If update reminders or battery warnings aren't reaching you, it's usually a notification setting on the phone rather than anything wrong with the tracker. Here's what should arrive and how to get it back.
What you should be receiving
| Type | Notification |
|---|---|
| Firmware | "A new tracker update is available for {pet}" — Install version {version} to receive the latest improvements. |
| Firmware | "{Pet}'s tracker was updated" — Firmware updated to version {version}. |
| Firmware | "{Pet}'s tracker update failed" — Please try the update again. |
| Battery and power | Battery below 20%, battery critically low, charging, fully charged, powered on, powered off. |
Tapping a firmware notification opens a summary in the app with View tracker info and Dismiss buttons.
Check your notification settings
On Android, these particular notifications are split across two separate categories, and either can be muted independently:
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| App & Device Updates | "App and tracker firmware update reminders" |
| Tracker Alarms | "Safety, fence, and battery alarms from your GPS tracker" |
- Open your phone's settings for the Ask A Vet app.
- Find its notification categories.
- Make sure both are enabled.
This is the most common reason firmware reminders go missing while battery alerts still arrive. On iPhone there are no categories — just check that notifications are allowed for the Ask A Vet app in your phone's Settings.
Reasons a notification legitimately doesn't arrive
- The tracker can't reach us. An offline tracker sends nothing, so no battery or power alerts can be generated until it reconnects.
- Repeats are filtered out. Battery and charging alerts are only sent once every 5 minutes, and power on/off alerts once a minute, so you won't get a burst of duplicates.
- There's no daily nag. Firmware reminders go out when a new firmware is published for your tracker, plus occasionally when we re-send a reminder. There is no recurring daily reminder — instead, a "Firmware update available" banner keeps appearing at the top of the GPS tracker map until you install it.
About the in-app prompt
The "Tracker update available" sheet at app launch has its own rules: it shows at most once per app launch, and dismissing it snoozes it for 24 hours. If an Ask A Vet app update is pending, that prompt takes priority and the firmware one is held back.
Related articles - How to postpone a firmware update - How to update your tracker's firmware - My tracker's battery is low, or it turned itself off - Firmware update FAQ