Geotab IOX-BATTERY: What It Does, Specs and Uses

What Is the IOX-BATTERY?

The IOX-BATTERY is a lithium polymer backup battery in an IP67 case that sits between the GO9 and the vehicle's power. Normally the GO runs off vehicle power and the IOX-BATTERY charges. The moment that power disappears, whether because someone unplugged the GO, the vehicle battery was disconnected, or a fault killed the supply, the IOX-BATTERY takes over within microseconds and the GO keeps running.

The point is evidence and recovery. A tracker that can be silenced by pulling it from the port is easy to defeat. With backup power, the unplug itself becomes an alert and the vehicle keeps reporting where it goes next.

The pack is a sealed lithium polymer cell with a short lead at each end, so it slots between the GO9 and anything else on the expansion chain.

What Does the IOX-BATTERY Do?

Seamless power takeover. Switches the GO to battery with no interruption when vehicle power is lost.
Moving runtime. Keeps a GO9 logging for up to four hours of driving after an unplug, using its towing logic if the vehicle is still in motion.
Parked heartbeat. Reports location every 30 minutes for up to four days when there is no movement, then every 23 hours until the battery runs down.
Wakes on motion. Accelerometer activity restarts GPS and accelerometer logging.
Unplug alert. The GO's modem generates a device unplugged alert.
Charge reporting. MyGeotab shows battery state of charge and a flag for when the GO is running on IOX-BATTERY power.
Passes power downstream. Supplies up to four more IOX units when on vehicle power, and cuts them off during an unplug to protect runtime.

What Do Fleets Use the IOX-BATTERY For?

Fleets with theft exposure, such as work trucks with tools aboard or late-model pickups parked overnight at job sites, use it so a thief who finds and pulls the tracker does not take the location history with it.

Rental and leasing fleets use it to catch customers who unplug a GO to hide where a vehicle went, since the unplug event and the drive that follows are both recorded.

Equipment and specialty vehicles that sit with master switches off or batteries disconnected for maintenance can still check in on the heartbeat schedule.

Recovery situations such as a repossession or a tow without notice benefit from the four-hour moving runtime, which can cover a long haul away from the yard.

What Are the IOX-BATTERY's Key Specifications?

Spec	Detail
Compatible GO devices	GO9; GO9 RUGGED with HRN-RX06S4 harness. Not GO7 or GO8
Battery	2200 mAh lithium polymer, 7.4 V nominal, 2S1P
Runtime	Up to 4 hours driving or 4 days heartbeat
Charging	Ignition on only; 150 mA; about 12 hours to full
Nominal input voltage	12 V / 24 V
Operating temperature	-30 °C to 60 °C charging; -30 °C to 70 °C discharging
Storage temperature	-40 °C to 80 °C
Ingress	IP67 casing; connections not rated for outdoor exposure
Weight / size	300 g; 635 mm overall, 112 mm x 28 mm at widest
Cables	Two 5-pin mini USB connectors on 2-foot leads

What Should Installers Know About the IOX-BATTERY?

Position in the chain is the first rule. The IOX-BATTERY must be the first unit after the GO; if another IOX sits between them, the battery ends up powering that unit too and runtime drops. A GO9 can carry five IOX units in total including this one. On a GO9, the rubber dust cover comes off the side port, the IOX-BATTERY plugs in, and the supplied cable tie secures it. If more units follow, its termination shunt comes out and only the last unit keeps one. A GO9 RUGGED needs the HRN-RX06S4 harness. The pack mounts with the supplied screws or cable ties, out of the weather, because the case is sealed but the connectors are not. Placement should also make it less obvious than the GO itself, since the whole idea is surviving tampering. Because charging only happens with ignition on at a slow rate, a new install will not have full backup capacity until the vehicle has been driven for a while.

Order matters on the chain: GO9, then the IOX-BATTERY, then any other modules, with the termination shunt kept only on the final one.

Who Is the IOX-BATTERY Right For, and Who Should Choose Something Else?

It fits GO9 fleets that worry about tampering, theft or vehicles losing power while parked. It does not work with GO7 or GO8 devices, and Geotab notes logs can go missing if it is tried. A fleet that needs to track unpowered trailers or equipment with no GO at all is better served by a standalone battery asset tracker, since the IOX-BATTERY is a backup for a GO, not a tracker on its own.

What Are Common Questions About the IOX-BATTERY?

Will it drain the vehicle battery?

It charges only while ignition is on, at 150 mA, so it is not pulling charge current from a parked vehicle.

Can a spare sit on the shelf charged?

After 48 hours off a GO it drops into ship mode, where Geotab lists self-discharge of roughly 5% over four weeks.

Does it keep our other IOX add-ons running during an unplug?

No. It deliberately cuts power to downstream units so the GO gets the full runtime.

API Signal can bring the IOX-BATTERY to your yard, put it first in the chain on each GO9 and tuck it where a thief is unlikely to look. To line up the work, dial 803-513-1009 or open Get a Quote and tell us which vehicles worry you most.

Sources: Geotab Support, IOX-BATTERY installation document; Geotab blog, IOX expansion. GEOTAB is a registered trademark of Geotab Inc. API Signal is an independent installer and is not Geotab.

Every Geotab Product →Trackers, cameras, asset trackers and IOX add-ons. Get a Quote →The IOX-BATTERY supplied and installed on one written quote.

Geotab IOX-BATTERY