Pick hardwired, OBD plug-and-play, or magnetic battery by power class, tamper risk, and who installs it — not by brochure features.
The tracker is wired into the vehicle electrical system, usually hidden behind the dash or under a seat. A technician connects power, ignition, and optionally an immobilizer relay.
Continuous vehicle power — no charge cycle to manage
Ignition state and full feature support, including immobilizer on supported installs
Harder to strip than a visible OBD dongle
Needs a workshop visit (~30 minutes) and is not portable without a re-install
Plugs into the OBD-II port under the dash on most cars built after ~2001. No wiring and no installer for a first pilot.
Install in about a minute — useful for pilots and personal cars
Vehicle-powered through the port; portable across cars
Easy for someone to unplug; most models cannot support immobilizer wiring
Fine when the job is “where is the van,” weaker when theft or tamper is real
A sealed case with a strong magnet and an internal battery. Sticks to metal on a chassis, trailer, or piece of equipment.
Zero wiring — good for trailers, containers, and covert backup
Battery needs periodic recharge (often 1–6 months by update rate)
No immobilizer and no live ignition state
Wrong as the primary tracker on daily work trucks — the charge cycle becomes fleet tax
Compare install effort, power, tamper resistance, and immobilizer support before you standardize a fleet SKU.
Install: hardwired ~30 min pro · OBD ~1 min self · magnetic none
Power: vehicle battery or OBD port vs internal battery recharge
Immobilizer: hardwired yes · OBD almost never · magnetic no
Discretion: hardwired and magnetic high · OBD low
Portability: OBD and magnetic high · hardwired low
Match the class to the job. Mix is normal on small fleets: service vans on OBD, higher-theft units hardwired.
Start OBD. Upgrade to hardwired with immobilizer if theft risk rises.
Prefer hardwired with immobilizer — the vehicle is the business.
Pilot one vehicle. Use OBD where unplug risk is low; hardwire units that keep “losing” dongles.
Magnetic battery when there is no vehicle power to tap.
Skip rechargeable battery packs as the primary tracker — vehicle-powered OBD or hardwired wins.
Confirm power class, tamper risk, and who installs before you standardize a fleet SKU.
Tip: Work through each item to ensure you have covered all the essentials.
Hardware price is the wrong first filter. Anti-theft posture and the software that turns sensors into decisions matter more.
Optimizing only for the cheapest dongle — one unrecovered theft wipes the savings
Assuming every tracker can immobilize — that usually needs hardwired install
Ignoring the platform — live map, alerts, trip history, and support beat a sensor alone
Use cases
FAQ
Next Steps
Install and verify OBD2 or hardwired GPS trackers, then confirm power, location, ignition, trip history, and technician follow-up in Traxelio.
Choose GPS tracking by matching tracker hardware, monthly price, alerts, mobile access, and support to the way your fleet actually works.
Set up Traxelio in the right order: verify vehicles, add alerts, invite the team, read the dashboard, and build the first month of operating data.