PhoneBeagle Android User Guide

 PhoneBeagle BlackBerry User Guide

 

 

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Introduction

PhoneBeagle has two components, a Recorder that is installed on your child's Android or BlackBerry phone that records activity and location, and a Client for remotely viewing your child's phone activity and location. The Client is available as a secure Web application and an Android phone application. Parents use the Client to track the location of their child's phone and view the following events that occur on that phone:

  • GPS and Network Location Data
  • SMS Sent and Received
  • Call History
  • Address Book
  • System Events such as Battery State, “Airplane Mode”, Device On/Off

The Recorder Application is installed on a phone and captures and uploads communications and events so that they can be viewed remotely at anytime. The Client Application is used to view the uploaded data and can also be used to remotely customize the Recorder Application by sending Control Commands. Control Commands can also be sent via Text Message. The various Control Commands report on the phone state such as providing an immediate location fix or immediately uploading all communications and events.

Nothing is installed on your computer, but details of communications and events can be saved to your computer.

Multiple phone accounts for your family can be linked together so that all accounts are available from within the same login and user interface.

Communications and events are captured as they occur on the phone and these records are not effected by the phone user deleting information.

 

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Data Usage

By default the Recorder Application will use the phone's data plan (EDGE, GPRS, 3G, 4G, etc.) or WiFi to upload events. The Client Web Application user can disable this and limit the Recorder Application to only use WiFi connections. Battery life can be extended by adjusting location sampling frequency and method. The Client Web Application includes tool-tips explaining these and many other useful customizations.

 

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Data Security

All captured communications and events are stored on the phone in an encoded format before being uploaded to a central server over a secure encrypted connection. The data is stored encoded in a database on the central server. The data is only decoded after it has been downloaded onto the customer's computer, i.e. only when viewed by the customer in their browser. No data is decoded until it arrives on the customer's computer. Encoded means the data is not human readable. The PhoneBeagle data warehouse is very secure and our technical administrators have no access to your encoded private data. On the phone, during upload and download and on the Web Application, your data is secure.

 

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Location Tracking

PhoneBeagle uses logic to be careful not to waste your battery, or rack up unnecessary data usage. Location tracking history with configurable update intervals from a few minutes upwards so you can see where the mobile phone was using 5 minutes intervals, 10 minutes intervals or hourly intervals etc. In addition, a real-time 'Locate Now' functionality is provided in order to immediately find the location of the mobile phone.

GPS, Cell Tower (Cell Id), Network location tracking depends on phone, network service and satellite availability. Buildings and even heavy cloud cover can prevent GPS information from getting collected on the phone. When GPS is not available PhoneBeagle automatically uses alternative location information provided by the phone to approximate location. For phone models without built-in GPS, network based location will be used and distracted driving features will not be avalable because speed calculations are not possible. Location tracking modes are remotely configurable in order to save battery life.

  • Zero Impact Tracking Mode
    GPS is used only if it is already active, for instance when the user is navigating with navigation software or using Internet location services. Cell Tower location resolution is active.

  • High Resolution Tracking Mode
    GPS is set active and receives continuous location updates. Network positioning provided by mobile service providers and Cell Tower location resolution are both active.

  • Intelligent Tracking Mode
    GPS is used if it is already active. Cell Tower location resolution is always active. GPS and the network positioning provided by mobile service providers are activated if the device moves a significant distance.

 

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Phone & Network Compatibility

PhoneBeagle is designed for Android and BlackBerry phones and works with all Carriers & Networks World Wide. If in doubt please use our support page www.phonebeagle.com/support.htm.

android

PhoneBeagle works on any Android based phone that is running the Android operating system (OS) version 1.5 or newer and so any Android phone will work well. To check the version of Android you have on your phone open the menu of the home screen and select "Settings". Scroll down and select 'About Phone'. On the next screen scroll down and select "Software Information". The first line shows the Version of the Android OS of your phone. PhoneBeagle works with any Android Firmware Version 1.5 or higher.

blackberry

PhoneBeagle works on any BlackBerry phone that is running the BlackBerry operating system (OS) version 5.0 or newer and so any BlackBerry phone that is less than a few years old will work well. To see which BlackBerry Operating System your phone uses select the Options icon (the wrench looking thing) on the BlackBerry desktop and then the Advanced Options menu item. Certain BlackBerry models can be upgraded to operating systems 5.0 or newer, for further details see these links.

 

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Buying PhoneBeagle

In order to use PhoneBeagle to monitor your child it is necessary to purchase a Product Key from our Website www.phonebeagle.com.

After buying PhoneBeagle, customers should receive a confirmation email containing the following information.
If you do not receive a confirmation email from us, please check your 'Junk' mail folder.
Please use our support page www.phonebeagle.com/support.htm if you cannot find your purchase confirmation email.

  • PhoneBeagle Product Key & Password
  • Details for Downloading the PhoneBeagle Recorder App
  • Details for Downloading the PhoneBeagle Protector App
  • Details for Downloading the Optional PhoneBeagle Android Client App
  • Details for accessing the PhoneBeagle Web App

 

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Downloading & Installing PhoneBeagle

PhoneBeagle downloads directly to your child's phone using the phone's Web browser. Please make sure that the phone has an Internet connection: WiFi, EDGE, GPRS, 2G, 3G, 4G are all OK.

To download PhoneBeagle using the Web browser on your child's phone, open the Web browser and enter this address 'www.phonebeagle.com/app'. When the Web page displays click the link 'BlackBerry PhoneBeagler Recorder'. If you own an Android phone you can optionally install the PhoneBeagle Android Client App or alternatively you can use the PhoneBeagle Web Client App from a Web browser on a computer. The PhoneBeagle Android Client App is explained in section Android Client App and the PhoneBeagle Web Client App is explained in section Web Client App.

Once PhoneBeagle is downloaded the installation process will start automatically. The following screenshots show the installation of the PhoneBeagle Recorder App, for instructions on installing the PhoneBeagle Android Client App see the Android User Guide.

 

 

In the permission screens be careful to scroll down and set all settings to 'Allow'

 

The screenshots below show the PhoneBeagle Recorder App (Paw Icon) installed on the phone's desktop. The app now needs to be activated as explained in section Activating PhoneBeagle.

 

 

 

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Activating PhoneBeagle

In order to use PhoneBeagle to monitor your child it is necessary to purchase a Product Key as explained in section Buying PhoneBeagle.

After installing PhoneBeagle as described in the previous section the PhoneBeagle Recorder App (Paw Icon) still needs to be activated using the following steps.

  • Click the 'Paw Icon' on the phone desktop
  • Enter your PhoneBeagle Product Key
  • Click the 'Activate' button
  • The Phone Application should now be Activated

 

 

 

GPS Settings

In order to get accurate location fixes PhoneBeagle requires that GPS setting are correctly configured by carrying out the following steps.

  • From the Home screen, press the menu key and then select the options (wrench) icon
  • Select the 'Advanced Options' entry
  • Select the 'GPS' entry
  • Configure the options as shown in the screenshot below

 

 

 

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Android Client App

You can monitor your child's phone from either the PhoneBeagle Web Client App described in section Web Client App or if you have an Android phone you can use the PhoneBeagle Android Client App. For instructions on installing the PhoneBeagle Android Client App see the Android User Guide.

 

 

 

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PhoneBeagle Web Client App

You can monitor your child's phone from either the PhoneBeagle Android Client App described in section PhoneBeagle Android Client App - Installation or the PhoneBeagle Web Client App. To use the PhoneBeagle Web Client App use a Web browser on a computer and go to the address login.phonebeagle.com

When you first login, you will be asked to change the default password and enter a recovery email address.

You will need to install Flash Player 10.0 or newer to use the Web App, available for free from get.adobe.com/flashplayer. If it is not installed already on your computer you will be prompted to install it. We recommend Google's Chrome Internet browser for best results, available for free at www.google.com/chrome, it comes with the latest version of Flash Player built-in.