Practically speaking, a true GPS tracker has no range limit. It works in two steps: satellites tell the tracker where it is, and the cellular network sends that location to your phone. So the real question isn't "how far can it reach" — it's "is there cell coverage where the bike is?" If your stolen bike ends up three states away, you'll still see it on the map as long as it's somewhere with a cell signal.
This is the key difference from Bluetooth tags like AirTags, which have a genuinely short radio range (roughly 30 feet or so) and rely on strangers' phones passing nearby to relay a location. That works fine in a city, but a bike in a rural garage or a box truck on the highway can go quiet for hours or days.
Where GPS trackers do struggle:
- Deep underground parking garages or steel shipping containers can block both GPS and cell signal.
- Very remote areas with no cellular coverage mean the tracker logs its position but can't report it until coverage returns.
For theft recovery, cellular GPS is the standard for a reason: nationwide reach, live location on your phone, and movement alerts the moment the bike shifts.
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