How to track livestock where there is no mobile signal
Updated 1 July 2026
Losing time looking for stock is one of the most common frustrations on a working farm. Livestock tracking can help — but only if it works where your animals actually are. Here is how to track livestock where mobile signal is poor.
Why signal is usually the problem
Most livestock GPS trackers put a SIM card and a mobile contract in every collar or tag, and send the location over the mobile network. That is fine where there is good coverage — but many UK farms have blackspots in the very fields, valleys and buildings where you need to find animals.
How a farm-owned network works instead
A farm-owned network uses a low-power, long-range radio link from each tag back to a gateway on the farm, rather than the mobile network. That means no SIM card in the tag and no per-animal mobile contract, and it is designed for the patchy-signal reality of working land.
- No SIM card in the tag; no per-animal mobile contract
- One farm gateway, one simple app
- Designed for fields, sheds and yards with poor coverage
What you can actually do with it
HerdHalo Locate gives you livestock location visibility across the farm and geofence-style alerts when animals move where they shouldn't, so you can find animals faster and keep an eye on the herd and flock. Coverage depends on your farm's layout, terrain, buildings and gateway placement.
Cattle, sheep and farm assets
The same approach suits cattle, sheep and valuable farm assets, subject to how the tag is attached and how the farm is set up.