Fi Smart Dog Collar Scratches Itch for Pet Owners
The Fi is a pricey, over-the-top gadget that allows you to micromanage your dog’s life. I absolutely love it.
Back in January, I had the opportunity to drive across the country with my partner and my one-year-old puppy, Strider. I have taken Strider on road trips before and he is fine on long hauls. But as our departure grew close, a worrying scenario took hold in my mind. I imagined Strider slipping the leash somewhere….Kansas, Ohio, Missouri?....and running off.
I had just enough time to order a Fi Smart Dog Collar.
The Fi sells for $129 plus a $100 annual wireless subscription plan, easily making it the most expensive dog collar I have ever purchased. If you don't own a dog, this seems super expensive. If you do, this is just one more irrational purchase that inevitably follows pet ownership.
The collar includes a GPS transmitter that will tell you your dog’s location with a one or two-minute delay. When indoors, the Fi uses WiFi and Bluetooth to track your dog's location, which is more accurate and power-efficient than using GPS indoors. This requires a WiFi base station that also charges the collar. I get more than two weeks on a single charge, but it will vary based on how much time you spend outside the house. The collar itself is solid and well-built, but not bulky. With an IP68 water/dust rating, you don't need to worry about it getting wet. At a glance, it looks like an ordinary collar.
The collar is pretty easy to set up through the app. After you connect the base station and load the Fi app, you can set up a safe area around your house where the dog can roam freely. If the dog leaves that space, you will get a notification on your phone. The app will also alert you if the dog is ever without an owner nearby. In my tests, I got an alert within two minutes of Strider leaving a safe zone. For me, this alone is worth the price.
Strider never escaped on my trip, but I still check the app every day. Fi has done a great job of adding additional dog tracking features to the experience. The most useful is probably the daily activity tracker. The app will track your dog's steps and miles walked every day, enabling you to set a daily goal. Even better, the app will compare this to other dogs of the same breed and location. At the moment, Strider ranks in the top 13% of all Fi dogs and is #933 of all Australian Shepherds.
How many Aussie Shepherds are in the Fi database? I have no idea, but clearly, he is a good dog.
If you take your dog for a walk, the Fi will map the route and include it on your profile. The Fi will also track the dog's sleep, including daily naps and late-night disruptions. I’m not sure any of that is really actionable, but pet owners will relish the data.
Of course, there is a profile page where you can upload pictures of your pup. I would say it is like Instagram for dogs, but of course, Instagram IS for dogs. This redundancy and near-total lack of utility did not stop me from uploading ten pictures of Strider.
I use an Oura ring to track my sleep and daily activity, but I only check my data a few times a week. I check the Fi app a few times a day. What’s more, I am rarely motivated to make my personal daily step goal, but seeing that Strider has had a sub-par day is enough to get me out the door regardless of the weather.
The Fi is a pricey, over-the-top gadget that allows you to micromanage your dog’s life. And I absolutely love it.
(Fi has a referral program. If you buy one, use the code H73GPR. Strider could get a new collar!)
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Three weeks in, we have hit some heavy topics in this newsletter. Crypto, disinformation, deep learning, climate change. I have had requests for more straight-up tech coverage, and this Fi Smart collar endorsement certainly fits that bill. If you want more posts like this, give the post a like or a share.