If you searched for LoJack, you probably remember it as the thing that got stolen cars back. Worth knowing what it is now before you buy, because it has changed, and so has the choice in front of you.
What LoJack is in the US today
The original LoJack was a hidden radio beacon. Police cars carried tracking gear, and when your vehicle was reported stolen the beacon lit up so officers could home in on it. For years it was the default, and it worked because the recovery network was built into law enforcement.
That RF system has been wound down in the US. Today the LoJack name sits on a GPS unit with a phone app, delivered through Spireon and sold mainly at car dealerships. It locates the vehicle over cellular the way most modern trackers do. Two things are worth being clear about. First, LoJack states that it does not affect the vehicle’s ability to start, so it cannot stop a theft, only help find the car afterwards. Second, it is owner-initiated: recovery begins after you file a police report. There are no driver-recognition tags, and the app has drawn weak ratings from users.
None of that makes it useless. It makes it a locate-only tool, which is a fair thing to be as long as you know that is what you are buying.
RecovR, the other dealer option
You will often see RecovR offered alongside it. Made by Kudelski IoT, it is a battery-powered locator hidden in the car, again sold through dealers. If your vehicle is taken, the process is that you call 911 and switch on Theft Recovery Mode in the app. So nothing happens until you realize the car is gone and reach for your phone. There is no immobilization and there are no driver tags. RecovR leans on a headline promise to pay around 5,000 dollars if the car is not recovered within 30 days, which is a payout built around the system failing. We would rather return the car.
Where the real difference is
Both are owner-initiated, and neither immobilizes. That is the clean, honest edge, and it is where ScorpionTrack sits in a different category.
We are monitored, not self-monitored. Our Secure Operating Center watches for the theft signal around the clock. If your vehicle moves when it should not, our team contacts you to check it is not just you, and if it is a genuine theft they coordinate recovery with law enforcement. You do not have to notice first or remember which app to open at 2am. With LoJack and RecovR, that noticing and reporting is your job.
We can stop the theft, not just follow it. ScorpionTrack Elite adds automatic and remote immobilization, so the engine will not start without a valid driver tag present, and a live theft can be stopped remotely, independent of the vehicle’s built-in immobilizer. Neither LoJack nor RecovR immobilizes.
We know who is authorised. ScorpionTrack Secure and Elite include two Automatic Driver Recognition tags, so if the car moves without an approved driver, as in a relay or key theft, the alert is instant. That is the feature both US competitors leave out, and it is the one that catches modern keyless theft.
Choosing your level
- Scorpion Go for anything without permanent power, monitored if it moves while armed.
- Standard for hardwired, monitored recovery on everyday vehicles.
- Secure for driver tags and protection against keyless theft.
- Elite for the top tier, adding immobilization so the theft is stopped, not just tracked.
Every tier is insurance approved and includes the monitoring and cellular link behind it. See them together on the products page. British engineered, protecting vehicles since 1973.