Bolt Not Locating

Modified on Fri, 19 Jun at 3:17 PM

BoltTroubleshootingLast updated: 06/18/2026

Bolt Not Locating

Steps to follow when your Bolt fails to report a location, plus the most common reasons it won't locate.

There are several potential reasons a Bolt may not locate. Please follow the steps below, if your Bolt does not locate after following these steps, please contact Datablaze Support via email.

IMPORTANT: Read through the steps for each option prior to attempting to follow the instructions. These step assume that you have the Bolt with you. If the Bolt is deployed on an asset that is being tracked, attempt to reboot the device. To learn how to reboot remotely, see the "Sending Commands" article or CLICK HERE.

The Bolt is powered on (light is flashing):

With a paper clip or something similar in size, carefully press the Power Off button found next to the charging port under the rubber side cover.

With Bolt powered off, be ready to walk outdoors. Then, plug the Bolt into the charger (with the charger plugged in to a power outlet).

Wait 5-10 seconds, then remove the charger from the charging port on the Bolt and walk outdoors with clear open sky above you.

Remain outdoors until you see the blue GPS light change from a fast blink to a solid blue light. (solid blue light will stay lit for a few seconds).

Bolt is powered off (no lights on Bolt):

With Bolt powered off, be ready to walk outdoors. Then, plug the Bolt into the charger (with the charger plugged in to a power outlet).

Wait 5-10 seconds, then remove the charger from the charging port on the Bolt and walk outdoors with clear open sky above you.

Remain outdoors until you see the blue GPS light change from a fast blink to a solid blue light. (solid blue light will stay lit for a few seconds).

Potential reasons your Bolt will not locate:

Poor/No cellular coverage - Many rural areas have poor cellular coverage. While carriers continue to expand their networks, coverage is becoming more and more available in rural areas. However, if you reside in a rural area with poor cellular coverage, your Bolt may have a hard time connecting to the cellular network.

Poor/No GPS coverage - Unlike cellular coverage, GPS coverage is not typically affected by geographic areas. However, GPS coverage is affected by physical obstacles. For example, if you place the Bolt in, under, or surrounded by metal it will not be able to get a GPS signal. Therefore, when using and/or placing the Bolt, be sure that there is no metal directly over the front of the device (the side with the light). For information on placement see the Bolt Placement article or CLICK HERE.

Device not charged/battery has died - The Bolt has an internal Lithium-Polymer battery, similar to the battery in your smartphone. The Bolt must be charged in order to operate. If you do not have the device with you, a way to determine if if the battery has died is to login to your Datablaze LiveTrack app, or the Datablaze Web Portal and view the last report containing the battery percentage. Chances are the last report sent will show less than 5% battery life. Therefore, you must recover the device and fully charge it.

Device is stored indoors - As stated above, the Bolt requires GPS satellite coverage in order to obtain a location. Therefore, the device should not be placed indoors for successful tracking. Depending on the building, you may be able to obtain a location indoors. However, locations reported while indoors may be inaccurate and will suffer from GPS drift. GPS drift happens when the Bolt cannot see enough satellites to obtain an accurate location fix. The result of GPS drift is a cluster of locations in and around the area of the building, even though the device has not moved.