New Traccar Project With Smartwatches
HW Ultra 2 Call: Hardware GPS Limitations Explained (ASR8601 SoC)
For anyone trying to use the HW Ultra 2 Call (or similar budget Android "Ultra" clones) with Traccar, please be aware that the device does not have a discrete, dedicated external GPS chip.
Its satellite receiver is baked directly into the main ASR8601 processor, meaning it relies entirely on an integrated system. This architecture is the primary reason why these low-cost Android watches suffer from slow satellite lock times, frequent disconnects, and drifting tracks in your tracking logs.
Here is a breakdown of why a true external GPS chip makes such a massive difference in accuracy compared to this integrated budget SoC:
| Feature | Integrated SoC (e.g., HW Ultra 2) | True External GPS (e.g., Garmin, Apple Watch Ultra) |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | GNSS receiver shares the same silicon wafer as the CPU and 4G modem. | A completely separate, dedicated processor (like a Sony or Broadcom GPS chip). |
| Electrical Noise | High interference. The 4G cellular modem and CPU generate massive electrical noise right next to the GPS receiver. | Shielded and isolated. The chip sits on its own section of the board, protected from interference. |
| Frequency Bands | Single-band (L1 only). Struggles to read signals bouncing off buildings or trees. | Dual-frequency (L1 + L5). Uses two distinct satellite signals to instantly filter out errors and reflections. |
| Battery & Power | Power-throttled. The watch has to aggressively lower the GPS sampling rate to prevent the battery from draining instantly. | Power-optimized. The separate chip is mathematically tuned only to calculate coordinates efficiently. |
The Bottom Line
While the HW Ultra 2's GPS is "real" (meaning it is not a fake firmware/software emulation), it cannot compete with dedicated hardware. The combination of a budget integrated SoC, severe electrical noise from the onboard 4G antenna, and a tiny internal frame antenna means its Traccar tracking path will always be prone to drifting—especially near tall buildings or heavy tree cover.
I am not saying Garmin, Apple Watch Ultra is an option. But you could better use a watch that has real external gps. GPS watches typicly using apps like setracker, wonlex, garett, aibeile etc can be used. But also there you need to make sure with the manufacturer/supplier that the device has real external gps from the pcb and that the ip can be changed and that the data send is not encrypted. Then you can use the watch protocol.
@jotadk, we don't specifically build for watches, but if you want to send us a sample device, we can try optimizing the app for it.
@Track-trace, I don't think you're answering the question the person is asking. Please keep answers on topic.
@Anton,
Ok, but actually i just wanted to point out to @jotadk that a device like the HW 2 CALL ULTRA that uses a built in gps chip as the ASR8601 processor does, That gps will never be able to compare with watches that have real external gps in the watch. For instance i tested many SoC android watches (wholesale price 40 - 80$) which have very inferior gps tracking, compared to gps watches with external gps that cost between 10 to 30 $. So the question is, is it a good idear to invest in these HW 2 CALL ULTRA devices while the gps tracking is way worse then devices that cost less then half the price?
That's fine, but you're doing it extremely aggressive. It's fine to make a comment, but you need to dial down it a bit.
Ok Anton, Thanks for the notice.
Hello,
Traccar is a great platform, and for us it has become an essential part of our project. It works very well on Android smartphones and also on iPhones.
However, we are currently having an issue with the smartwatch that will be the main device used in our project.
We tried installing Traccar Client both from the Google Play Store and manually using the APK. The installation completes successfully, but when we open the app, it stays on a blank white screen indefinitely and never loads the interface.
The smartwatch details are:
Model: HW 2 CALL ULTRA
Operating System: Watch AOS
We would like to understand whether this could be related to:
Is there any older version, alternative APK, lightweight build, customized version, or specific configuration that you would recommend for this type of smartwatch?
If necessary, we can also provide information about the Android version, CPU architecture, WebView version, logs, or any other technical details that could help diagnose the issue.
Our goal is simply to use the smartwatch to periodically send its GPS location to our Traccar Server.
Thank you very much for developing and maintaining Traccar, and thank you for your time and support.
Best regards,
João Pedro