# Car alarm with GPS: alerts your phone and shows where the car is

_Updated: 8 November 2026_

**Short answer:** A car alarm with GPS sounds the siren when someone opens, hits or moves the car, alerts your phone and shows where the car is. Take it with an engine lock: the engine then will not start without your fob.

> **The service we recommend: Car alarms** An alarm with a siren, and more expensive models add an app and GPS. We tell you the price when you tell us the model. [More about the service](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/car-alarm-installation)

## What you see on your phone

An alarm with GPS has its own SIM card and a receiver for the satellite signal. When the alarm goes off, you get a call or a message wherever you are. In the app you see:

- **What happened.** Whether a door, the boot or the bonnet was opened, whether there was a hit or someone moved or lifted the car.
- **Where the car is.** The location on a map now, and the location and time of every event.
- **Where the car went.** The driving history, with the route and speed.
- **The state of the car.** Whether it is locked, the battery voltage and the temperature in the cabin.

From the app you arm and disarm the alarm and lock the car. You can get the location without the app too: you call the alarm number and get a message with a link to a map.

## Which alarm you need

- **The car stands in front of the house or in the yard:** An alarm with a siren, because you hear it from the house. An alarm that alerts your phone also tells you when you are not at home.
- **You want to know what is happening when you are far away:** An alarm that alerts your phone. With GPS you also see where the car is.
- **A more expensive car stays on the street:** An alarm with GPS and an engine lock. You see where the car is, and the engine will not start without your fob.
- **Your car has a keyless key:** An alarm with an engine lock and a fob. The engine will not start without the fob, even when a thief unlocks the car with the signal of your key.
- **A company car or several drivers in the family:** An alarm with GPS, for the location and the route the car took.

## GPS helps find the car, the engine lock keeps it from leaving

According to the Serbian Interior Ministry, only every second stolen car is found in Belgrade. An alarm with GPS tells you as soon as someone touches the car and shows where it is, so you can tell the police where to look.

GPS does not prevent theft. A thief can ignore an alarm that only sounds, but cannot drive away a car that will not start. That is why you should take an engine lock with the GPS. The engine then will not start without a small fob you carry with you.

You can also lock the engine from your phone. We connect the lock so that it stops the engine from starting, not so that it shuts the engine off while you drive. The rules on vehicle technical requirements also ask for this.

If the alarm has no engine lock, we fit an immobiliser with it. [More about the immobiliser](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/immobiliser)

## GSM alarm or alarm with GPS

A GSM alarm has a SIM card and alerts your phone wherever you are, with a call or a message. An alarm with GPS also shows where the car is. An alarm that works only over Bluetooth alerts you only while you are near the car.

The GPS can be inside the alarm, as in Pandora alarms with GPS, or a separate unit we connect to the alarm. The separate unit also works with a factory alarm: when the alarm goes off, it sends you a message with a link to a map. [More about the Pandora alarm](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/pandora-car-alarm)

## Alarm with GPS or a separate GPS tracker

If you are choosing an alarm and need the location, take a model with GPS. If you already have a good alarm, add a separate GPS tracker. We fit the tracker in a different place in the car, so a thief who switches off the alarm has to look for it too. [More about GPS vehicle tracking](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/gps-vehicle-tracking)

## What if the thief has a signal jammer

A jammer blocks the satellite signal and the mobile network, so the location and the message do not reach you. Thieves use jammers across Europe, and they are bought over the internet.

The siren and the engine lock do not depend on the mobile network, so they work while the jammer is on. Some alarms detect a jammer, sound the siren and lock the engine, and send you a message as soon as the network is back.

## What if the thief removes the battery

A siren with its own battery keeps sounding even when a thief cuts the cable or removes the car battery. A GPS unit with its own battery then tells you with a call and a message that it has lost power. Some keep working for a few more hours.

## In an underground garage GPS has no signal

Underground and in tunnels the satellite signal does not get through, so the app shows the last known location. That does not mean the alarm is broken.

The siren and the engine lock still work. If the alarm also has Bluetooth, while you are near the car you control the alarm from the app without the mobile network.

## For company cars and vans

For a company, an alarm with GPS gives both protection and movement data: where the vehicle is, where it went and at what speed. You see several vehicles in one account in the app. [More about protection for companies with several vehicles](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/fleet-theft-protection)

Under the Serbian Personal Data Protection Act, location is personal data. That is why you should tell employees, preferably in writing, that the vehicle is tracked, why, who sees the data and how long it is kept.

## What the price depends on

The alarm you choose and your car set the price.

**The price of an alarm with GPS depends on**

- Whether the GPS is inside the alarm or a separate unit next to it.
- Whether the alarm comes with an engine lock. With some alarms it is a separate part that costs extra.
- Which parts come with the alarm: a cabin movement sensor, a tilt sensor, a siren with its own battery.
- Whether you want remote engine start.
- How much work your car needs: how we connect the alarm to the car's electronics and where the parts go.
- An alarm with a SIM card may also have a monthly cost with the mobile operator.

## Once the alarm is fitted

Make sure the SIM card in the alarm has credit. When the card is blocked, the alarm does not alert your phone.

When the car goes in for a service or you leave it for someone else to park, turn on service mode. You then do not give the workshop your fob or code.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does an alarm with GPS drain the battery?

It uses power while the car stands too. How much it uses depends on the model. The alarm sends you a message when the battery voltage drops below the limit we set, so you know in time that the car may not start.

### Can the car be tracked abroad?

It can, if the SIM card in the alarm has roaming. With some alarms, calls from abroad are turned on separately in the settings.

### How long is the event history kept?

With Pandora alarms, at least one month. The number of saved events is limited.

### Is comprehensive insurance cheaper if the car has an alarm with GPS?

It can be. Some insurers give a discount on comprehensive cover if the car has an extra anti-theft device. When you tell the insurer that the car has an alarm with GPS, it tells you how much that lowers the price.

Have a question about your car? Message us on WhatsApp or call 067 774 1606.

## Read also

- [Car theft in Serbia: 9 ways thieves steal a car](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/how-cars-are-stolen-in-serbia)
- [OBD car theft: how thieves make a new key](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/obd-car-theft)
- [Keyless theft (relay attack): how it works, how to stop it](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/keyless-car-theft)

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Page on the website: https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/car-alarm-with-gps
auto-industrija, Belgrade. Phone and WhatsApp: +381677741606. E-mail: kontakt@autoindustrija.rs.
