SPOT Reviews

Forget the technical stuff for a second - the real problem is customer service that feels like a scam. You'll wait an hour on hold, get transferred around to different people, and deal with all kinds of billing issues. Instead of caring about safety, this company runs itself like a sketchy subscription trap, especially targeting older folks. Pretty shameful.

Used this company seven or eight years back, and the customer service was so poor I gave up trying to reach them and just gave them a fake credit card number to stop the charges. I thought about trying them again hoping things had improved, but I was wrong. Buying the device was easy enough, but literally everything else was pricier and more complicated than expected. There's an activation fee, then a plan fee, then a flex plan fee, then fees for texts, and just fees on top of fees, all in US dollars which makes it even worse. Plus the website isn't user-friendly at all and you'll need to contact support during US business hours. When I tested the okay feature out here in Australia under perfect conditions, it only worked about three times out of ten. Now that I've cancelled the plan and paid for the flex part, they're saying I owe the whole $120 all over again unless I want to spend hours dealing with their customer service. Based on what everyone else says here, that's not worth it. Find a company that actually cares about their customers.

Had my SPOT Gen 3 with me on a five-week hiking trip in northern Norway and was really let down. Only about one in ten of my daily okay messages actually made it to the people I was sending them to, even though I was in the primary coverage zone the whole time. Every message was sent with a clear line of sight to the sky, usually in wide open, flat ground. Completely unreliable. Their website and sign-up process are also pretty bad, and the billing system is confusing to navigate.

Stay away from this company - find someone else. Complete ripoff. I hit deactivate instead of suspend because the website wasn't clear on the difference. When I wanted coverage for another month, they charged me both the activation fee and the flex charge all over again - that's an extra 60 euros on top of everything else. I'd already paid those fees just two months earlier when I first got the tracker. When I called to explain and asked if they'd only charge me once for those fees, the customer service person Maria refused to help at all. She blamed me entirely and wouldn't budge at all, and honestly was pretty rude about it. One star, don't waste your money here.

Had an issue with my billing after being a loyal customer for four years. I'd been on the flex plan since mid-2020 and added a Search and Rescue option last year for $29.99, which went up to $39.99 this year. My plan was set to renew at the end of August 2024, but I'd turned it off back in October 2023 and wasn't charged again. When I went to turn it back on for summer, the screen said I'd owe $16.11 for a month of service. I clicked okay with that, but then checked my account and saw they'd actually charged me $86.12. I called right away to complain, and after being on hold they told me the supervisor said there was some kind of "window" where they could rebill, so that's what they did, even though now I'm supposedly paid through next August. I didn't agree to this at all. I was planning to cancel the SAR addition before that date anyway, and I still had a month left on my old subscription. They basically told me my only option was to request a refund.

Pretty terrible experience with their customer service team. I've been paying for my SPOT subscription for years, turning the device on and off as needed, which involves two separate charges. Last month I got charged for my subscription and worried I'd accidentally activated the device by mistake. I logged in and deactivated everything. But then I realized my error and reached out to ask if they could just reactivate it since I'd already paid for a full year upfront. They flat out refused and said if I wanted to use it again, I'd have to pay the full 12 months all over again. I made one mistake, but you'd think a company that actually cares about keeping customers would work with me just once. Honestly thinking about selling the device rather than dealing with them again.

Huge thanks to the whole team, especially Juliana and Alejandro, for the outstanding and personalized service! Really impressed with how efficiently everything was handled.

Have been a customer since 2013 with both the SPOT Gen 3 and regular Tracker. Used the basic Tracker to keep an eye on my son who has Down Syndrome as he moved around on our large ranch in the Alaska wilderness. It worked well enough for that purpose. I found a third-party app called SPOT Buddy that used Apple Maps and was much clearer than their standard app, which honestly isn't very good. The Gen 3 was acceptable but we're pretty remote up here with spotty satellite and GPS coverage, so messages often didn't get through to people I sent them to. Friends could track me on Google Maps and I used preset messages about where I was. Never needed to trigger SOS or call for help. The concept is fine but the business side is pretty shady and unprofessional. Looking back at negative reviews going back almost a decade, I see the same complaints: They basically never respond to website chats or emails - I've only managed to talk to a real person once in nearly ten years. There have been random duplicate charges of 40 dollars to my card, and when I finally got someone on the phone, they acted like they were haggling with me instead of just fixing the problem - really unprofessional. Kept the service until I misplaced my Gen 3 unit in the mountain range. Now it's basically impossible to cancel because they don't respond to messages.

Still fighting to get my refund. I have documentation saying they approved the refund, but the money never came back. No customer service rep has been able to actually help, they just keep repeating the same excuses. Stay away from this company.

Not built for use around water or the ocean. In Queensland, Australia, these trackers are required for commercial fishing operations, but they're not holding up to the job. We've had to replace so many of them just from rain and moisture, not to mention salt water corrosion. The only waterproof thing about them is the cord. That's why they're getting one star from me - they're not suitable for the work they're supposed to do.