Background

The Halo reports the GPS signal level as Low, Medium or High using a default configuration that works for most customers 'out of the box'.  This process is only for customers who consistently notice that their collar is reporting High GPS levels while providing inaccurate positioning on My Map, OR Low GPS levels while outdoors - especially near a fence boundary - on My Map. If this does not apply to you, then your collar's GPS signal level settings are working properly and you do not need to perform this configuration.

Remember:  when assessing positioning accuracy of a collar on My Map, make sure you select the pet on My Map.  Then, make sure the Pet Pin is pulsing (status: 'Updating Live') and the pet pin is 'solid' with a small location 'dot' below the pin.  If it is not updating live, or the pet pin is 'grayed out', then My Map is not showing the current position of the collar - and you cannot assess accuracy of the collar in this condition.

When assessing positioning accuracy on the GPS Signal Level Settings screen, make sure the collar icon is solid, with a small location 'dot' below the pin.

Also, make sure your collar is on your dog when you assess positioning accuracy and also while you perform testing or signal level configuration. 

Benefits of manual GPS configuration

If the manual configuration is done correctly, your Halo Collar's GPS signal level settings will be customized to work as accurately as possible on your property, ensuring that your pup receives preventions at the right times. 

Risks of manual GPS configuration

If you set the GPS signal level values inaccurately, your pup may receive preventions at the wrong time or location, or may not receive preventions near the fence perimeter. That is why you should only perform this manual configuration if your collar is consistently reporting Low GPS levels while outdoors (especially near your fence perimeter), or High GPS levels while providing poor positioning accuracy.

Please note: Adjusting the settings too high may result in your Collar showing 'Low GPS' when outdoors near the fence. This may result in a lack of feedback when your pup approaches the fence.  Adjusting the settings too low may result in your Collar showing 'High GPS' when in indoor/safe locations where GPS accuracy may be poor, and then applying unexpected fence preventions.

Make sure you follow these instructions carefully to complete the manual configuration. You can watch the video and/or follow the written instructions below. 

Manual configuration instructions

1. Make sure that the collar is on your dog during the configuration process. The collar performs differently when on your dog versus in your hand, so the configuration is more effective when your dog is wearing the collar.  As usual, make sure your pup is wearing the Halo in the right orientation when putting it on.
2. In the Halo App, tap Settings then My Collars
3. Select the collar that you would like to adjust
4. Tap Advanced Settings in the bottom right corner
5. Tap GPS signal level settings
6. Take note of a few things on the GPS signal level settings adjustment screen:
   • GPS Signal shows the strength of the GPS signals your collar is receiving at any given time. When it is pulsing blue, that means it is actively receiving a signal from your collar. If you move to a new area, this value will update after a few seconds.
   • The white area on the scale represents Low GPS. When your dog is moving around inside of your house or in other locations where it cannot get an accurate location, you want the Halo to be considered 'Low' so that it will ignore the GPS position.  You can do this by making sure that the GPS signal is in the white section wherever the position is inaccurate; this will tell the collar that it should not track your dog (signal is too weak), and not to apply any fence feedback.  NOTE:  if your see inaccurate/live locations and a signal level that is not in the white area of the scale, then the Low level needs to be adjusted up.
   • The blue area of the scale represents High GPS.  When your dog is moving around outside of your house - especially near the fence boundary - you want to make sure that the current GPS signal is in the blue area of the scale. This will tell the collar that it is in a High-GPS location and should both track your dog and apply prevention feedback.  NOTE: if you see the signal level fall below the blue area of the scale while near your fence perimeter, then the High level needs to be adjusted down. 
7. First, take your dog outside of your home and walk them around to different areas outside that they frequent - and especially near the fence boundary. Make sure you are checking areas that are farther away from your house, as well as areas that are close to your house.
   • As long as your GPS Signal value stays above your upper GPS threshold while you are outdoors - especially near the fence perimeter - then your upper GPS threshold is set properly. 
   • If you see that there are outdoor areas - especially near the fence perimeter - in which your GPS Signal value is lower than your upper GPS threshold, then you should consider lowering your upper GPS threshold to make sure all such areas fall to the right of the upper GPS threshold.  Your collar will then classify these areas as "High GPS", and will apply fence feedback. 
   • When walking in these areas, the position should be very accurate on the My Map screen.
8. Next, walk your dog around the inside of your house to different areas that they like to go and where you may have seen your Halo report an inaccurate real-time position. Keep an eye on the GPS Signal to see what levels of signal strength you see in those areas of your home. Note that the signal strength will take several seconds to update as you move into different areas, so you should stop at each area for several seconds to allow the signal strength to adjust, before taking note of it and moving on.
   • As long as your GPS Signal value stays below your lower GPS threshold wherever you have seen poor GPS accuracy, then the lower GPS threshold is set properly.
   • If you see that there are areas inside your home in which your GPS Signal value is higher than your lower GPS threshold, and where your Halo has reported an inaccurate real-time location, then you should consider raising your lower GPS threshold to make sure these areas fall to the left of the lower GPS threshold, ensuring that your collar classifies all these areas as "Low GPS".  This will keep your Halo from tracking your dog and from providing fence feedback in these areas.
9. To change the levels associated with the white or blue areas of the scale, press on Edit signal level settings on the bottom of the screen.
   1. Adjust the white/pink slider up/down OR the pink/blue slider up/down as needed based on your  testing.
   2. If you would like to reset your collar's thresholds to the default levels, tap Revert to Halo Defaults.
   3. Click Done in the upper right corner when you are satisfied with your thresholds, and they will be saved to your collar's memory. 

If there is an area outside of your house where the signal seems particularly low, and which you cannot resolve using this process, then you can use a Keep Away Beacon to keep your dog out of that area - even with limited GPS coverage. 

Conversely, if there is an area inside your house that has a particularly high signal strength yet providing inaccurate positioning, then you should consider using an Ignore Fences Beacon in that area to prevent your dog from receiving inadvertent feedback while in that specific area. 

Need any help?

If you need any help with this process, we encourage you to visit us at the virtual Halo Dog Park, where you can get live, face-to-face assistance from a member of the Halo Support Team.

You can get to the Dog Park at dogpark.halocollar.com, or in the Halo App under Settings > Halo Dog Park.