If someone you've shared a pet with can't open the tracker, or gets stopped when they try to pair one, it's almost always one of two things: a missing permission, or the account's tracker limit. Here's how to tell them apart.
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- They can't open the tracker at all
- They're told to ask the account owner
- Their phone asks for Bluetooth
- Quick checklist for the pet's owner
They can't open the tracker at all
For a shared pet, a family member needs the Location Tracking permission — "Access to GPS tracker on shared pets". Without it, tapping the GPS Tracker row on that pet's profile opens a no-access message instead of the tracker.
How the pet's owner fixes it: open the Family settings, choose that family member, and switch Location Tracking on. See the Family Sharing section of this help center for how permissions work in general.
They're told to ask the account owner
If a family member tries to pair a tracker and it would take the account over its tracker limit, they're stopped with:
Ask the account owner — "This account has reached its tracker limit. Ask the account owner to add a tracker slot before pairing this device."
Only the account owner who pays for the subscription can upgrade the plan or buy an extra tracker slot. Once the owner has added the slot, the family member can pair as normal.
Please note: a family member with the right permission can pair a tracker on a shared pet — the limit is the only thing that stops them.
Their phone asks for Bluetooth
Pairing is the only flow that asks for Bluetooth permission, so a family member's phone that has never paired a tracker may show the banner Bluetooth permission needed. Tapping it and allowing Bluetooth in the phone's settings is all that's needed — nothing has to be re-paired.
Quick checklist for the pet's owner
- Is the pet actually shared with them?
- Do they have the Location Tracking permission?
- Does the account have a free tracker slot?
- Have they allowed Bluetooth on their own phone?
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