You picked your tracker from the list and got This tracker is already in use — "It's already paired to another pet. If it's yours, unpair it there first — or pick a different tracker." Don't worry — in most cases this is your own tracker, still attached to one of your own pets.
Why this happens
It means the tracker is currently connected to some pet. Very often that's another pet on your own account — for example if you're trying to move a tracker across without disconnecting it first.
You'll see the same signal in the pairing list: an In use pill, with the status Already paired to another pet.
Please note: the error screen has no Try again button, only Choose another tracker. That's deliberate — retrying can't help until the tracker is freed up.
How to fix it
- Work out which of your pets currently has this tracker. The GPS Tracker row on a pet's profile only says Connected — to see which tracker, open that pet's GPS tracker settings → Tracker info, which lists the 8-character Tracker ID. Compare it with the ID on the back of the device.
- Back in that pet's GPS tracker settings, tap Disconnect tracker — Stop and remove tracker.
- Confirm, and keep the tracker nearby while it runs (about a minute). If it isn't nearby, the removal still completes and the device finishes resetting when it next comes online.
- Go back to the pet you want the tracker on and pair as normal.
If the tracker came from someone else
If you bought or were given a used tracker, it has to be disconnected from the previous setup before you can pair it. Ask whoever had it to disconnect it from their pet.
[CONFIRM: whether Ask A Vet offers a supported way to transfer a tracker between accounts when the previous holder is unreachable, and the support channel to route those requests to.]
When it isn't an error
Re-selecting the tracker that's already paired to this same pet doesn't fail — the app just takes you straight to the success screen.
Related articles