Neckbands that Stop Working

This article covers what to do if one of your Neckbands stops working.

Problem

Let's start with the scenario where a neckband is fitted to an animal that was actively being contained in a virtual paddock and it suddenly stops working.

The first indications that this has happened is that the 'last updated' time is now a long time ago - this could be many hours, days or even weeks.

If the communication delay is still less than one or two days, there is a possibility that the Neckband may suddenly 'recover' and come back to life. However, once we have not heard from the neckband for more than 3 days, it is safe to assume that this device has failed prematurely.

While the neckband will no longer be actively containing the animal after the EMERGENCY TIMEOUT has elapsed, the eShepherd platform will still show the last active virtual paddock as being ACTIVE. i.e. that virtual paddock will be a solid orange line. The platform may be trying to send instructions to those neckbands to turn off that virtual paddock, but because it never receives a response, it cannot confirm that this virtual paddock has indeed been DEACTIVATED.

This can become very confusing for the user.

In an attempt to alleviate this confusion, the eShepherd platform will automatically 'hide' any neckband that has not communicated in more than 3 days, AND it will 'hide' any virtual paddocks that are 'stuck' on these non-communicating neckbands.

Finding animals with neckbands that have stopped communicating

Before you unfit a neckband, it helps to know exactly which animals are affected and where they are. You can find them quickly from the Animals menu by switching to Table view and adding the Location column.

Step 1. Tap Animals in the top menu to open the Animals panel. Tap the Display options icon in the top right of the panel and select Table. This switches the panel to a table with a row for every animal, showing columns like Mob, Virtual Paddock and Last Updated.

Step 2. With Table view open, tap the Column Selector icon above the table (top right, it looks like a small grid) to open a panel where you can choose which columns to show. Turn on Location to add a column showing each animal's GPS coordinates. This means that once you spot a neckband that's stopped reporting, you'll already know exactly where to go and check on the animal.

Step 3. Tap the Last Updated column header to sort the table, bringing the animals with the oldest "last updated" times to the top of the list - these are your most likely candidates for a stopped neckband. Tap on any row to highlight that animal's position on the map on the left, so you can confirm exactly where it is before heading out.

Solution

The only way to resolve these issues is to "unfit' the neckband from the animal on the eShepherd platform. (Do not confuse this with 'unfitting' the neckband from the actual animal!)

There are two ways to do this.

1. You can DELETE the animal, which will remove the record of that animal all together, and the Neckband will revert back to being an 'unfitted' neckband - shown as a triangle. To do this, navigate to the Animals menu, select the animal in question, and then press DELETE in the bottom menu.
2. You can edit the record of that animal, and 'unfit' the neckband. To do this, navigate to the animal menu, select the animal in question, then press 'EDIT' -> 'Edit Single Animal' in the bottom menu. At the top of the screen, you will find a drop-down menu with the current Neckband number. When you click on the drop-down, the first option is 'Unfit'. Select this and press Save. This will remove the neckband from that animal record and put it back into the Unfitted Neckband menu. The animal record will remain on the platform - but will show up with no neckband fitted.

You will need to 'refresh' the eShepherd web app page to see the changes take effect.

Arranging a warranty replacement

If a neckband has failed prematurely, it can be replaced under warranty. Report the faulty neckband to the eShepherd support team via email at eshepherd.support@gallagher.com, including the neckband UID/serial number and a description of the fault.

How the warranty process works:

1. Diagnosis. The support team reviews the neckband's telemetry to confirm the fault.

A neckband that has suddenly stopped communicating for more than 3 days, with otherwise healthy history, is generally confirmed as a genuine hardware failure and is eligible for replacement. Neckbands that are still reporting normally are not warranty-eligible until a fault can be confirmed.

How a communication failure is assessed. To confirm a comms fault as a genuine device-side hardware failure (rather than a coverage or network issue), the team checks the neckband's telemetry against its property peers over a multi-week window. A comms failure points to a device fault when:

• The outage is isolated to that unit while other neckbands on the same property continue reporting normally in the same window (ruling out a base station, gateway or network outage).
• For cellular units, the neckband is near a tower / has good coverage, ruling out a signal problem.
• Battery, solar and movement/GPS data are otherwise healthy, with no gradual decline and no environmental explanation.
• There is a clean stop rather than a reboot/crash-loop.

  
  

  
  Note that a neckband may temporarily recover (start communicating again) after the outage. Even so, if a genuine fault is confirmed it will still be replaced, because the problem is likely to recur. Different comms fault types are recognised, including a sudden total comms cutoff, an intermittent modem fault (erratic message counts and multi-day gaps isolated to the unit), and a GPS module failure (the neckband keeps communicating but stops reporting a changing position, so the app shows a recent "last updated" time while the location no longer moves).

Before escalating an intermittent or recently refitted unit: a neckband that has only just come out of storage or been refitted may still be recovering (for example doing solar recovery). If it has been quiet for less than a day or two, give it up to 48 hours - ideally past a nightly reboot cycle - before it is submitted for warranty. If it still has not communicated after that window, it will be added for warranty review. To help the team confirm a solar/charging fault, inspect the neckband for cracked or damaged solar panels and report what you find.

2. Damage in transit. If a neckband arrives damaged (for example a broken solar panel), the claim should be raised straight away. Helpful supporting documentation includes photos of the damage and of how the pallet arrived, and the signed bill of lading / delivery docket noting the damage. Mark any visible damage when signing for the delivery.
3. Replacement shipped. Once approved, a replacement neckband is ordered and assigned to your inventory. Replacements typically arrive within about a week. You can specify the shipping address, including shipping direct to a client rather than the reseller if required. Warranty replacements are supplied at no charge - if you receive an invoice for the warranty units, it is for tracking/order purposes and the tracking information is listed on it. If a replacement neckband does not appear in your Neckbands tab after delivery, refresh the page and it should show up.
4. Return the faulty unit. A return label is emailed to you. Download and print the label. It is fine to wait for the replacement to arrive and reuse its packaging for the return. Before returning, you can remove and keep re-usable spare parts (for example the top strap, chains and chain screws). Affix the label to the parcel and return the faulty neckband(s) at your convenience so they can be investigated. If a replacement arrives without a return slip, contact support and a new label will be sent (usually within 24-48 hours). Faulty neckbands are replaced, not repaired.
5. Recovered lost neckbands. If a warranty replacement was issued for a neckband that could not be located (for example on a missing animal) and you later recover it, please return it so the team can investigate what went wrong.

Wear items and replacement parts: Collar locking clips/tabs and the top strap are wear items and can be supplied as replacement parts. Contact support and, where possible, include a photo of the parts needed.

Where to raise a claim: Report faults directly to the eShepherd support team.

Handling a deceased animal's neckband: If an animal has died and its neckband is stuck holding an active virtual paddock, either delete the animal or edit it and set the neckband to "Unfit" to release the VP (remember to refresh). A neckband that is faulty on top of this can then be submitted for warranty like any other.

v1.1, 7/2026

Updated on: 21/08/2026