I love viewranger for most things but this buddy beacon has me flummoxed. How do I set it up so that I can see myself and more importantly others can see me too?

I would prefer to use Viewranger but is there anything else that does tracking very simply?

Nobody use any smartphone tracking apps?

I also found it totally baffling, if that’s any use. So it’s not that you’re stupid. Or possibly I’m stupid as well (my children are adamant on this point).

Nope viewranger easy to use. Send your beacon using your email address and pin, or receive others beacons using their email address and pin.

I had loads of problems with it at first, and even now it seems ropey when someone tries to track my beacon using the app on their phone.

One thing I found after many frustrating attempts was it works a lot better if you switch buddy-beacon on and send your location at least once before attempting to share it (you can force-send by clicking the tracking icon and switching buddy-beacon on, then go to options>>buddy beacon>>send location now).

When you’ve sent your location, press menu >> settings >> beacon then set a beacon pin number.

Then for one-off trips, go to options >> buddy beacon >> Share then email it or share on your messaging/social media of choice.
If you have someone who tracks you regularly, get them to sign up for a viewranger account then they can add you to their buddy-beacon favourites using your ID (usually your email address) and your beacon pin.

Hey Kunstler,

On Android:

To set up the Buddy Beacon:
Open up the app and go to Setting in the main menu. There you have an option called Beacon. Set a pin, so that you’re not visible to everyone on the internet (http://www.viewranger.com/buddybeacon/v2/)and tick ‘send old positions’.

To start sending a beacon:
Go to the track recording page. Next to the big red record button you’ll see a little buddy beacon icon. Tap that to start emitting a signal (note you need data connection for this)

For someone else to watch you from a computer:
They should go to http://www.viewranger.com/buddybeacon/v2/ and ‘add a beacon’ (top right). They’ll need the PIN number you set up, and the email address your ViewRanger account is registered to. Once they’re in, they’ll be able to see you as long as you’ve turned your beacon to on.

For some else to see your location from within the ViewRanger app:
In the app go to Organiser > Buddy & tracker list > tap on the little ‘add person icon’ and it will ask you for their username (email address) and pin number. Enter the info, then once they’re on the list, tick the little eye/view icon next to their name (either there in the tracker list or in Organiser > Favourites).

The good news is that once you’ve added friends, they’ll be on the list and you don’t have to add them again 🙂

The ViewRanger Wiki is always a good point of reference:
http://support.viewranger.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=4

There’ll you find instructions for both Android and Apple.

I use droid beacon. It’s ‘passive’ in that someone has to text your phone to find out where you are but equally doesn’t drain battery when it’s not actually needed.

If you’re just looking for a ‘find me in an emergency solution’ then it might be worth looking at.

Any beacon that relies on a mobile signal is fairly useless (as I found out when using Buddy Beacon in Wales). As soon as you move out of mobile range, the tracker stops sending signals.

I bought a Spot tracker but it’s a fair investment and requires a subscription.