Change transmission settings on Spot devices

You can update the transmission settings on your Spot devices either for a single device or for multiple devices at once.

Use the Telematics tab on an individual asset when you only need to update one Spot device. If you need to update multiple Spot devices with the same settings, use Device Administration to configure them in bulk.

In this article, you'll learn:

How transmission settings work
How to update transmission settings for a single Spot device
How to update transmission settings for multiple Spot devices
How to track bulk configuration updates

Supported devices

Bulk transmission settings are supported on S300 and SPOT2 devices.

Note: High frequency tracking and battery replacement reset are only available when configuring a single device from the asset's Telematics tab.

Transmission settings explained

You can configure some or all of the following settings.

Wake-up time

The device wakes up at the selected time to send data. From then on, it continues sending data according to the chosen transmission interval.

When configuring devices in bulk, the wake-up time is shown in your local time zone.

Transmission interval

The transmission interval determines how often the device wakes up to send data.

Available intervals are:

2 hours
4 hours
6 hours
8 hours
12 hours
24 hours (default)
48 hours

Note: A higher transmission frequency will reduce battery life.

Movement detection

When enabled, the device sends additional updates when movement is detected through one of the following:

Vibration detected by the accelerometer
GPS speed of 12 km/h (7 mph) or higher
The device is woken by the accelerometer and the previous sleep period was less than 30 minutes

Once movement is detected, the device wakes up every hour to check whether it is still moving. It sends location updates for up to five consecutive movements before going silent again.

If the device comes to a stop, it sends one final location update.

Note: Using movement detection on equipment that moves frequently, such as trailers or forklifts, may significantly reduce battery life.

High frequency tracking (single device only)

When enabled, the device transmits data every 15 minutes for 4 hours before automatically returning to the previous transmission settings. This feature can be useful when searching for lost equipment.

Battery replacement (single device only)

After replacing the battery, you can reset the battery counters to restore the estimated battery level to 100%.

Update transmission settings for a single Spot device

Log in to Trackunit Manager.
Navigate to Assets.
Find and select the asset you want to edit.
Open the Telematics tab.
Update one or more of the available transmission settings:
- Wake-up time
- Transmission interval
- Movement detection
- High frequency tracking
- Battery replacement reset

💡 Tip: If your Spot device is not sending data, try the steps in the Spot troubleshooting guide

Update transmission settings for multiple Spot devices

You can update the wake-up time, transmission interval, and movement detection for multiple Spot devices simultaneously using Device Administration.

You must have the Admin or Fleet Admin user role to access the Devices tab. Read more about user roles here.

Log in to Trackunit Manager.
Open Administration from the bottom of the left navigation menu.
Select the Devices tab.
Use the Spot filter to display only Spot devices.
(Optional) Search for one or more device serial numbers by entering them in the search field, separated by commas.
Select the devices you want to configure.
- 💡 Tip: Click on the box next to Device to select all devices in view.
Click Configure.
Under Setting, select Transmission settings, then click Next.
Update the transmission settings you want to change.
Click Next.
Enter a name for the configuration update.
- 💡 Tip: Trackunit Manager automatically suggests a descriptive name, which you can edit if needed.
Review the configuration and the selected devices.
- 💡 Tip: Double-check your settings before submitting the update.
Click Done.

Track bulk configuration updates

When doing bulk updates, you can monitor the update under the Bulk Configuration Updates tab.

Here you can:

View the overall progress of the update.
Check the Result column to see whether any device updates failed.
Select the configuration Name to view details, including the list of affected devices.

If a device configuration is still being processed, it appears as Pending on the Devices tab. The pending status disappears once the update completes successfully.

💡 Tip: Refresh the page if the status does not update immediately.