# Simple Car Theft Protection Gadget?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [August 20, 2023, 12:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382 "2023-08-20T00:01:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 6:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382/21 "2023-08-21T06:31:14Z")

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Well it just might be that George will need to get a new phone. I was perfectly happ6 with my flip phone until they eliminated th3 g2 service o4 whatever. I wasn’t too happy to pay the $400 but I have grown to appreciate a few of the features like weather and stocks and email. Most of th3 other stuff I never use.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382/22 "2023-08-21T22:40:35Z")

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> [@lion9car](#):
>
> You’re not going to find a device that can communicate over a cell phone network without paying for it to be on that network.

No dispute, but I’m interested in a device without a monthly fee. My own cell phone for example is fully connected to the cellular network, but has no monthly fee. I paid an up front deposit towards future usage. Called a “pay as you go phone”. I’m looking for a “pay as you go” GPS tracker.

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**Author:** ![cwatkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@cwatkin](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cwatkin)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382/23 "2023-09-13T15:13:00Z")

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I have seen pay as you go wireless hotspots. Of course they use carrier towers so get the one that works best where you live. In my area that is typically ATT or Verizon.

These things have a battery like a cell phone so will need power to stay on and connected. You could pair it with a GPS device to track the car but this would be more complicated and the possibility of losing the connection randomly is likely higher.

You will also need solar panels or some other power to keep this charged up and working. Also make sure the default settings don’t have it go asleep after a period of time. You may have to dig through the settings to find this.

[Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/simple-car-theft-protection-gadget/192382.md?page=1)