Every dog owner who’s ever hiked into the backcountry knows the fear: what happens if my dog bolts somewhere the GPS signal can’t follow? A New York-based pet tech company believes it has finally closed that gap — by sending the answer into orbit.
Fi, a smart pet technology company, has launched the Fi Ultra, which it’s calling the world’s first consumer wearable powered by T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service running on SpaceX’s Starlink network. In plain terms, it’s a dog tracker that can keep transmitting a location even when there isn’t a single cell tower for miles.
Why This Matters for Every Dog Owner
Traditional GPS trackers — including Fi’s own earlier models, along with competitors like Tractive and Garmin — rely entirely on ground-based LTE towers to relay a dog’s whereabouts back to an owner’s phone. The moment a dog wanders past the last tower, the signal simply goes dark.
Fi Ultra is designed to solve exactly that blind spot. SpaceX has placed more than 650 satellites in orbit that function like floating cell towers, communicating directly with LTE-enabled devices on the ground — no dish or special equipment required. The Fi Ultra taps into that network the instant cellular service disappears.
“Our mission has always been to strengthen the human-animal connection via data, to give dogs more freedom while keeping them safe,” said Jonathan Bensamoun, co-founder and CEO of Fi.
How the Technology Works
The device automatically toggles between LTE, when available, and T-Satellite with Starlink the moment networks are out of reach — all without the owner lifting a finger. That means continuous, real-time location updates whether a dog is trotting through a city park or exploring deep, remote wilderness with no cell signal at all.
Fi Ultra also carries over the company’s signature Fi Callback training feature, a sound-and-vibration-based system — with no static shock involved — designed to call dogs back to their owners on command. Owners can trigger “Lost Mode” for heightened tracking if a dog goes missing, and a “Search Party” feature can quietly enlist nearby Fi users to help detect a lost dog’s signal.
One trade-off worth knowing: because the GPS stays continuously active to enable satellite tracking, battery life is shorter than on Fi’s earlier models, though the company says it still delivers multi-day use on a single charge.
Built for Adventure, Compatible with What You Already Own
Fi Ultra is designed to fit dogs of any size and works with standard collars and harnesses. Owners already using a Fi Series 3 or Series 3+ collar can simply snap the new Ultra module onto their existing setup, and established Fi customers can upgrade for a flat $299.
The company says a Safe Zone feature, which will trigger sound and vibration alerts if a dog strays outside a set boundary, is coming soon.
A Bigger Leap for Pet Safety Technology
This launch lands at a moment when pet tech is evolving fast, and connectivity gaps have long been the industry’s biggest unsolved problem. By pairing a wearable pet device with satellite-grade coverage, Fi is pushing the entire GPS pet tracker category toward a future where “no signal” no longer means “no way to find your dog.”
For pet parents anywhere in the world who’ve ever felt that jolt of panic watching a dog vanish into the trees, that shift can’t come soon enough.
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