Recovery Mode
Applies to:
Device | Firmware |
Barra Edge, Barra GPS | All versions |
Yabby Edge and Yabby3 | All versions |
Oyster Edge, Oyster3 4G, Oyster3 Bluetooth and Oyster3 Global | All versions |
Remora3 4G and Remora3 Global | All versions |
Recovery mode can be used to help recover a stolen asset.
When set, a device reports more frequently, and begins 'live tracking' when on the move.
Hard-wired devices will already ‘live-track’ as standard while on the move, so while recovery mode can be set on these devices, it is not as relevant as to battery-powered devices. For battery-powered devices, we can easily switch from infrequent tracking (e.g. 4 x daily updates) to ‘live-tracking’ to recover an asset.
NOTE: While there are no additional charges involved in setting Recovery Mode, the following points need to be kept in mind
- Increased data usage will be seen until Recovery Mode is deactivated.
- Significantly increased battery usage for the duration Recovery Mode is active.
Given the above, we select an expiry time when setting Recovery Mode (i.e. Expire after 12 hours) - so that the device leaves this mode and doesn't remain in recovery mode indefinitely, draining the battery life.
Setting Recovery Mode
There are multiple ways to set recovery mode.
Via the OEM Server UI
Select the device, and from the "Device Operations" tab, select "Set Recovery Mode".
Through Telematics Guru
Go to Assets->Manage Assets-> Select the asset. From the cog menu on the right hand side, select "Enter Recovery Mode".
Through Telematics Guru Mobile App
The eye symbol on top of the asset indicates Recovery Mode. If it is greyed out (has a line through it), then recovery mode is not set. If the eye is solid, then recovery mode has been set.
Via a 3rd Party Server
Recovery Mode can be set by either sending a command directly to the device or via the OEM Web API. DM support can provide the required integration documents
Battery Powered Device Recovery Mode Behaviour and Parameters
Barra Edge, Yabby Edge and Oyster Edge
When in normal operation, the device will sleep in a low power state. Only waking up periodically for a location scan and/or upload.
When in Recovery Mode the modem is left on and the device attempts to remain continuously connected to the server. The device will conduct regular location scans on the interval in the tables below. Trips are started based on the slightest accelerometer activity (wake filter is disabled)
These update rates can be adjusted under the Recovery Mode Setup parameter tab.
When will the device enter recovery mode?
Under normal operation, the device sleeps in a low power state (with its cellular modem off, not connected to the network). This means that if we then set Recovery Mode 'on' from the server - it will not be actioned until the next upload/connection.
Consider the example of a device set to upload hourly.
- 10:00am - Device uploads
-
10:10am - Recovery Mode is set on the server as:
- Set to expire in: 6 hours
- Expiry date: 4:10pm
- 11:00am - Device connects in again, gets the message and goes into recovery mode until the set Expiry date/time (in this example: 4:10pm)
We need to choose the parameters carefully so that in the event of a theft, the device can go into recovery mode with an acceptable delay in from setting the device in recovery mode and the time the device actually goes into recovery mode.
A sensible frequent In-Trip Upload parameter can be a good option to consider. By default, when the device is in trip, it uploads every 30 mins. So in that instance, the device will behave as below
- 10:00am - Device uploads
-
10:10am - Recovery Mode is set on the server as:
- Set to expire in: 6 hours
- Expiry date: 4:10pm
- 10:30am - Device connects in again, gets the message and goes into recovery mode until the set Expiry date/time (in this example: 4:10pm)
If the default in trip upload rate needs to be changed it can be configured from Parameters->Edit System Parameters->Basic Tracking.
Note adjusting this rate will affect battery life.
Once off in Trip Upload
As described above, in order to enter recovery mode quickly, we need to set a short in trip upload period.
If we don't actually care about detailed trip replays etc, this can consume additional battery life. Using the 'once-off upload' feature allows us to set up the device to upload infrequently (or not at all) during trips, but if one is to start, X minutes into a trip, we will get a single upload.
So if we had the device set to upload on Trip Start, and movement alerts configured to notify us when this happened, we can easily activate recovery mode via the app once they receive a movement alert notification that the asset has entered a trip.
An example timeline for the upload with the 'once off upload period' set to 10mins is
- trip start with upload on trip start (we get a movement alert)
- user sets recovery mode
- 10min later; once-off upload
- device enters recovery mode (at the 10 minute mark)
Note if we didn't manage to set recovery mode before (3) - we'd miss out until the next scheduled upload! So set this period to something sensible.
Configure on the Movement Detection tab
Without this option, if we wanted to enter recovery mode within 10 min of a trip beginning, we have to upload every 10 min in trip, all the time! So trips we aren't concerned about, where the asset has not been stolen will be wasting battery.
Note
If your device has pending parameters when it goes into a trip, the device will do a reset upon the syncing of the new settings and you may not get the once-off upload after a trip starts.
Automatically Enable Recovery Mode After-hours
It may be the case that any after-hours usage is unauthorised, or is due to attempted theft.
The device can be configured to automatically go into recovery mode if the device goes into trip after hours. This is set up from Parameters-> Edit System Parameters->After Hours-> Auto Recovery Mode Expiry.
The Auto Recovery Mode Expiry value is in hours. If set to "1" for example, the recovery mode will be activated for an hour since the trip starts. Setting this value to "0" will disable the after-hours auto recovery mode.
Apart from entering auto recovery mode, alerts can be configured based on after-hours usage. For more information, see Alert on After Hours Movement.
Take care with this feature. If the device unexpectedly makes many trips, or the parameters are configured such that many trips are started/ended, you will flatten the batteries. Contact support if you are not sure.
If the user decides to exit recovery mode on the server, the device will have to end its trip first, else the device will re-enter recovery mode.
Yabby3 4G, Oyster3 4G, Oyster3 Bluetooth, Oyster3 Global, Remora3 4G and Remora3 Global
When in normal operation, the device will sleep in a low-power state. Only waking up periodically to acquire a GPS fix and/or upload.
When in Recovery Mode:
- The device detects trips based on accelerometer activity (jostle mode)
- Once in trip, the GPS is left on continuously, acquiring regular fixes
- The modem is left on and the device attempts to remain continuously connected to the server.
- The GPS mode is forced to Performance Mode
Below are the default update rates when a device is set to Recovery Mode. These parameters are configurable to suit your use case, but we recommend any changes made to the parameters be tested before large-scale deployment.
Heartbeat Period | 30 minutes |
In Trip LoggingUpdate Rate | 30 seconds |
Trip End Timeout | 10 minutes |
Some Recovery Mode parameters are configurable, from the system parameters tab in OEM select Add Advanced Parameters-> Recovery Mode Setup.
These parameters do not need to be touched for the majority of use cases.
If you have some special requirements, contact our support team for assistance.
When will the device enter recovery mode?
Under normal operation, the device sleeps in a low power state (with its cellular modem off, not connected to the network). This means that if we then set Recovery Mode 'on' from the server - it will not be actioned until the next upload/connection.
Consider the example of a device set to upload hourly.
- 10:00am - Device uploads
-
10:10am - Recovery Mode is set on the server as:
- Set to expire in: 6 hours
- Expiry date: 4:10pm
- 11:00am - Device connects in again, gets the message and goes into recovery mode until the set Expiry date/time (in this example: 4:10pm).
We need to choose the parameters carefully so that in the event of a theft, the device can go into recovery mode with an acceptable delay in from setting the device in recovery mode and the time the device actually goes into recovery mode.
If the default in trip upload rate needs it can be configured from Parameters->Edit System Parameters->Basic Tracking.
Note adjusting this rate will affect battery life.
Once off in Trip Upload
As described above, in order to enter recovery mode quickly, we need to set a short in trip upload period.
If we don't actually care about detailed trip replays etc, this can consume additional battery life. Using the 'once-off upload' feature allows us to set up the device to upload infrequently (or not at all) during trips, but if one is to start, X minutes into a trip, we will get a single upload.
So if we had the device set to upload on Trip Start, and movement alerts configured to notify us when this happened, we can easily activate recovery mode via the app once they receive a movement alert notification that the asset has entered a trip.
An example timeline for the upload with the 'once off upload period' set to 10mins is
- Trip start with upload on trip start (we get a movement alert)
- User sets recovery mode
- 10min later; once-off upload
- Device enters recovery mode (at the 10-minute mark)
Note if we didn't manage to set recovery mode before (3) - we'd miss out until the next scheduled upload! So set this period to something sensible.
Configure on the Advanced Tracking tab
Note
If your device has pending parameters when it goes into a trip, the device will do a reset upon the syncing of the new settings and you may not get the once-off upload after a trip starts.
Automatically Enable Recovery Mode After-hours
It may be the case that any after-hours usage is unauthorised, or is due to attempted theft.
The device can be configured to automatically go into recovery mode if the device goes into trip after hours. This is set up from Parameters-> Edit System Parameters->After Hours-> Auto Recovery Mode Expiry.
The Auto Recovery Mode Expiry value is in hours. If set to "1" for example, the recovery mode will be activated for an hour since the trip starts. Setting this value to "0" will disable the after-hours auto recovery mode.
Apart from entering auto recovery mode, alerts can be configured based on after-hours usage. For more information, see Alert on After Hours Movement.
Take care with this feature. If the device unexpectedly makes many trips, or the parameters are configured such that many trips are started/ended, you will flatten the batteries. Contact support if you are not sure.
If the user decides to exit recovery mode on the server, the device will have to end its trip first, else the device will re-enter recovery mode.