Spin Scooter GPS Removal (Must Follow This Process)

Scooters are fast becoming a trendy means of transportation in many cities. People who want scooters can order them on the app at a fee.

And so are the companies that make scooters available for customers to rent. And for better security, Spin has fitted all their scooters with GPS.

This GPS reduces the chances of a parked scooter getting stolen. The feature is good for added security, but removing the GPS on your scooter may become necessary. 

To remove the GPS on a spin scooter, you must remove the screws from the deck. First, you’ll have to use a wrench to remove the screws. Then, you’ll come to the screws holding the spin GPS module. They’re on the front of the plastic speaker box. Loosen them, and take out the GPS.

Where Is The GPS Located On A Spin Scooter?

Scooters are fast becoming a very popular means of transportation within many cities. Mostly, the riders of these scooters do not own them.

Instead, they rent the scooters by the minute from one of the many scooters renting agencies.

One of the most popular scooter rentals is Spin. Spin provides riders with thousands of scooters in various cities.

Although spin scooters have always been available to rent, recently, they have fitted the scooters with GPS tracking.

GPS tracking helps prevent theft, making it easy for Spin to track the scooter even if the rider leaves it somewhere.

For example, if the rider decides to go with the scooter, Spin can locate the scooter.

They can also identify if the rider abandons it or if a third party takes it away from the person that rented it. 

Usually, manufacturers place the GPS in a scooter in the same place as the battery.

Some scooter’s batteries and GPS are located in the scooter’s stem, while for others, the GPS is beneath the scooter’s deck. 

You can find the GPS on a Spin scooter beneath the scooter’s deck. When you open up the deck, the screws for the GPS module will be in the front of the speaker box.

There are usually four plugs on top of each screw. So, if you want to remove the GPS, that’s where you should look.

How Do You Turn Off GPS On A Spin Scooter?

Although GPS on spin scooters have only recently become common, they’re beneficial.

The GPS makes it very easy to track the scooter and also reduces cases of theft by both the riders and others.

In addition, in many cities, authorities have made it illegal for riders to leave scooters on the sidewalk for more than two hours.

Scooters are illegal in places like the U.K. But even where scooters are allowed, there are stringent laws against careless parking to protect persons with disabilities.

So, if any rider hires a scooter and abandons it on the sidewalk, the city impounds it, and the rider has to pay a fine.

So, a scooter GPS is usually handy for both the company and the rider. However, at some point, there is a need to disable the GPS.

Sometimes, someone sells off their scooter at an auction, and the new buyer needs to disconnect the GPS. 

People don’t want the company to be able to track their locations at every point in time.

Or maybe, you don’t want Spin to be able to track your locations every step of the way.

You can turn off your scooter’s GPS on the app. Turning off the GPS is allowed, and many riders do it. 

So, you can disable your GPS as well. If you ever need to turn off the GPS on your scooter, here’s how you go about it.

• Make sure you log into the app

• Go to the “Me” tab

• Go to “My Device” and select your scooter

• You’ll find “enable/disable Vehicle GPS positioning. Since you want to turn off your GPS, select disable.

And just like that, the GPS positioning in your scooter will turn off. Unfortunately, that means the company will no longer be able to track it. 

Spin Scooter GPS Hacks

The scooter rental industry is losing a lot of money to hacking and vandalism.

Scooter Giants like Spin, Scoot, Bird, and Lime have thousands of vandalized and hacked scooters all over the cities where they’re famous.

Some are out to steal the scooters and repurpose them for personal use, while others are just scooter haters.

The scooter haters burn the gizmos, ride them into the ocean, or trash the whole thing.

Either way, scooter companies are losing out even though they choose not to admit it and keep putting more scooters into the streets.

People use several methods to take the scooters for whatever purpose they have in mind.

Although the GPS installed in Spin scooters is a bit of a challenge, they can either hack it and take the scooter or remove it altogether.

Removing a scooter GPS in the street is a bit more challenging. But hackers hack into it and make it useless from a few meters away.

Some choose to throw the scooter into the back of their cars and wait for the battery to die. 

Once the scooter’s battery runs out, the GPS no longer works until the battery is charged again.

Although in this case, it isn’t only the scooter GPS but other parts of the scooter. Also, with a $30 kit from China, one can easily hack a $500 scooter. 

Some other hackers use other less involving methods like removing the Sim cards on the scooter or disconnecting the modem.

When you disconnect the modem or remove the Sim card, the GPS is disabled. 

Some of the techniques are much like hot-wiring a car. Many hackers remove the board, the GPS, and the electronic motor.

Once they do that, they can replace them with other parts. They remove the Spin logo from the scooter, and viola! They have a brand new scooter.

Two popular scooter rental companies use Xioami Mi Scooters for their fleet. The scooter companies are doing very little to stop the hacking cases, although they’re becoming common.

If you want to tamper with the GPS, what you should do depends on your unique needs. The table below will illustrate.

To bypass GPS	Cover the GPS box with tin fail to disconnect the battery
To turn off GPS	Disable GPS positioning on the Spin app
To remove GPS	Open the deck, remove the battery and GPS box

Can You Steal A Spin Scooter After GPS removal?

It is relatively easy to steal a Spin Scooter. Since scooters weigh only about 30lbs, you can easily pick them up, toss them into your car’s trunk, and drive off.

Or, if you rented the scooter, you can disable the GPS and scoot away. The only thing that keeps the Spin scooters from being stolen is that many people do not know how to remove the GPS.

And others, to remove it end up damaging it instead. But once someone can remove the GPS, they can cart the scooter away; there isn’t much that the company or the authorities can do about it.

In areas where scooters are popular, there are many cases of scooters that have been stolen and vandalized.

Often, hackers sit in their vehicles and hack nearby scooters. Then, once they’ve disabled the GPS, they take the scooter and bolt it. 

According to scooter reports, there have been hundreds of stolen scooters only in the U.S. alone.

Since scooters became popular, more and more of them have been stolen after thieves removed the GPS.

Conclusion

Spin electric scooters are common in many cities in the United States. One of the best features of the scooters is GPS navigation.

However, you can deactivate the GPS if you don’t want it anymore. You can also altogether remove the GPS with the right tools.

But, removing the GPS will expose the scooter to theft and vandalism.