Having good, stable Fi Base connectivity is paramount to the overall Fi system being accurate and your Fi Collar battery life lasting for as long as possible.
GPS signal is not reliable indoors, and as such when your dog is inside the Fi system needs to rely on your Fi App & Fi Base to confirm that your dog is sound and safe. Fi Series 2 customers can rely on WiFi in addition to the Fi Base, see: Understanding WiFi Connectivity & Coverage
If you've gotten an "Fi collar has been offline" notification, while your pup is indoors, this is due to poor Fi Base coverage for Fi Series 1 customers.
Each charging base will broadcast a signal that can go as far as 150 feet radius in open areas. This signal is multi-directional (meaning that it will also travel up / down) and will try to reach your Fi Collar. When it does it will take in all the data available on your collar (like the number of steps that your pup did while at home) and relay that data to our servers using your Wifi network.
For this reason it is very important that :
- Your base is properly configured on your Wifi network - if not it will not connect to your Fi Collar.
- Your base is placed in your home near the area your dog spends the most time in - Bluetooth waves will travel through walls and structure but can still be easily stopped within a house. You want to increase the likelihood that your base will be able to connect to the Fi Collar.
- If you want to extend coverage to a backyard, plug the Fi Base next to a window with a clear line of sight to the yard. Remember, increasing Fi Base coverage is the best way to extend Battery Life.
- If your pup spends time in multiple indoor locations (vacation home/office, etc), or you need to extend coverage within your home - consider purchasing additional bases. The Fi system was designed as a mesh network that can easily allow us to extend coverage with multiple Fi Bases. This can be useful if you have a home with multiple floors or a complex layout, and your pup can roam freely through out the day. Alternatively, upgrading to Fi Series 2 will allow your pup's collar to connect to WiFi networks and extend coverage indoors.
Understanding / Testing Fi Base Coverage in Your Home
Total time: 15 minutes
Since the Fi Base will connect to the Fi Collar via bluetooth- it is hard to "see" the connection radius with out testing. Testing, is quick and easy:
- When at home and standing with your dog next to the Fi Base, turn off the Bluetooth on your phone - this will force the collar to connect to the Fi base.
- After a minute turn the Bluetooth back on on your phone and open the Fi app. Now we'll want to check the collar's connection state, and make sure it is "seeing" the base:
- Tap Live
- Tap the card on the top of this menu, this will reveal the "live map"
- Tap your pet's photo, this will reveal the collar's current connection state, and you should now see this icon next to the battery status -
Fi Base - this means that it is now connected to the Fi Base. If you do not see this icon - see Troubleshooting your Fi Charging Base
- Note the date/time you are beginning your test- our customer success team can help further advise based on your results if you have these details.
- Remove the Fi Collar from your pup, and walk to the furtherest location your pup has access to in your home from the current location of the Fi Base. Leave the Fi collar in this room for a few minutes.
- Pro tip: Place the collar on a similar "level" as your pup, for example under a table vs on top of. We want to mimic your pup's behavior as much as possible.
- Check the connection state of the collar:
- Fi Base - The collar can see the Fi Base in this location, move to a different room. Each room your pup can access will need to have Fi Base coverage for optimal performance
- The collar cannot see the Fi Base, and has connected to your phone. If your pup accesses this area, you will need to reposition the Fi Base to extend coverage, or purchase additional Fi Bases.
- Repeat as needed in different areas (rooms/floors) of your home. If your pup spends time outside, we also recommend testing there.
- You will now know where the Fi Base can "see" your pup's Fi Collar. Since the connection is established via Bluetooth, each home's coverage is unique, and will vary depending on building materials and the layout of each home.
- Exit the full map screen by tapping the back button on the bottom left
- Questions on your results? Just let us know when you performed the test and we can advise further!