Greenlight Safe Family Device: Troubleshooting issues when location tracking or place alerts are not working

If your Safe Family device is set up but location isn't updating or place alerts aren't coming through, work through the steps below. If you're still in the process of setting up your device, see Troubleshooting your Greenlight Safe Family device setup instead.

Tip: Normal location updates occur every 1–5 minutes depending on your settings. If you've just changed your frequency setting, allow up to 10 minutes for those changes to take effect before troubleshooting further.

The location of my Greenlight Safe Family device is not updating. What can I do?

Step 1: Check your device's battery charge. In your app's Safety dashboard, open your device's profile — you'll see a battery indicator there. If your device is running low, plug it in to charge. It will light up to let you know it's charging, and turn solid green when fully charged.

Step 2: Check your device's signal. You can also see your device's most recent signal strength under its profile in the app. If the device is in a location with weak or no cellular coverage, it won't be able to send location updates.

Tip: Move the device to a less obstructed spot — like an outer pocket, a bag strap, or your child's pocket rather than inside a backpack or school cubby. Less obstruction means a better chance of maintaining a strong signal, especially in areas with low connectivity.

Step 3: Check your device's location update frequency. If your device is charged and has a signal, it's possible the update frequency is set to provide only occasional updates. To check or adjust this:

1. Tap the "Settings" gear on the top right corner of the device's "Safe Family Device" status bar (the bar that shows Frequency, Battery, and Signal)
2. Tap "Device tracking"
3. Select the update frequency that works best for your needs, from every 1 minute to every 4 hours

Important: The more frequent your location updates, the shorter your device's battery life.

Step 4: Verify you have an active subscription. If your data plan subscription has been cancelled or your payment method couldn't be charged, your device will stop updating location after your final billing cycle ends. To update your subscription or payment method:

1. Tap "Billing & Payment" in your device's settings and follow the prompts

Tip: On your mobile device? Tap the link below to go directly to the Billing page in your app: greenlightme://settings/billing-history 

My Greenlight Safe Family device is not sending me place alerts. What can I do?

After working through the location troubleshooting steps above, here are a few more things to check if place alerts aren't coming through.

Step 1: Make sure public place alerts are turned on. Public place alerts notify you any time a device enters or leaves a geozone around a public location like a park, store, or school. On your device's profile in the safety dashboard, tap "Manage all place alerts", scroll down to "Public places", and toggle it ON for your device.

Step 2: Create custom alerts for specific locations. If public alerts are on but you're not getting notifications for locations more specific to your needs — like home, a soccer field, or a workplace — you can set these up manually. In the "My places" section of your Place alerts management screen, tap "Add a new place" and follow the in-app instructions.

Step 3: Check that your device is toggled on for existing place alerts. If you have a custom place alert set up but your device isn't triggering it, tap into that location's details and confirm your device is toggled ON to receive alerts for that location.

Step 4: Check that notifications are enabled for Greenlight on your phone. If you've disabled Greenlight notifications on your phone, place alerts won't come through. Navigate to your phone's settings, find the Greenlight app, and make sure notifications are turned on.

When should I contact support?

If you've worked through all of the steps above and things still aren't working as expected, our team can help. Please reach out to our Customer Service team at 888-483-2645 and a team member will be happy to assist you!