How to Track My Garmin GPS Online

Garmin made its name with GPS direction devices and has expanded its offering to a variety of tracking services. Monitoring where your GPS device goes can help you keep an eye on pets, children or even your work vehicles. However, Garmin's selection of GPS devices that you can track online is limited because traditional GPS technology does not supply trackable information.

Not all GPS systems can be tracked, so you must make sure your device both sends and receives signals. Traditional GPS devices passively receive information from satellites and provide directions based on this received data. For you to be able to track your GPS, it must also transmit data to satellites so they can triangulate the GPS device's location. Trackable Garmin devices include its GTU 10 GPS locator and the Garmin Edge 510, 810 and 1000 bicycle CPS devices.

The myGarmin resource center from Garmin allows you to track your enabled device in real-time on your PC. At the myDashboard page (link in Resources), you can register your device and locate the tracking device on a map. This page will show you the past 24 hours of tracking history for any registered Garmin device with a transmitter. You can sign up for 7 days' worth of history through the Deluxe Tracking Service Plan for $5.99 per month.

Garmin published Garmin Tracker apps for both the Android and Apple iOS devices (links in Resources). The mobile apps allow you to locate traceable Garmin devices associated with your myGarmin account. You can also create geofences and set your preferences for how Garmin will alert you if your tracker leaves the fenced area. The apps also give you turn-by-turn directions based on your current location to walk or drive to your device.

Garmin's products that can be traced online use the 2G network for their tracking services. Garmin says the third-party services it uses to access this network will no longer be in operation starting on January 1, 2016. Without third-party support, you will no longer be able to track your device online. As of June 2014, there is no plan to provide support or new tracking options for Garmin products.