Tracking and Finding Zebra Mobile Devices with Device Tracker

Enterprise mobile devices such as Zebra’s Android mobile computers are critical to many business workflows. But when they’re shared among workforces and used across thousands of square feet in a facility, it’s not uncommon for a device to be accidentally misplaced.

If a device is misplaced or lost for even a short period of time, it can be a big disruption to worker productivity, processes, and customer service. But finding a missing device can be a frustrating exercise, especially in larger warehouses where it could have been misplaced almost anywhere.

Therefore, Zebra has introduced a solution called Device Tracker, a full-scale and end-to-end solution that helps you track and find lost and misplaced devices. It lets you quickly locate a missing device with near pinpoint accuracy, all with a simple app that works together with your devices’ built-in connectivity and even works offline to help you track or find your hardware.

How Zebra Device Tracker Works

It all happens by leveraging your existing Wi-Fi network infrastructure and utilizing Bluetooth technology and audio chirping to locate devices.

Device tracker is a cloud-based and scalable solution that is hosted and maintained by Zebra with support for up to 100,000 devices across up to 5,000 individual sites. There are no local or web servers to purchase or to set up and manage. There are not server certificates to create and manage or licenses to install on your devices.

To start tracking your devices, you just distribute the Device Tracker application onto your devices via your Enterprise Mobility Manager (EMM) or Zebra’s StageNow, which is a complimentary Mobility DNA application.

To find a device and determine its general location, you simply open the Device Tracker app on any supported mobile or desktop computer, and you can see the access point to which the device is currently connected. With support for naming your access points within the app, such as Receiving, Shipping, Warehouses or ShopFloor, users will immediately be able to narrow down the location and know where to start.

To determine the device’s specific location, you can use Device Tracker’s Proximity Indicator function. Once users bring a device running the Device Tracker app inside the access point coverage zone, this feature uses that device’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity to indicate whether you are moving closer to or farther from the device. It works just like a Geiger-counter.

When you’re close, you can remotely ring the missing device using audio chirping, which makes it easy to complete your search and even find devices that are hidden from view.

Who Zebra Device Tracker is Designed For

Whether you have a large warehouse or a small store, if your devices are connected to your Wi-Fi network, Device Tracker will help you track and locate them. It tracks available information such as the name of the device, the access point it’s connected to, its remaining battery charge level, the time of its last report, and any alerts associated with the device.

Moreover, if your devices are equipped with a secondary BLE, you can locate devices even if they’re powered down. And since you can use Device Tracker to see how many devices are in service at the start of every shift, you can not only track and locate devices but also ensure that they’re all returned at the end of every shift.

Other Zebra Device Tracker Features

With the Device Tracker application, administrators can see the status of all devices in all locations, and managers at specific sites can see the devices in their location. Configurable alerts allow IT and facility administrators to identify devices that exceed pre-defined thresholds, such as a device not reporting into Device Tracker for a specified amount of time or when its battery level dips below your defined threshold. And, of course, associates can launch the app on their mobile devices to view and find specific devices.

There is even an optional check-in and check-out feature that requires users to scan a specific barcode to use a device, such as the barcode on their employee badge. This way, you will always know which worker is using which device, and you can get better insight into its location.

It all adds up to a quick, hassle-free and easily scalable solution that can help put an end to frustrating searches for missing devices and help prevent device inventory shrinkage. With the ability to register sites, devices and access points, and with role-based dashboards and settings for different user types, you get complete control over device information and who can access and manage it.

Contact Taylor Data Systems

To learn more about Zebra’s Device Tracker, download our product fact sheet, and feel free to check out Zebra’s Device Tracker documentation for a video overview and more specs and details. And to find out about pricing, licensing, and how to roll out this solution with your devices, connect with our mobility experts at Taylor Data Systems, Inc., and we’d be happy to help.