Cellular service and connectivity

Nofence collars use cellular connection to receive updates and commands from your app on your phone or tablet. This means you need a cellular connection to update pastures remotely, check locations, or receive alerts. All collars will automatically pick the strongest signal, and communicate on that network. 

However, your animals will remain contained even in areas with little to no cellular service, thanks to GPS and our HerdNet™ technology. Below, we’ll explain how this process works.

When the collars are connected to a cellular network, you can:

• Move your herd to a new pasture or update boundaries, from anywhere across the globe

• See each animal's latest location update and latest welfare and activity data

• Check the battery status of your collars

• Get alerts when something needs attention, like reduced activity from a collar, or if an animal escapes the boundary

Without a cellular network, you can:

• Contain your livestock in the virtual boundary using GPS and other GNSS satellites rather than cell towers

• Remove pastures from the collar using Bluetooth connectivity

• Locate collars using an “audio locate” feature over Bluetooth

Coverage levels

Understanding what coverage levels you have in your area can help you know what to expect from your Nofence system.

Strong coverage (80%+)

Updates from the entire herd every 15 minutes. Welfare and escape alerts arrive immediately.

Suited for: Target grazers, goats for hire, precision grazing.

Patchy coverage (around 40%)

Updates from the herd every 30 minutes. Welfare and escape alerts when in coverage. The virtual fence works regardless of connection.

Suited for: Most operations with mixed coverage.

Minimal or none (0–10%)

The virtual fence still works using GPS. You'll get infrequent updates, and can remove livestock using Bluetooth from your phone when on-site.

Suited for: Large pastures with seasonal moves (40m²+).

How do I know if I'll have coverage? 

In the United States, Nofence uses AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Together, these cover a significant portion of the United States. However, we know that coverage can be patchy in some rural and remote areas.

With our HerdNet™ technology, only one collar in the entire herd needs a connection to receive and share updates to the entire herd.

Even without cellular service, your herd will remain contained

The collars don't need a cell connection to enforce boundaries. They only need it to receive changes you make in the app, or to send information back to you. GPS always keeps the virtual fence active. For live updates on health and other notifications, some amount of a cellular coverage will be needed.