LTE-M technology to track a dog's location and activity. So, it helps dog parents to track and monitor their dog's activities in real time.

The company has launched a total of three products, namely Fi Series 1, Fi Series 2 and Fi Series 3 collars. They have more or less the same features. Tryfi has mainly enhanced the performance of each generation.

There are many brands similar to Fi pet trackers in the market. However, most of them are not able to continuously optimize their products as Tryfi does.

1. Fi Series 1 Collar

The Fi Series 1 collar is available in 2019. It offers basic location, activity data monitoring, geofencing, and historical location logging features. It has a battery life of about 3 months.

The Fi Series 1 collar uses GPS, WiFi, and cellular networks to track your dog's location. However, it has limited ability to track your dog in real time. It usually updates the dog's location information only once in 1 to 5 minutes.

So, the Fi Series 1 collar can help dog parents get a general sense of their dog's location. However, the Fi Series 1 collar cannot provide full real-time tracking data to dog parents.

The Fi Series 1 collar can monitor the dog's activity data. When the dog parent takes the dog out, it will record the dog's steps, distance traveled, and activity time. It then calculates the dog's calorie consumption based on the amount of activity.

Besides, it can also record the time the dog rests and sleeps every day. Dog parents can know more about their dog's daily routine through the activity data.

The Fi Series 1 collar can set up a virtual geo-fence. The dog parent's cell phone will receive an alert when the dog leaves this activity area.

The first generation of Fi is suitable for dog parents who do not need high-frequency location updates and advanced features.

2. Fi Series 2 collars

In 2020, Tryfi upgraded and launched Fi Series 2 based on Fi Series 1. It improved the GPS location technology to increase the accuracy and reliability of the location.

It also improved the Fi Series 2's ability to track your dog in real-time. It updates the dog's location data usually once a minute.

Dog parents can use Fi Series 2 to know their dog's real-time location more accurately. But it's still not full real-time tracking.

In terms of dog activity data monitoring, the Fi Series 2 adds the ability to monitor activity intensity, set daily activity goals, and analyze dog health.

With the added features, dog parents can see if their dog's body is adapting to the current activity intensity.

In addition, Fi Series 2 adds safety features and socialization features. It actively sends alerts to the dog parent's cell phone when the tracker's battery is low or when the tracker loses connection with the cell phone due to distance.

The safety feature can help dog parents find their dog's whereabouts in time and retrieve their dog from a distance.

Dog parents can interact with other users of the Fi collar on the mobile app. They can share their dog's activity data and health status. The social function can improve the social skills of dog parents.

3. Fi Series 3 Collar

In 2022, Tryfi launched the Fi Series 3 collar, which is an upgrade from the Fi Series 2 collar. The main functions and features of the Fi Series 3 collar:

3.1 Real-Time Tracking

Fi Series 3 utilizes GPS, WiFi, and a cellular network. It enhances cellular coverage capabilities, resulting in a larger coverage area.

Compared to the Fi Series 2 collar, the Fi Series 3 improves the accuracy of GPS positioning and the speed of data transmission. The Fi Series 3 can update the dog's location data more frequently.

It usually updates multiple times per minute, and dog parents can check their dog's location on the mobile app. When dogs are lost, dog parents can use the tracking function to find them quickly.

3.2 Tracking Mode

--Normal Mode: The Fi Series 3 collar tracks the dog regularly in this mode and updates the dog's location less frequently. This saves the battery power of the tracker.

--Lost Mode: When the dog is lost, the dog's parents can activate the Lost Mode. The Fi Series 3 collar will switch to real-time tracking. In this mode, the collar will increase the frequency of the dog's location update.

At the same time, the LED light on the Fi Series 3 collar will illuminate. Dog parents can find their dog's location with the assistance of the light.

3.3 Dog Activity Monitoring

Fi Series 3 has the function of monitoring dog activity data. It transmits the dog's data to the mobile app after recording it. The dog's parents can check the dog's activity through the mobile app.

--Steps and Distance: Fi Series 3 collar can record the number of steps and walking distance of your dog every day.

--Activity Time and Calories Burned: The Fi Series 3 collar can monitor the time of the dog's daily activities such as walking, running, and playing.

It can then calculate the calories burned by your dog's body based on the amount of activity. This is a great secondary feature if dog parents are trying to lose weight for their dog.

--Rest Time: It will record the dog's daily rest and sleep time. Dog parents can see their dog's sleep on the mobile app. When the dog is sick and not sleeping well, the dog's parents can know it in time.

--Activity Intensity: It can monitor different intensity of activities. Dog parents can adjust different activities according to their dog's physical condition.

--Health Trend: Fi Series 3 collar can analyze the data for a long time. It can provide dog parents with trend reports of their dog's health and activity level.

3.4 Geo-fencing

Fi Series 3 geofencing is more accurate with improved GPS location accuracy. It can send alerts to dog parents faster when the dog leaves the geofence.

3.5 Tough Case

Fi Series 3 is stronger with the addition of bite-resistant material. It effectively prevents dogs from chewing the tracker and improves durability.

3.6 Water and Dust Resistance

The Fi Series 3 is water and dust resistant to a rating of IP68. It is completely protected against the ingress of dust. And it can survive immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes without damage.

3.7 Customized Collars

Dog parents can customize their Fi Series 3 collars. They can choose collars in different colors and materials to suit their aesthetic and functional needs.

4. Fi Series 3 Collar Problems

The Fi Series 3 collar has a wide variety of features and has won the hearts of many dog parents. But is this collar worth buying for dog parents?

4.1 Troublesome Subscription Fee Refunds

Tryfi products use cellular networks to transmit location data. Dog parents need to pay a monthly subscription fee to the cellular operator. And Tryfi's company also makes a profit from the subscription fee.

The Fi Series 3 collar costs $149, which does not include the subscription fee. For the first 30 days, Fi is offering dog parents a free subscription to enjoy the service.

After that, the dog parent needs to pay the subscription fee to use the GPS tracking and other features of the service.

However, if the dog parents want to get a refund after purchasing the subscription fee package, they will run into a lot of trouble.

There are users on Reddit who are not happy with the refund service. Some users in the comment section mentioned that they are also suffering from the problem of not being able to refund the subscription fee.

Therefore, we recommend that users first purchase a one-month subscription for a trial period. After that, if they are satisfied with the product, then they can purchase a yearly subscription package.

4.2 Inaccurate Positioning

Fi Series 3 claims to have improved GPS technology. However, many users have feedback that its positioning is not even as good as Fi Series 2.

Our engineers hypothesized that the Fi Series 3 is smaller and more compact compared to the Fi 2, so the antenna specifications for the Fi 3 may be smaller, which would directly affect the signal transmission and reception, resulting in lower tracking performance.

Its tracking service is terrible. The dog is walking with its owner and the app shows that the dog is somewhere else.

4.3 Not Suitable for Small Dogs

Tryfi claims that Fi Series 3 is light and comfortable for dogs of all sizes. But this is not absolutely true. Wearing even the smallest sized Fi 3 can cause discomfort for small dogs.

Smalldogrules, a website for small dogs, tested the Fi Series 3 and found the device to be a burden for small dogs.

In addition to this, the Fi Series 3's inaccurate positioning, poor service, and return hassles are also mentioned on this site.

4.4 Doesn't Work in Rural or Suburban Areas

The Fi Series 3 collar requires the use of a cellular network during the tracking process. So, the Fi Series 3 can't work properly when there are few cellular base stations near the dog and the owner.

It can't track your dog's location in real-time in places where the cellular signal is weak. This device is not recommended for dog parents who like to hike with their dogs or live in rural areas and suburban areas.

In areas with weak cellular signals, dog parents are better off using a pet tracker that utilizes radio technology to transmit data. For example, the Aorkuler pet tracker is not affected by cellular signals and can track your dog's location in real-time.

4.5 Battery Power Consumption

The Fi Series 3 uses LTE-M technology. It relies on cellular strength when in working order. If the cellular signal is poor, the tracker requires frequent and increased connection requests. In this case, the tracker's battery drains quickly.

Parts of the United States, especially suburban and rural areas, have relatively poor cellular coverage and weak signals, so this in turn increases battery consumption. This is the reason why all cellular network based (built-in SIM card) trackers consume power faster in rural and suburban areas.

5. Summary

With rich features, small and compact design, and beautiful color, Fi Series 3 collar is a recommendable tracker.

However, some users feedback that the GPS location is not accurate and needs to rely on cellular network to work. Users are advised to try out a small subscription package in their area of residence before making a decision.

If cellular signal is poor, it is recommended to consider Aorkuler dog GPS tracker which does not rely on cellular signal and does not require subscription.