In this video, personal security and identity‑theft expert Robert Siciliano unboxes and reviews the SPOT Gen3 personal locator beacon. He begins by describing his adventurous lifestyle—motorcycling, marathon running, boating, hiking, and skiing—and explains why a satellite‑based safety device is essential when out of cellular range. He walks through the packaging, showing the device’s compact, Post‑it‑note size, its four Energizer batteries, micro‑USB port, waterproof seal, and mounting options. Siciliano demonstrates the power, SOS, and Help Assist buttons, explaining how SOS triggers a 911‑linked emergency signal and how Help Assist can notify professional services or pre‑selected contacts for a fee. He reviews the online dashboard and mobile app that provide real‑time GPS tracking, waypoint sharing, and family access. Coverage maps reveal global satellite reach (96 % success within 20 minutes) with some maritime gaps, and he cites over 4,000 rescues attributed to SPOT devices. Subscription plans are detailed: basic tracking ($50/yr), extreme tracking ($150/yr) with adjustable intervals, GEOS membership ($18/yr) offering up to $100,000 in search‑and‑rescue coordination, and Spot Assist roadside assistance ($30/yr). He highlights GEOS’s underground operations center and the extensive rescue infrastructure it can mobilize. Waterproof specifications (1 m depth for 30 min) and charging limitations are noted. Purchasing tips include a current REI rebate that can offset the $150 device cost when a service plan is purchased. Siciliano concludes that the SPOT Gen3 is an inexpensive, life‑saving tool for outdoor and travel safety, recommending it for anyone who ventures beyond cellular coverage.
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Hi, so I am Robert Siciliano, personal security and identity theft expert. I speak to all things, you know, personal safety and security. That means avoiding predators and thieves, and in some cases keeping yourself safe and secure from just about anything, including numerous survival situations. I consider myself a bit of an adventurer. You know, I ride an '87 Harley-Davidson Low Rider, so I'm on the road quite a bit, you know, going long distances. I run marathons for Boston in children's hospitals, so it's not out of the ordinary for me to strap on the sneakers at 5, 6 o'clock in the morning and be gone for several hours going through woods, running trails, and my family might not know where I'm at. In some cases, I might be out of cellular range. And I'm also an avid boater, so I'm on the water quite a bit, often with my family, sometimes with friends. And we can go a mile or more offshore, and sometimes out of range for cellular service. And then on top of all that, I do some hiking, I'm hiking and skiing, and so I'm on the mountains quite a bit. And with that, you might need, or I need at some point in time, a device that would assist me, assist me in addition to my mobile phone. And right here is the SPOT GEN3 Personal Locator Beacon. There are a handful of personal locator beacons in the market. This is one of the better ones, if not the best one. This is an unboxing video, and along with some information about its features and benefits. As you can see, you know, they show it, you know, for your flying, walking through the woods, hiking, boating, and so forth. The device itself is about the size of a Post-it note, so it's not really that big. It can fit in your pocket or on your backpack. Box shows, you know, SOS tracking, checking in. It has the Help Spot Assist. And then the back of the box shows all kinds of information about, you know, what it does and how it works and so forth. So let's take this out of the box and see what it looks like, see what it does. All right, basically comes with batteries, right? So you can see it's got, looks like 4 Energizer batteries that go in the back of the box. It's got a charging cable and maybe for also updating its firmware on a micro USB. And then the device itself, like I had said earlier, it's about the size of a Post-it note. I'm gonna pull that right out here real quick. And it's also got something you can throw on the back of your backpack if you wanted to hang it off your backpack. But pulling it out of the box, Seems easy enough. Again, like I said, about the size of a Post-it note, um, not too thick, maybe about half inch to almost 3/4 of an inch thick. The back of it looks like it's got a waterproof seal for the micro USB connection. Open these up to get access to the battery. We'll do that real quick just to see, so you can see what's going on there. Nice that, um, the screws stay, uh, on the device. They don't fall off, right? So that's, that's nice. So you can see this ring right here that, uh, gives you an idea that it's, you know, somewhat waterproof. We'll get into more about that in a little bit. And then the box, it has the quick reference guide along with information about, um, Geos, which we will be talking about soon enough. So here's the device. Looks like it's got a power button over here, and it's got its SOS button. So you open that little flap, press that button, and it's going to send help. Again, talk about more on that in a bit. And then it's got this, uh, Help Assist button. Press this button and it will either send a message to a professional service that will assist you if you pay a couple extra bucks for it, Or it'll send a message to, I believe, friend or family. You can do that here and here to get additional assistance for no additional fee. But the base price for this thing is $150 a year, and then $17 or $18 for additional services, which again, I'll explain how that works momentarily. So that's the Spot Assist, that's the device. This is the back of it, throw the batteries in it. Again, this is where you update the firmware. And pretty much simple device. Go to the web because that's where all the information is. You can only look at the device so much to get data. So here, here's the website. It's findmespot.com. Latest generation of award-winning SPOT devices gives you critical life-saving line of communication and 100% satellite technology. Again, this thing works, you know, when you don't have access to your mobile phone. And in many cases, you know, in the water, in the mountains, and so forth, you're not going to have access to your mobile phone. Plus, this thing sends, uh, with this, with a paid option, it'll send services to your location, which again I'll describe momentarily. So that's the home page for the Spot Gen3. And here's a little bit more information about it. Offers peace of mind by allowing you to track your assets, notify friends and family of your GPS location, uh, mark waypoints, shows you where you are via Google Maps, and so on. So people can log in and watch where you're at via a mobile application. And then here's the coverage. I mean, that's pretty significant right there. That's all of North America and South America, most of all of Europe, most of Asia. Looks like maybe a little bit of India is not on there. Most of Africa, or the southern part of Africa, northern part of Africa. All of Australia, looks like China, all of Asia. So it does have quite a bit of range in which it's covered. So you can be pretty much anywhere in the world. Looks like about 96% or better probability of successfully sending a signal within 20 minutes. It has a reduced coverage area on the waters in certain places, looks like off the coast, but I mean, that's If you're out here on a sailboat, you know, good luck to you anyways, but there's other devices that might work effectively for that as well. So that's the coverage. And then, um, look at this, 4,000 rescues and counting. So it looks like, you know, good parts of North America, even Central America and South America, parts of Europe and Australia, obviously, uh, parts of Africa. So, you know, this has been successful for 4,000+ people have been rescued as a result of having this device on their person or in their vehicle. And then here's a few different plans that it offers. So for your basic tracking, looks like, you know, $50 a year. And so this device, you know, you press this button right here and it'll begin to track, you know, 2 minutes out to, I think, every hour more or less. And it works on motion too, so if it's not moving, it won't track. Which it'll broadcast your most recent location. And when it's not tracking, that means it's saving battery, which is nice. So that's $50 for that. Here's a little bit of information about the tracking. Provides an easy way to share your outdoor adventures. It's also a great safety feature depending on why you choose to use SpotIt. Share your GPS coordinates. So if you're a biker, whether it's bicycle, motorcyclist, if you're on a, on a boat like I am, skiing in the mountains and so on. Uh, it has unlimited tracking and extreme tracking. Extreme tracking is $150 a year, right? That's, um, all the great features, unlimited tracking with the ability to vary a track rate, uh, 2.5 minutes or up to an hour, I believe, more or less. And you can share your adventures via social and other options. All right, and then, uh, Geos. This is what I like the most about it. Geos provides, uh, the SOS 911 monitoring including in your basic service. Uh, it can upgrade to the Geos member benefit, uh, of up to $100,000 in search and rescue. So it's like $18 a year right there, which I definitely did that. Like, why wouldn't you do that for $18 a year? And, um, that, you know, is like the ultimate as far as search and rescue goes. Like, you— they, they send out teams to find you. Uh, here is the information about that. Geo Search and Rescue provides emergency rescue coordination. I mean, imagine like you press a button and bang, there's a helicopter, there's law enforcement, there's ambulances, there's like just crazy search and rescue teams, you know, looking to find you. Like, that's pretty intense for $18 a year. You're in a boat, you know, they're going to send out the Coast Guard. Um, you're in a, you know, you're running through trails, they're going to send out one type of team or another. You're on a motorcycle, they're gonna certainly send law enforcement. I mean, that's a pretty big deal right there. You know, that— I thought this was kind of interesting, like the, the GEO team, right? They have like an underground bunker, diesel generator backup, 2 underground wells for water supply, air filtration system. Like, this is like where they're, they're based out of, like an underground bunker to make sure that no matter what goes on in the world, the GEOs are gonna send out a team to you. Here's their actual website. Like, that's, that's a pretty big deal right there. This is all their rescues. Like, you know, for $18 a year, I would— that in and of itself is worth carrying this device in your car, on your bike, on your bicycle, on your boat, on your person, no matter where, no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing. Like, that right there, I mean, this is like— that's, that's it right there. Like, that's why you should have this thing, above and beyond everything else, right? And so, uh, Spot Assist— this is an additional, um, fee, I think, for, uh, uh, $30 a year for roadside. And, uh, let me see, that was, um, Spot Assist, Spot Adventures. Spot Assist right there, $30 a year for roadside assistance and a few other things. Uh, provide satellite-based notification to professional services to help you out. You know, that's roadside assistance. I get that through AAA, but that's pretty good right there. I mean, that's great for $30. That's cheap. And then, um, talked about, uh, GEOS, which is fantastic. And here is, uh, the new account activation, just to kind of show you what it looks like. It's like, it's not scary. You know, once you get the device, it's in the box, um, they provide you a link to go to with, uh, you plug in your own username and password. And then once you log in, it has all the various codes that you plug in. And then basically it registers your device with Spot's website. And then from there, you know, here I'm all registered right now. So, you know, this is my device getting started, right? And here's the my device settings. So this is everything about your device. You can update your device. I'm actually due for an update, right? So here's your dashboard. Everything happens right here. Easy enough. You know, and then it shows you about the SOS alerts, how it all works, your locations. Like, so here's like a bit of your dashboard that shows, you know, where you are and where you've been. And you can provide others like your family, you know, your— like my dad will get access to this so he knows where I'm at. Plus I can also do that on a mobile application. And that's here, that brings me to the app. So I'm gonna have this, I have this on my mobile phone, my wife has this on her mobile phone, my dad has this on his mobile phone. So everybody and my life that I want them to know where I'm at, what's going on, how to track me. They're going to have access to, you know, my credentials so they can see where my Spot Gen3 is at all times, you know. And when I send off an alert, you know, they can see where I'm at and, you know, if they can send me assistance if needed. Or, you know, if it's like an emergency emergency, um, they, you know, obviously, uh, I would hit the SOS button myself. So that's the Spot app, which is a great feature. And here is the manual. So this is a PDF manual, spotuserguide.pdf, which is nice. You know, a good thing about it is like you want to search something, right? So I have the word water plugged into search and I hit enter, and there's 4 mentions of water in the app. So I just hit the down button, right? And it says the Spot, if you use you use it to power up, uh, via that micro USB is not waterproof while it's being powered, which makes total sense because it's hooked up to your laptop or whatever. And then, um, you know, more searches, it talks about it's waterproof up to a depth of, depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. So, you know, there's limited, um, functionality if it's submerged in the water. So if you are actually like on a boat and you go in the water, you want this thing to be at the very top or strapped to the top of your life jacket so it's not underwater while you're kind of swimming around waiting for, say, the Coast Guard. Now, certainly if you're a mariner, there are other tools, other personal locator beacons that are an option for you, but this is one of them. And it's relatively inexpensive as well. It's $150 to buy it outright. And here, if you do some searches, like I searched Spot Gen3 rebate, and bang, right off the bat at REI shows that there's a rebate right now, which means you get $150 off of whatever Spot device you buy. And it, right now, you know, it expires shortly, But, you know, when you're in the market to buy one of these, I would do that quick rebate and you'll see what your options are to buy one and get a rebate. Basically, you buy the device, get a rebate for how much it costs. So you're getting the device for free as long as you're investing in one of the plans, you know, to locate it, to track it, for emergency, whatever the case is. So there is a, you know, a little bit of a catch there, but it's not, you know, significant. Like, you're going to make that investment anyways. Into the service itself, so you can get it for free. So that's the Spot Gen. I'll do a review on the Spot Trace, which is this device right here. It's like a GPS for your vehicle, for your boat, for your motorcycle, whatever, if you're a camper. I'll be doing a review on that pretty shortly, but check out the Spot Gen3. It's a great little device that could potentially save your life, get you assistance. For you, your family, and so on. And definitely a solid recommendation, great product. And, you know, small, you know, and there's all kinds of accessories you can buy. You can clip it to your belt, clip it to your boat somewhere, clip it to your backpack. Just, you know, check them out on Amazon and you'll see what all your options are to secure this thing to whatever, you know, part of your, again, body, backpack, boat, bike, whatever, so that it's that much more functional, that much more portable for you. Thanks so much. I'm Robert Siciliano, personal security and identity theft expert. See me at robertsiciliano.com or idtheftsecurity.com. Take care.
