Photo: Nick Guy
If you’re concerned about your pet getting away and you want a tool to help you more easily find it, the best option is the Whistle 3 GPS Pet Tracker & Activity Monitor. This tracker is as accurate as any model we tested, quickly transmitting its GPS signal back to your phone. It lasts longer on a charge than any of the other contenders we tried, its hardware design is the best by a long shot, and its smartphone software is equally well thought out.
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Thirteen days into the test, and six days after the next-longest battery gave out, the Whistle 3’s battery was still at 69 percent.
The most important aspect of any of these trackers is the ability to find your pet’s location, and to do so quickly and repeatedly, since it might be on the move. While the Whistle 3 didn’t stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in this regard, it did tie for the best. Throughout our tests, we were able to get the tracker’s location within a matter of seconds, and that reported location was always close enough to the actual location that we’d be able to find our pet easily. But as with pulling up Maps on your phone, the accuracy can shift due to cell phone coverage, large buildings, and other factors outside of your control. We especially like that the Whistle 3’s smartphone app shows you not only where the tracker is but also where you are in relation to it, which is handy if you’re trying to find your pet in an unfamiliar area. The app also has a button to refresh the location manually, something other trackers’ apps lack.
Where the Whistle 3 most sets itself apart from other models is in battery life. When we left the Whistle 3 undisturbed inside a home Wi-Fi safe zone, it didn’t just last longer than any other tracker—it even surpassed the amount of time we had allotted for the test. Thirteen days into the test, and six days after the next-longest battery gave out, the Whistle 3’s battery was still at 69 percent.
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It won’t come off unless you hold down a spring-loaded button and twist a quarter turn.
In our bike-ride test, the Whistle 3 performed as well as the three other trackers in location reporting, but it again bested the competition in battery life. We removed all four from their charging stations at 8:21 a.m., and at 8:00 p.m. the Whistle 3 reported 78 percent of full charge, with the next-closest competitor (the Tractive) at 65 percent. Having a longer-lasting battery is important, because it means you have to charge the device less frequently and you have a longer window to find your pet if it gets lost. There’s also the combination of the two: Unlike with a smartphone, where you can wait to charge your handset until it’s almost dead, you have to recharge a tracker well before the battery is low so you have time to find your wandering pet.
The Whistle 3 also has the best physical design of any pet tracker we tested. It’s the lightest we tested at just under an ounce, which for a small cat could make a real difference in comfort. At 1.4 inches wide by 1.2 inches tall, it’s not too obtrusive. Whistle says the tracker is designed for pets heavier than 8 pounds, and while we don’t think small animals will have issues with the weight of the tracker, its bulk may prove more frustrating for a toy dog or a cat. The collar mount has a sturdy band that holds it securely—even on small collars—though Whistle recommends a collar at least 1 inch wide. (We had something of a hard time getting the band off to put the mount on the collar, but we’d rather have it be a little difficult to put on and take off if that means it’s less likely to fall off.) The Whistle 3 itself then securely snaps into the mount with a twist. It won’t come off unless you hold down a spring-loaded button and twist a quarter turn, an action your opposable-thumb-lacking companion is unlikely to take purposefully or accidentally. The Whistle 3 is also rated IP67, meaning it’s dust-tight and can survive being immersed in up to a meter of water. If your dog gets out and swims through a river, the Whistle 3 will still work.
The band that holds the Whistle 3’s mount to the collar is sturdy and not particularly easy to remove, which is a good thing. Photo: Michael Hession
The Whistle 3’s charging base uses the same attachment system to hold the tracker in place, save for the button to release it. We like this secure mount, especially compared with competing trackers that can easily dislodge from their chargers or be ambiguous about their charging state.
Attaching the Whistle 3 to its mount is quick and secure. Video: Michael Hession
Whistle’s app (for iOS and Android) is among the easiest to use. At the forefront is the most important thing: your pet’s location. A tray at the bottom of the screen displays the current battery life, the distance from home, and when the location last updated. When your pet is lost, the app offers an option to update the location manually right on the map, as well as a tracking mode that updates the location every 90 seconds. The app also has an activity panel that tracks how much exercise your pet has gotten, as well as a screen that lets you set up additional safe zones or alter the original zone.
Like most competing trackers, the Whistle 3 requires a 3G service plan. You can choose to pay $10 a month with no commitment, or save by paying for a year ($100) or even two ($170) in advance. That’s more expensive than the plans for some other trackers, which means that some pricier models are actually a bit less expensive to own over, say, two years, but considering the Whistle 3’s performance, we think it’s worth it.
Few sites review pet trackers, but the Whistle 3 is the recipient of PCMag’s Editors’ Choice designation for its “strong combination of performance and price,” with the publication citing long battery life and great hardware.