Why Adjust GPS Signal Levels?

Your Halo Collar uses GPS signal levels to determine when to track your dog and when to apply fence preventions. It categorizes GPS signals as:

• Low GPS: Weak signal, usually indoors or areas with poor GPS coverage—tracking and fence preventions are ignored here.
• High GPS: Strong signal, typically outdoors near your fence—tracking and preventions are active.

Most collars come pre-configured with default GPS thresholds that work well for most users. Adjusting these settings is only necessary if:

• Your collar reports High GPS but shows inaccurate location on My Map.
• Your collar reports Low GPS outdoors near your fence, causing missed preventions.

If neither applies, no adjustment is needed.

Important Notes Before You Begin

• Always have the collar on your dog when adjusting settings; the collar behaves differently on your dog than when in your hand.
• Make sure your dog wears the collar in the correct orientation (refer to our Collar Orientation Guide).
• When checking accuracy, open My Map in the Halo Collar app and select your dog. Look for the pet pin status:
  
  • • Pulsing/Updating Live: The location is actively updating.
    • Solid pin with a small dot: The collar is currently reporting location.
    • If the pin is grayed out or not updating live, you cannot accurately assess GPS positioning.
• On the GPS Signal Level Settings screen, ensure the collar icon is solid with a small location dot.

Benefits and Risks of Manual GPS Configuration

• Benefits:
  Customized GPS thresholds improve location accuracy on your property and ensure fence preventions happen exactly when needed.
• Risks:
  Incorrect settings may cause your dog to receive preventions too early, too late, or miss them entirely near your fence. Only adjust if your collar consistently shows problematic GPS readings as described above.
  
  

Step-by-Step GPS Signal Level Adjustment

1. Open the Halo Collar app.
   
2. Tap Settings > My Collars.
3. Select the collar to adjust.
4. Tap Advanced Settings (bottom right).
5. Tap GPS Signal Level Settings.

Understanding the Signal Level Screen

• The screen displays a signal strength scale:
  
  • • White area: Low GPS range
    • Blue area: High GPS range
• Your collar reports GPS signal strength as a pulsing blue bar, updating every few seconds as your dog moves.
  
  

Adjusting the High GPS Threshold (for outdoors accuracy)

1. Take your dog outside to areas near and far from your fence.
2. Watch the GPS signal value while your dog moves:
   
   • • The signal should stay above the high GPS threshold (blue area) outdoors near the fence.
     • If the signal drops below the blue threshold outdoors, lower the high GPS threshold slider so those areas are classified as High GPS.
3. Confirm your dog’s position on My Map is accurate in these areas.
   
   

Adjusting the Low GPS Threshold (for indoors accuracy)

1. Walk your dog indoors to places where you noticed inaccurate tracking.
2. Observe the GPS signal value:
   
   • It should stay below the low GPS threshold (white area) indoors in places where GPS is unreliable.
   • If the signal is above the low threshold indoors and the location is inaccurate, raise the low GPS threshold slider so those areas fall into Low GPS.
3. This helps prevent false fence preventions indoors.

Saving Your Settings

• Use the Edit signal level settings button to move the low (white/pink) and high (pink/blue) sliders up or down based on your tests.
• Tap Revert to Halo Defaults if you want to reset thresholds.
• When satisfied, tap Done to save your settings to the collar.
  
  

If You Have Persistent GPS Dead Zones

• For outdoor areas with poor GPS that you can’t fix by adjusting thresholds, use a Keep Away Beacon to keep your dog away safely.
• For indoor areas with strong GPS but inaccurate positioning, use an Ignore Fences Beacon to prevent unintended fence corrections.

You can find more information about Zone Beacons here. 

If you have any further questions and would like to speak to our live support team, please feel free to reach out using the following article: How to Contact Customer Support and we'll be happy to help!