How Accurate Are GPS Trackers? Understanding GPS Accuracy in the Real World

How accurate are GPS trackers?

Under good outdoor conditions, modern GPS technology can be surprisingly precise. The U.S. government's official GPS guidance says GPS-enabled smartphones are typically accurate to within about 4.9 meters, or 16 feet, under open sky. But that number is not a guarantee for every GPS device, every location, or every moment.

Put the same device inside a parking garage, between tall buildings, underneath dense tree cover, inside a steel trailer, or somewhere with a poor view of the sky, and accuracy can change dramatically.

That is why the most useful answer to "how accurate are GPS trackers?" is not a single number.

GPS tracker accuracy depends on the positioning technology inside the tracker, its view of the satellites, the environment around it, the quality of its receiver and antenna, its placement, whether other positioning methods are being used, and how recently the device has reported a location.

There's also an important difference between a GPS coordinate being accurate and a tracking app appearing accurate. A tracker might calculate an excellent GPS position but temporarily lack cellular service to transmit it. A map can contain an address or road-placement error even when the underlying latitude and longitude are correct. An app may show the tracker's last reported position rather than its present position.

Understanding these differences makes GPS accuracy much easier to interpret in the real world.

This guide explains how accurate GPS trackers really are, what can interfere with accuracy, why GPS locations sometimes appear to "jump," how placement affects performance, and what level of accuracy you should realistically expect when tracking cars, trailers, equipment, boats, pets, or other valuable assets.

How Accurate Is GPS Under Ideal Conditions?

The U.S. government's GPS accuracy guidance provides a useful baseline.

GPS-enabled smartphones are typically accurate to within approximately 4.9 meters, or 16 feet, under open sky. Accuracy can worsen around buildings, bridges, trees, indoor spaces, and other areas where GPS satellite signals are blocked or reflected.

That 4.9-meter figure comes from research involving more than 1,000 smartphone users across 100 countries, where mean open-sky GNSS accuracy measured 4.9 meters. The same research found accuracy in urban environments was strongly related to surrounding building height.

It is important not to turn this into a promise that every consumer GPS tracker will always be within 16 feet.

Different receivers have different antennas, chipsets, software, power constraints, placement, and available positioning technologies. A small tracker mounted underneath a vehicle is operating under very different conditions from a smartphone held outdoors with an unobstructed view of the sky.

The number is useful because it demonstrates something important: ordinary civilian GPS is capable of meter-level accuracy under favorable conditions.

But "capable of" and "guaranteed to deliver" are very different things.

What Does GPS Accuracy Actually Mean?

When an app places a tracker on a map, it's tempting to think of the pin as the exact physical location of the device.

In reality, positioning should be thought of as an estimate with a level of uncertainty.

A GPS receiver obtains timing information from several satellites and calculates a position that best fits those measurements. Small errors can enter the calculation from atmospheric conditions, satellite geometry, signal reflections, receiver limitations, and obstructions.

That is why many mapping and tracking apps display an accuracy circle around a location.

The device may appear as a dot in the center of the circle, but the important information is the surrounding radius. A smaller radius indicates greater confidence in the reported location. A larger radius tells you that the positioning system has more uncertainty.

The Cube Tracker app includes an option to display location accuracy as a circle around a reported location, which can provide useful context rather than encouraging users to treat every map pin as a perfectly exact point.

How GPS Determines Your Location

The Global Positioning System consists of satellites orbiting Earth and continuously transmitting extremely precise timing and orbital information.

A GPS receiver does not normally transmit a signal to those satellites. It listens.

Because radio signals travel at a known speed, the receiver can use the time required for signals to arrive from multiple satellites to estimate its distance from each one.

With signals from enough satellites, the receiver can solve for its location and correct its own clock error.

This is why satellite visibility matters so much.

If a receiver can clearly observe a large number of satellites spread across different areas of the sky, it has better information with which to calculate its position.

If most available satellite signals are blocked, weak, or concentrated in one part of the sky, the geometry becomes less favorable and the estimated position can become less precise.

GPS Satellite Accuracy and GPS Tracker Accuracy Are Not the Same Thing

One of the most important concepts in GPS accuracy is the difference between the accuracy of the satellite signal and the accuracy experienced by the end user.

The U.S. government specifies performance requirements for the GPS signals broadcast from space. GPS.gov states that the government's commitment for the signal itself includes a daily global average user range error of no more than 2 meters with 95% probability across healthy satellites in their assigned constellation slots. Actual satellite performance can be better than that.

But GPS.gov explicitly notes that user range error is not the same thing as user position accuracy.

Your actual position result also depends on satellite geometry, atmospheric effects, signal blockage, reflected signals, and the receiver itself.

This explains why saying "GPS satellites are accurate to X feet" does not mean the map on every consumer tracker must be accurate to exactly that same number.

The satellite is only one piece of the positioning system.

The Biggest Factors Affecting GPS Tracker Accuracy

Several factors have a much greater impact on GPS accuracy than most users realize.

View of the Sky

GPS signals travel more than 12,000 miles from satellites orbiting Earth before reaching a receiver.

By the time those signals arrive, they are extremely weak.

A receiver outdoors in an open field has a major advantage because there are fewer obstacles between its antenna and the satellites above.

Move that same receiver beneath a thick roof, underneath a vehicle, between steel walls, into an underground parking structure, or into a building and the situation changes.

Some signals may disappear completely. Others may become weak enough that the receiver cannot use them reliably.

This doesn't necessarily mean GPS stops working altogether. It means the receiver may have less high-quality information available for calculating the location.

Satellite Geometry

The number of satellites visible matters, but where those satellites appear in the sky matters too.

Imagine trying to locate yourself using several landmarks.

If every landmark were clustered together in the same direction, small measurement errors could make it difficult to determine exactly where you were.

If the landmarks surrounded you from different directions, your position would be much easier to calculate.

GPS operates on a similar principle.

A group of satellites distributed across the sky creates better positioning geometry than the same number of satellites clustered together.

This concept is commonly expressed through measures known as dilution of precision.

Better geometry generally leads to a more reliable position solution.

Buildings and the Urban Canyon Effect

Dense cities are one of the most challenging environments for satellite navigation.

Tall buildings block portions of the sky and create what GPS engineers commonly call an "urban canyon."

A receiver may only have a clear view of satellites located above the narrow opening between buildings.

Even worse, satellite signals can bounce off glass, concrete, and metal before reaching the receiver.

GPS.gov specifically lists signals reflected from buildings and walls—known as multipath—as a common source of GPS positioning error.

The receiver expects a signal to have traveled directly from the satellite.

A reflected signal has traveled farther.

That additional distance can distort the receiver's range calculation and shift the estimated position.

This is why GPS occasionally appears to place a person or tracker on the wrong side of a street or inside a neighboring building while traveling through a downtown area.

Trees and Natural Obstructions

GPS is not limited to problems caused by buildings.

Dense tree canopy can weaken satellite signals too.

Wet foliage can be particularly challenging because water absorbs and attenuates radio-frequency energy.

Cliffs, mountains, deep valleys, and other terrain can block large sections of the sky.

A tracker on an ATV traveling through an open field therefore operates in a very different satellite environment from the same tracker deep inside a forested valley.

For vehicles and recreational equipment used outdoors, this is one reason to think about accuracy as a changing condition rather than a permanent specification.

Indoor and Underground Locations

GPS was fundamentally designed as an outdoor satellite-navigation system.

Inside buildings, GPS signals have to travel through roofs, walls, structural materials, insulation, and other obstacles.

Sometimes they make it through.

Sometimes they don't.

Underground locations are even more difficult.

A tracker inside a concrete parking garage may receive few usable satellite signals or none at all.

That does not always mean the tracking app will display nothing. Many modern positioning systems can supplement GPS with information from cellular towers, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, or previously known locations.

The resulting position may still be useful, but it should not automatically be interpreted as a high-precision GPS fix.

GPS vs Wi-Fi, Cell Tower and Bluetooth Positioning

Modern trackers can use more than one source of location information.

The standard Cube GPS Tracker, for example, can gather positioning information through GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cell-tower triangulation before reporting data through its LTE-M connection.

This matters because GPS is not always the best—or even available—positioning method in every environment.

Outdoors with a clear sky, satellite positioning can provide excellent results.

Inside a building, nearby Wi-Fi networks or cellular information may provide a useful approximation when satellite reception is poor.

Bluetooth can provide proximity information when compatible devices are nearby.

These technologies should not all be expected to produce the same accuracy.

A strong GPS fix may locate a device within meters.

Cell-tower positioning can sometimes place a device only within a much broader area.

Wi-Fi positioning can be highly useful in populated areas where known access points are available, but performance varies with the available database and environment.

This is why an app's accuracy indicator matters. It gives you context about the confidence associated with that particular update.

Accuracy Is Different From Update Frequency

One of the most common misunderstandings about GPS tracking is confusing accuracy with update frequency.

They are separate concepts.

Accuracy answers: How close is this reported coordinate likely to be to the tracker's actual location?

Update frequency answers: How recently did the tracker report another location?

A tracker could generate an extremely accurate position every ten minutes.

Another tracker could report every ten seconds but each report might have a larger accuracy radius.

The second tracker is more current, but that does not automatically make each individual coordinate more precise.

This becomes especially important when tracking a moving vehicle.

Suppose a tracker reports a perfect location at 2:00:00 PM and doesn't send another update until 2:05 PM.

At 2:04 PM the original coordinate can still be perfectly accurate for where the vehicle was, but it is no longer an accurate representation of where the vehicle is now.

This is why real-time tracking depends on both positioning accuracy and reporting interval.

GPS Accuracy vs Cellular Connectivity

Another important distinction is the difference between locating and reporting.

A cellular GPS tracker generally performs these as separate processes.

The GPS receiver calculates where the tracker is.

The cellular modem sends that location to the tracking platform.

It is possible for one to work while the other does not.

A tracker might have a clear satellite view and calculate an excellent GPS position while being somewhere without compatible cellular coverage.

In that situation, the location calculation may be accurate but your app may not receive the update immediately.

The reverse can happen too. A tracker can have excellent cellular service while sitting deep inside a structure where satellite reception is poor.

This distinction is covered in our GPS Asset Tracking for Small Business guide (internal link to existing article) and is particularly important for vehicles, trailers, equipment, and assets that regularly move between very different environments.

Why Does a GPS Location Sometimes Jump?

A GPS marker occasionally jumping from one location to another does not necessarily mean the tracker physically moved.

The receiver's estimate can shift when the satellite environment changes.

Imagine a car entering a dense city.

At one moment, the receiver may have a strong view of several satellites. A few seconds later, a tall building blocks two of them and introduces reflected signals from another.

The device recalculates its position using the information now available.

The estimated coordinates may shift even though the physical device has barely moved.

The same thing can happen when a tracker transitions from outdoor GPS positioning into a building where Wi-Fi or cell-based positioning becomes more important.

Mapping software can amplify the visual effect because a small coordinate change may cause a pin to appear on another road, property, or building.

GPS.gov also warns that apparent GPS errors can sometimes originate in the map rather than in the positioning system. Incorrect road geometry, businesses, addresses, or mapped features can make correct coordinates appear wrong.

Does GPS Tracker Placement Affect Accuracy?

Absolutely.

Tracker placement is one of the few accuracy factors the user can directly control.

A GPS antenna generally performs best when it has as clear a path toward the sky as practical.

That does not mean a tracker needs to sit visibly on top of a vehicle.

It means you should avoid unnecessarily surrounding the antenna with dense metal or installing the tracker deep inside a location known to interfere with radio signals.

The exact best placement depends on the vehicle or asset, the tracker design, the antenna orientation, mounting requirements, theft concerns, weather protection, and cellular reception.

For vehicle installations, our Where to Install a GPS Tracker on a Car guide (internal link to existing placement article) covers these considerations in greater detail.

The Cube GPS Pro (internal link to Cube GPS Pro product page) is particularly useful for vehicle and asset applications because its integrated magnetic mounting system allows it to be positioned securely without a complicated installation. Placement should still balance concealment with adequate signal conditions.

Does Metal Block GPS Signals?

Metal can significantly interfere with GPS reception.

A GPS tracker sealed inside a steel toolbox, enclosed deep inside a vehicle's metal structure, or mounted inside a metal shipping container faces a much more difficult radio environment than the same tracker outdoors.

The degree of interference depends on the enclosure and whether there are openings through which signals can reach the antenna.

This is another reason why hiding a GPS tracker as deeply as physically possible is not always the best approach.

A concealed tracker that cannot reliably receive positioning or cellular signals may be less useful than a carefully positioned tracker that balances security and connectivity.

GPS.gov specifically identifies signal blockage as one of the primary causes of reduced GPS accuracy.

Does Weather Affect GPS Accuracy?

Ordinary weather generally has much less effect on GPS than many people assume.

GPS is used in rain, snow, clouds, aviation, marine environments, transportation systems, and countless other outdoor applications every day.

The atmosphere can affect GPS signals, particularly as they travel through the ionosphere and troposphere, and atmospheric conditions are one component of overall GPS error.

But a cloudy day does not suddenly make GPS unusable.

Physical obstructions such as buildings, underground structures, dense materials, and poor antenna placement are generally much more important for ordinary consumer tracking.

Extreme weather can also affect the tracker itself through temperature, battery performance, or environmental exposure even when the GPS signal remains available.

How Accurate Is GPS in a Parking Garage?

Parking garages are one of the classic difficult environments for GPS.

An open rooftop parking deck may provide excellent satellite visibility.

Drive several levels underground into a reinforced concrete structure and satellite reception can deteriorate quickly.

A tracker may continue reporting an approximate position using alternative positioning information, retain a previous GPS location, or regain a stronger location once the vehicle exits.

This is normal behavior for satellite navigation.

If a vehicle's last strong location shows the entrance to a garage and the tracker temporarily reports less precisely once inside, it does not automatically indicate a device failure.

Context matters.

How Accurate Is a GPS Tracker on a Moving Car?

Under good conditions, GPS is extremely well suited to moving vehicles.

In fact, transportation is one of GPS's most established uses.

The challenge with vehicle tracking isn't usually whether GPS can determine a car's location. It is understanding the interaction between accuracy, update interval, network connectivity, placement, and speed.

At highway speeds, a vehicle can travel a meaningful distance in only a few seconds.

At 60 mph, a vehicle covers about 88 feet per second.

A location that was calculated accurately 30 seconds ago could therefore be more than half a mile behind the vehicle's present position even though there was nothing inaccurate about the GPS measurement itself.

That is why users evaluating a vehicle tracker should look at more than a claimed accuracy number.

Reporting frequency matters.

Cellular connectivity matters.

Location history matters.

And for theft or movement awareness, automated alerts can matter just as much as constantly watching a map.

The Cube GPS Pro (internal link to Cube GPS Pro product page) combines real-time location reporting with geofence alerts, movement information, location history, strong magnetic mounting, and extended battery life designed around vehicles and valuable assets.

How Accurate Are GPS Geofences?

A geofence should not be treated like an invisible laser line painted on the ground.

A geofence compares reported location coordinates against a virtual boundary.

If each position has some degree of uncertainty, a tracker near the exact edge of the boundary may occasionally appear on one side and then the other.

This is particularly relevant if someone creates an extremely small geofence around a location where GPS reception is poor.

A slightly larger, sensible boundary usually works better than attempting to define a geofence around an unrealistically tiny area.

For example, a geofence around a storage yard, school, home, parking lot, or jobsite can be extremely useful.

A geofence only a few feet wide would demand a level of precision that ordinary consumer GPS cannot consistently guarantee in every environment.

For more information, see What Is Geofencing on a GPS Tracker? How It Works and Why You Need It (internal link to existing geofencing guide).

What Does an Accuracy Circle Mean in a GPS App?

The accuracy circle is one of the most useful pieces of information on a tracking map.

Suppose the app shows the tracker in the center of a circle with a radius of 30 feet.

The important takeaway is not that the device is definitely located exactly at the center dot.

The positioning system is communicating a level of uncertainty around that estimate.

If the next update displays a much smaller circle, the new measurement likely has stronger positioning confidence.

A large circle can occur when GPS reception is weak or when an alternative positioning method is being used.

Users should therefore consider the circle and the timestamp together.

A location from five seconds ago with a small accuracy radius carries different information from a location 20 minutes old with a very large radius.

How Accurate Does a GPS Tracker Actually Need to Be?

This is one of the most useful questions to ask.

Consumers often focus on whether a tracker can locate something within 5 feet, 10 feet, or 20 feet.

For many real-world tracking jobs, that difference is not actually the deciding factor.

If your trailer is supposed to be in your driveway and the tracker shows it five miles away on another road, it doesn't matter whether the coordinate is accurate to 10 feet or 30 feet.

If your car is missing and the tracker identifies the correct parking lot, the next step is not usually determined by whether the map pin is two parking spaces away.

If a dog has escaped a yard and the tracker shows which neighborhood or trail it is moving toward, repeated current updates may matter more than survey-grade precision.

Different uses therefore require different definitions of "accurate enough."

Vehicle Tracking

For vehicles, current location, route history, movement detection, reliable communication, and update frequency are generally more important than knowing which exact square foot of pavement the tracker occupies.

Equipment and Trailer Tracking

For equipment and trailers, the ability to determine whether an asset is still at a storage yard, jobsite, property, or expected location often matters more than sub-meter positioning.

Pet Tracking

For pets, current movement and repeated location updates become particularly important because the target is mobile.

Boats and Recreational Vehicles

For boats, ATVs, UTVs, RVs, and similar property, environmental conditions and remote locations add another variable. Satellite visibility may be excellent outdoors while cellular coverage becomes the limiting factor for transmitting updates.

This is why choosing a GPS tracker should involve the entire tracking system rather than a single advertised accuracy number.

Can GPS Be More Accurate Than a Few Meters?

Yes—much more accurate.

Consumer trackers are only one part of the enormous GPS ecosystem.

GPS.gov explains that high-end users can combine dual-frequency receivers with augmentation systems to achieve real-time positioning within a few centimeters, while some long-duration surveying applications can achieve millimeter-level measurements.

The United States also operates augmentation infrastructure.

The FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System improves GPS performance for aviation, while NOAA's Continuously Operating Reference Stations support precision positioning and surveying. GPS.gov notes that NOAA's Online Positioning User Service can use CORS information for centimeter-level post-processed positioning.

These systems illustrate how powerful satellite positioning can become.

They are also a reminder that professional surveying equipment, aviation navigation equipment, smartphones, and compact battery-powered consumer trackers should not be expected to produce identical results.

Size, antenna design, power consumption, cost, processing capability, available frequencies, and the intended application all matter.

Is Military GPS More Accurate Than Civilian GPS?

This is a surprisingly common misconception.

Modern civilian GPS is not intentionally degraded through the old Selective Availability system. The United States discontinued Selective Availability in May 2000, and GPS.gov states there is no intent to use it again.

Military and specialized receivers can have capabilities unavailable to ordinary consumer devices, but civilian users can also achieve extremely high accuracy through dual-frequency receivers and augmentation systems.

GPS.gov notes that augmented civilian systems can even provide accuracy beyond what people commonly assume is exclusively available to military GPS.

The idea that every consumer GPS location is deliberately made inaccurate by the government is therefore outdated.

How to Improve GPS Tracker Accuracy

You cannot control the satellites, surrounding buildings, or atmosphere, but you can improve the conditions your tracker operates in.

Start with placement.

Avoid burying the tracker inside dense metal structures when a more signal-friendly secure location is available. Follow the manufacturer's orientation and mounting instructions.

Give the device time to establish a new position after moving it from an indoor or obstructed environment into open sky.

Check the timestamp before deciding a location is wrong. What appears to be an inaccurate position may simply be the last location transmitted before cellular connectivity changed.

Look at the accuracy radius if your tracking application provides one.

Avoid making extremely tight geofences where natural GPS variation could produce unnecessary boundary events.

Make sure the tracker remains charged. A dead tracker has perfect accuracy exactly nowhere.

For long-duration installations such as trailers, construction equipment, boats, stored vehicles, and commercial assets, battery maintenance becomes part of tracking reliability. Our GPS Tracker Battery Life Guide (internal link to existing article) explains how update interval, signal conditions, temperature, and device configuration affect battery life.

And finally, choose a tracker built around the job.

A key finder, smartphone, vehicle GPS tracker, professional survey receiver, and aviation navigation system all use location technology, but they have very different design requirements.

Accuracy Is Only One Part of a Reliable GPS Tracker

It is easy to get fixated on one specification.

But a tracker that can calculate an extremely precise location is not useful if its battery is dead.

It is not useful if you never receive the position.

It is not useful if updates arrive too slowly for the job.

And it is not useful if the hardware cannot survive the environment in which you install it.

For vehicle and asset tracking, a complete system needs to balance positioning, cellular communication, update intervals, battery life, mounting, environmental resistance, alerts, history, and software.

The Cube GPS Pro (internal link to Cube GPS Pro product page) is designed around this broader requirement. It combines GPS-based location tracking with cellular reporting, adjustable tracking behavior, geofencing, location history, a strong magnetic mounting system, IP67 water resistance, and battery life of up to one year depending on settings and use.

That makes it particularly well suited to vehicles, trailers, equipment, ATVs and UTVs, boats, and other assets where the goal is not simply to obtain one coordinate but to maintain useful location awareness over time.

For something smaller or more portable, the standard Cube GPS Tracker (internal link to standard Cube GPS Tracker product page) provides the same broader idea in a more compact form.

Understanding GPS Accuracy in the Real World

So, how accurate are GPS trackers?

Under favorable outdoor conditions, consumer GPS can regularly provide useful meter-level positioning. The U.S. government's commonly cited smartphone example is approximately 4.9 meters, or 16 feet, under open sky. Professional systems can go much further and achieve centimeter-level precision.

But the environment matters.

Buildings can block signals.

Walls can reflect them.

Trees can interfere.

Parking garages can eliminate satellite visibility altogether.

Metal can reduce reception.

Poor satellite geometry can increase uncertainty.

A map can be wrong even when coordinates are right.

And a perfectly accurate position from several minutes ago can still be misleading when the object is moving now.

That is why the most useful way to evaluate GPS accuracy is not to ask whether a tracker is always accurate to one exact number.

Ask whether the tracker provides sufficiently accurate, sufficiently current, and sufficiently reliable location information for the thing you need to protect.

For most everyday vehicle and asset-tracking situations, that's the measurement that actually matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate are GPS trackers in feet?

Under good open-sky conditions, civilian GPS can often provide meter-level accuracy. GPS.gov cites GPS-enabled smartphones as typically accurate to within approximately 4.9 meters, or about 16 feet, under open sky. Individual trackers and environments vary, so that number should not be treated as a guarantee for every device.

Why is my GPS tracker showing the wrong location?

Common causes include buildings or other objects blocking satellite signals, reflected GPS signals, indoor or underground use, poor satellite geometry, alternative Wi-Fi or cell-based positioning, an older location update, or inaccuracies in the underlying map. Checking the location timestamp and accuracy radius can help determine what is happening.

Does a GPS tracker work inside a building?

Sometimes, but GPS generally performs best outdoors with a clear view of the sky. Roofs, walls, steel structures, and reinforced concrete can reduce satellite reception. Some trackers supplement GPS with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular positioning when satellite reception is poor.

Does metal interfere with a GPS tracker?

Yes. Dense metal surrounding a tracker can block or weaken GPS and cellular radio signals. This is why tracker placement matters, particularly on vehicles, trailers, equipment, and inside metal storage containers.

Are GPS trackers accurate enough to find a stolen car?

GPS tracking can provide highly useful vehicle-location information, but no consumer tracker should be assumed to place a vehicle on an exact square foot under every condition. Location reports, timestamps, movement history, geofence alerts, and repeated updates together are generally more valuable for vehicle tracking than expecting survey-grade precision.

Why does my GPS tracker location move when the tracker is stationary?

Small changes in the available satellite signals, signal reflections, atmospheric conditions, or positioning method can cause the estimated coordinates to shift even when the tracker has not moved. This is normal positioning uncertainty and is one reason tracking apps may display an accuracy circle.

Are GPS trackers more accurate outdoors?

Usually, yes. Outdoor locations with a clear view of the sky generally provide better satellite visibility and positioning geometry. Buildings, underground garages, roofs, trees, cliffs, and other obstructions can reduce accuracy.

Can GPS trackers be accurate to one foot?

Specialized professional GPS/GNSS equipment using dual-frequency receivers, correction data, or augmentation systems can achieve centimeter-level accuracy. Typical consumer trackers are not designed to provide that level of precision consistently.

Does cellular signal affect GPS accuracy?

Cellular service and GPS positioning are separate. A tracker may calculate an accurate GPS position without having cellular service to transmit it. Conversely, a tracker may have strong cellular service while satellite reception is poor. Cellular, Wi-Fi, or other positioning technologies can also be used as alternative location sources on some trackers.

Does GPS tracker placement make a difference?

Yes. Placement can significantly affect both GPS and cellular reception. A secure location that avoids unnecessary metal shielding and gives the antenna a reasonable path toward the sky will generally perform better than burying the tracker deep inside a heavily shielded enclosure.