If the Bounce stops tracking your son once he leaves the house, it’s usually because the app can’t run properly in the background. Make sure his phone has location set to Always, background refresh and mobile data enabled, and battery‑saving features turned off for the app. Also check that the app stays logged in and restart the device. These steps typically fix both the live tracking and messaging issues.
We've had nothing but issues with both the garmin Bounce devices our two kids have.
They constantly fail to deliver and send messages despite no connectivity issues.
They constantly fail to provide location updates, rarely notify when our kids travel through geofenced areas, and hardly ever refresh accurately.
Garmin support has been terrible. The number of times we've been asked to factory reset the devices or restart is painful.
Garmins next best solution is to send the device (purchased new) back to garmin, only to be replaced with a second hand refurbished unit, not to mention the time the child is without a device while all the postage plays out... oh, or they'll happily take your money in a holding account while they send you one and wait for yours to be returned.
Battery life is terrible too. With minimal to no activity, the battery barely lasts a full school day.
I wouldn't recommend these to anyone. A dumb phone would be far more reliable and practical.
