PowerCut
The tracker has lost battery power. Check whether the vehicle was serviced, and whether the unit came back online on its own.
Alerts reference · The TTC platform
Vehicle Tracker Alerts Explained
What each alert means, what set it off, and what to do about it. Every alert type is included in the standard subscription — nothing here costs extra.
- Every alert included
- Push, email, WhatsApp
- No per-alert fee
- Updated Sep 2026
01 · The alert types
What alerts can a vehicle tracker send?
A tracker reports far more than location. The Tracking Co platform sends alerts on speed, ignition, movement, idling, geofence crossings, how long a unit has been offline, and loss of power — plus hardware events such as jamming and towing on Teltonika units. Every one of them is configured by you and included at R50 per vehicle per month.
Alert
What sets it off
What it is for
Overspeed
The vehicle exceeds a speed limit you set.
Set it to your own threshold. Many fleets run 120 or 130 km/h.
Ignition ON/OFF
The vehicle is started or switched off.
Scheduled after hours, it tells you the moment a vehicle is started when it should not be.
Start of movement
The vehicle begins moving.
Scheduled overnight — say 5pm to 8am — for vehicles that should be standing still.
Idle duration
The engine runs without the vehicle moving for longer than you allow.
Catches idling, which burns fuel without appearing anywhere on a route report.
Stop duration
The vehicle stays stationary longer than a set time.
Overlong stops at a site, or a break that has run well past its window.
Move duration
The vehicle has been driving longer than a set time.
Driving-hours oversight on long-distance work.
Ignition duration
The ignition stays on longer than a set time.
Pairs with idle duration on plant and vehicles that stand while running.
Offline duration
The tracker has not reported for longer than a set time.
Whatever the cause — lost power, no signal, or a fault. Usually the first sign a vehicle has dropped off the map.
Geofence In / Out / In-Out
The vehicle enters or leaves a zone you have drawn.
Depots, customer sites, and no-go areas. Records arrival and departure times.
Custom events
An event reported by the tracker hardware itself.
PowerCut, voltage thresholds, jamming, towing, crash detection and harsh driving. Some are device-dependent — see below.
Availability depends on the device fitted. Hardwired trackers report power and voltage; the plug-in OBD Mini does not carry the full set. Check which tracker suits you →
02 · Power alerts
What does a PowerCut alert mean?
A PowerCut alert means the tracker has lost its connection to the vehicle battery. Most of the time the explanation is ordinary — the battery came off during a service, a terminal worked loose, or the vehicle stood long enough to go flat. Occasionally it is someone interfering with the unit. The alert fires either way, because a tracker without power is a tracker that stops reporting.
The exact label depends on the hardware — Teltonika units report a Teltonika PowerCut, and other device families report their own equivalent. Some other tracking platforms call the same thing a power event. It is the same underlying condition either way: the tracker is no longer being fed by the vehicle.
Voltage is handled separately, and more usefully. The tracker reads the vehicle battery voltage and reports it live, and The Tracking Co can set a custom alert at whatever threshold you want — not just at zero. That turns a failing battery into something you deal with on a Tuesday morning rather than a call from a stranded driver. A PowerCut is worth sending to WhatsApp; it is one of the few alerts that usually needs attention the same day.
Voltage thresholds
Set a custom alert at any voltage you choose. Zero Volts is just the extreme case — pick a level that warns you while the battery can still be replaced on your terms.
Offline duration
Fires whenever a unit stops reporting for longer than you allow, for any reason — including a vehicle that has crossed the border without roaming.
03 · Hardware
Which alerts need Teltonika hardware?
Harsh driving, towing, jamming, crash detection and SOS are worked out by the tracker itself rather than by the platform, so they only run on Teltonika units. In The Tracking Co range that means the FMC920 and the FMC880. Everything in the main list above — overspeed, ignition, movement, idle, geofence and offline duration — runs on any tracker.
Driver behaviour events are the one set worth understanding before you buy. They need the motion sensor in an FMC920 or FMC880, and the device has to be configured and calibrated for them — it is not automatic on a standard install. They are live alerts on individual events, not a driver score or a ranking. The Tracking Co does not offer driver scoring.
Driver behaviour
Harsh Cornering, Harsh Braking, and Harsh Acceleration. FMC920 or FMC880 only, and only once the unit is configured to collect them.
Security and safety
SOS, Towing, Jamming, and Crash Detection. Also Teltonika-only. Jamming and Towing are the two most fleets switch on first.
On every device
Overspeed, Ignition ON/OFF, Start of movement, the duration alerts, Geofence In/Out, and PowerCut. No hardware upgrade needed.
Not sure which unit you need? The device chooser walks through it in a few questions.
04 · Scheduling
Can you schedule when an alert is active?
Yes — and it is the difference between alerts you act on and alerts you learn to ignore. Every alert type on the platform can be given a time window, so it only fires when the behaviour actually matters.
A movement alert set to run from 5pm to 8am reports overnight trips and says nothing during the working day, when movement is the whole point. An ignition alert scheduled after hours fires the moment a vehicle is started outside approved times — useful for any business whose staff take vehicles home. You set the windows yourself and change them whenever the operation changes.
05 · Coordinating with customers
Can you send a customer a live link to a vehicle?
Yes. The platform generates a live location link for any vehicle, and you can send it to anyone — a customer waiting on a delivery, or a client asking where the crew has got to. They see where the vehicle is right now and nothing else: no trip history, no other vehicles, no access to your account.
It is the feature admin staff and fleet coordinators reach for most. A construction supplier running deliveries to several sites can answer "where is my order" with a link instead of a phone call to the driver. Pair it with geofences on the customers you visit regularly, and you also get a record of when each vehicle arrived and when it left — useful when a delivery window is disputed, and useful for reps logging trips for a petrol claim.
Right now only
The recipient sees current position. No history, no other vehicles, no login.
Arrival records
Geofence a regular customer and every visit is logged — time in, time out.
No extra cost
Part of the standard subscription, like every other feature on this page.
06 · Service reminders
How does the platform know a vehicle is due a service?
It builds a virtual odometer from the vehicle's own GPS trips, counting real distance driven. Nobody has to read a dashboard or keep a spreadsheet. Set your interval and the reminder arrives on its own.
Say a vehicle runs a 15,000 km service interval and was last serviced at 15,000 km. The odometer currently reads 20,000. When it reaches 30,000 km, the notification lands by email or push — in time to book the vehicle in rather than after the fact. Set a different interval per vehicle where the fleet is mixed.
07 · Getting it right
Which alerts should a fleet set up first?
Three cover most of it. Everything else can wait until you know what you actually want to hear about.
Start of movement or Ignition ON/OFF, scheduled after hours
Geofence In/Out on the depot and regular customers
Overspeed at your own limit
PowerCut sent to WhatsApp
Offline duration, so a silent tracker surfaces
A voltage threshold on older vehicles
Idle duration on vehicles that stand and run
Send urgent alerts to WhatsApp or push and low-urgency ones to email — that split is what keeps people reading them. Step-by-step setup is in the alerts guide, and zones are covered in the geofencing guide.
08 · Common questions
Alert questions, answered.
What does a PowerCut alert mean?
A PowerCut alert means the tracker has lost its connection to the vehicle battery. Usually that is something ordinary — the battery was removed during a service, a terminal worked loose, or the vehicle sat long enough to go flat. Occasionally it is someone interfering with the unit. The Tracking Co platform sends it either way, because a tracker that has lost power is a tracker that will stop reporting. Some other tracking platforms call the same thing a power event. Check the vehicle, and check whether the unit came back online on its own.
Can you set an alert for low battery voltage?
Yes. A hardwired tracker reads the vehicle battery voltage and reports it live to The Tracking Co platform, and a custom alert can be set at any threshold you choose — you are not limited to a zero-volts warning. It is the earliest notice available that a battery is failing, so the vehicle gets booked in rather than stranding a driver at a customer. Voltage alerts are included in the standard subscription at R50 per vehicle per month.
Can you schedule when an alert is active?
Yes, and it is what makes alerts usable rather than noise. Every alert type on The Tracking Co platform can be given a schedule. A movement alert set to run from 5pm to 8am tells you about overnight trips and stays quiet through the working day. An ignition alert scheduled after hours fires the moment a vehicle is started outside approved times. You set the windows and change them whenever the operation changes.
Which alerts should a fleet set up first?
Start with three. A scheduled after-hours movement or ignition alert covers the vehicles staff take home. Geofences on your depot and your regularly visited customers give you arrival and departure times without anyone phoning in. An overspeed alert set to your own limit covers the driving itself. The Tracking Co includes every alert type in the R50 per vehicle per month subscription — there is nothing to unlock and no premium alert pack.
How do alerts reach you?
By push notification, email, or WhatsApp, and you choose per alert. Most fleets send low-urgency items like service reminders to email and keep push or WhatsApp for things that need a response now, such as a PowerCut or an after-hours ignition. The Tracking Co does not limit how many alerts you create or how many people receive them, and there is no per-notification charge.
Can the platform remind you when a vehicle is due a service?
Yes. The Tracking Co platform builds a virtual odometer from the vehicle’s own GPS trips, so it counts real distance driven without anyone reading a dashboard. Set your service interval and the platform notifies you when the vehicle reaches it. If a vehicle was last serviced at 15,000 km on a 15,000 km interval, the reminder arrives when the odometer reaches 30,000 km. Reminders come by email or push like any other alert.
Can you send a customer a live link to a vehicle?
Yes. The platform generates a live location link you can send to anyone — a customer waiting on a delivery, or a client asking where the crew is. They see where the vehicle is right now and nothing else: no trip history, no other vehicles, no access to your account. It is the feature admin staff and fleet coordinators use most when they are dealing with customers directly.
Which alerts only work on certain trackers?
Harsh Cornering, Harsh Braking, Harsh Acceleration, Towing, Jamming, Crash Detection and SOS are generated by the tracker hardware, so they require a Teltonika device — the FMC920 or FMC880 in The Tracking Co range. Driver behaviour events additionally need the unit configured and calibrated for them, and they are individual live alerts rather than a driver score. Overspeed, ignition, movement, idle, geofence, offline and PowerCut alerts run on any tracker.
Do extra alerts cost more?
No. Every alert type described on this page is part of the standard The Tracking Co subscription at R50 per vehicle per month. There is no premium alert bundle, no per-alert fee, and no limit on how many you create. Alerts are configured by you on the platform rather than requested from The Tracking Co, so you can add, change, or switch one off whenever you need to.
Alerts are one part of running tracking yourself — see self-monitored vehicle tracking for the full picture, or GPS fleet tracking if you are running a fleet.
Ready to start tracking?
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