Fi Launches $199 Starlink Dog Tracker for Remote U.S. Pet Location

Q: Fi's new tracker promises coverage anywhere, but can its two-day battery life truly protect pets on longer adventures?

Not fully. Fi Ultra’s satellite link is a major advance for finding dogs in remote areas, but a battery life of about two days limits how much protection it can offer on extended trips unless owners recharge it frequently. The strength of the device is coverage. By switching between LTE and T-Mobile’s Starlink-powered satellite service, Fi Ultra can keep reporting location in places where older cellular-only pet trackers often went offline. That makes it especially useful for hikers, campers and rural dog owners. The weakness is endurance. Reporting from the launch and early testing indicates the Ultra lasts roughly two days, and active live tracking can drain it faster. In real use, that means a multi-day backcountry trip could outlast the collar unless the owner brings a power source and plans to recharge it, typically via USB-C. That trade-off matters because Fi’s older models, such as the Series 3+ and Mini, were known for battery life measured in weeks, not days, though they depended on cellular coverage. Fi Ultra appears to exchange that long endurance for always-on GPS and satellite connectivity. So the tracker can protect pets better in off-grid areas, but not by itself for long adventures. For weekend or longer trips, its value depends on charging discipline, update settings and how heavily the dog is being tracked. In short, Fi Ultra solves the coverage problem more convincingly than the battery problem.

3 articles · Updated · Central Oregon Daily · Jul 23

Fi said its Fi Ultra tracker can locate dogs in remote U.S. areas without cellular service, extending pet tracking beyond the range of standard GPS collars.
The device connects through T-Mobile’s Starlink-powered T-Satellite network, tapping SpaceX’s constellation of nearly 11,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites.
Fi is marketing the product as the first dog tracker able to use a satellite network; it also sends escape alerts and includes sound-and-vibration recall features.
Pricing starts at $199 for the device plus annual membership fees from $189 for new subscribers, while existing customers can upgrade for a $299 flat fee.
The launch adds pet tracking to Starlink’s expanding use cases, after the satellite service grew to more than 7 million users across 150 countries.