is there a way to have the gps turned off, but for certain apps, it will turn on automatically? im on litening rom 1.5 but havent found a way to figure this out ..
That could be done by an app like Tasker. You would have to buy it though.
Edit: Just checked.Tasker can't do it. It gives some note stating on stock gingerbread the GPS can't be changed without user intervention.
ha. that sucks balls. but thanks anyways, now i can stop searching for it..
I have GPS turned on all the time, with no noticable loss in battery life. The battery is only depleted when an application uses the GPS (such as google maps or Navigation) It may occasionaly be used to get a fix for weather updates but that will only be for a few seconds every few hours.
This has been driving me nuts for weeks, so I figured I'd share the info.
Recent releases of Google Maps has been causing intermittent problems for lots of people recently, and seems to especially affect users of CyanogenMod 7. What I kept wondering was why several instances of Google Maps would show up in Advanced Task Manager. But what really confused me, was why my battery stats showed Google Maps drawing almost as much battery usage as my WiFi, which is basically on all day.
It's not exact, but with nothing else going on, WiFi seems to drain about 2% per hour. So basically Google Maps was doubling my non-screen related battery drain for no reason. The part that made this hard to track down is that it went away after a reboot, and only seemed to start lagging after the phone had been on for a few hours during the day, where it would start lagging like it was continuously starting and stopping a CPU-hungry process in the background.
Based on an offhand comment someone said in the GSB thread, I went into Menu -> Settings -> Location & security, and unchecked 'Use wireless networks'. I saw that the Google Maps battery drain was still going, so I rebooted. I mean... it's CM7, so you can put a satellite toggle in the notification area if you need location data. No need to keep it on all the time, right?
So far this reboot has been up for 40-hours, and I'm at 83% after being unplugged for 7 hours with mixed usage. Google Maps isn't even in my list of apps that have used battery power. I'm not going to declare this "problem solved!" but it might work out for you if you've been having similar problems.
I'm using gsb 3.6 and haven't had any of the problems with navigation that other people have had. I keep location turned off and set it like that whenever I install a new rom. You may be on to something.
Sent from my GSB v3.6 using XDA App
trifthen said:
Based on an offhand comment someone said in the GSB thread, I went into Menu -> Settings -> Location & security, and unchecked 'Use wireless networks'. I saw that the Google Maps battery drain was still going, so I rebooted. I mean... it's CM7, so you can put a satellite toggle in the notification area if you need location data. No need to keep it on all the time, right?
So far this reboot has been up for 40-hours, and I'm at 83% after being unplugged for 7 hours with mixed usage. Google Maps isn't even in my list of apps that have used battery power. I'm not going to declare this "problem solved!" but it might work out for you if you've been having similar problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this a few days ago. I have seen an increase in battery performance. Thanks trifthen!
Thanks this helped a lot
I've noticed something strange which seems to drain my battery faster when it happens.
Some apps that use sensors seem to leave the sensor active after closing the app itself (even with force close from app manager).
I've first noticed this problem with the app "GPS Essentials", then "GPS Status" the next day, they left the "Magnetic Field" sensor active after manually force closing them.
After a few hours, in Badass Battery Monitor, I could see that the Apps were eating about 75% of the battery, and when looking at the details, "GPS Essentials" was using about 45%, more than the kernel and android system), and it said that it had been using the "Magnetic Field" sensor for more than 5 hours, although the app was manually force closed about 20 minutes after I've started it.
That was in the stock ROM.
Since then, I've installed a custom ROM (CheckROM V2, so it's still based on Samsung's base ROM), and the problem is appearing again.
This time, I've had the same problem with Sygic that left the "Orientation" sensor active, and continued using it according to Badass Battery Monitor, even after force closing Sygic.
Did anyone else notice that or is it a problem with my phone?
Is there a solution besides rebooting every time after using any of these apps?
Thanks!
I've found a similar problem, and explanations on why it's happening, but it says that it appeared in Gingerbread but has been corrected in Honeycomb and ICS.
It does seem like the exact same problem with the same symptoms though, so I wonder if it really is gone...
Here is the page where I found the info :
http://fivasim.pcriot.com/androsensor.html
And here is a quote from that page :
Update: After many months of testing and debugging I haven't found a way to fix the battery issue for good. Perhaps I shouldn't... It's not really my issue but a general android problem (just google for "gingerbread battery drain"). And it happens with EVERY app that makes use of the sensors that are the root of the problem.
The battery leakage comes from android sensors that are not well supported by the kernel or the android OS. Most usually the accelerometer sensor causes the issue but sometimes the light sensor and the proximity sensor can cause this issue as well. Other sensors seem to have nothing to do with battery drain.
However I have found what's causing it and ways to `patch` over it (unfortunately, no way to permanently fix it).
Trying to invoke a sensor with such a problem, will cause the sensor to stay open even after the app is stoped and disposed of memory.
Another common issue is a conflict. Two apps register the same sensor, then one app unregisters but fails because the sensor is in use by the other app. The sensor stays in use by one of the two apps and this will remain even after both apps are killed.
In most cases there is a way to fix this:
- In the first case, you may just find which sensor is misbehaving (strange readings, very slow response or 'Failed to start' error etc.). Go to AndroSensor's settings and disable that sensor. Then reboot, run AndroSensor once and wait to see if the problem persists. Most usually the light and the proximity sensors are to blame for this issue. Sometimes the issue is caused only if both light and proximity are enabled, but disappears after disabling any of the two.
- If you don't have a misbehaving sensor then there is probably some conflict. Conflicts can be caused (usually in Gingerbread) when having auto-rotate (accelerometer use) or auto-brightness on.
Solution: Go to your device's display settings and disable auto-brightness and auto-rotation. Then reboot, run AndroSensor once and wait to see if the battery drain continues. If the problem persists then there is probably a conflict with some hidden/system service. Most usual is the conflict with SGS and SGS2 secret menu ( by dialling "*#0*#" on the dialer ). I have found no way to bypass this and it can only be solved by disabling the accelerometer and orientation sensors in AndroSensor, then reboot (orientation sensor makes seemless use of the accelerometer).
The only good thing about this, is that in HoneyComb and ICS the issue seems to have disappeared for good!
Am I really the only one with the problem?
Mithrandir007 said:
I've noticed something strange which seems to drain my battery faster when it happens.
Some apps that use sensors seem to leave the sensor active after closing the app itself (even with force close from app manager).
I've first noticed this problem with the app "GPS Essentials", then "GPS Status" the next day, they left the "Magnetic Field" sensor active after manually force closing them.
After a few hours, in Badass Battery Monitor, I could see that the Apps were eating about 75% of the battery, and when looking at the details, "GPS Essentials" was using about 45%, more than the kernel and android system), and it said that it had been using the "Magnetic Field" sensor for more than 5 hours, although the app was manually force closed about 20 minutes after I've started it.
That was in the stock ROM.
Since then, I've installed a custom ROM (CheckROM V2, so it's still based on Samsung's base ROM), and the problem is appearing again.
This time, I've had the same problem with Sygic that left the "Orientation" sensor active, and continued using it according to Badass Battery Monitor, even after force closing Sygic.
Did anyone else notice that or is it a problem with my phone?
Is there a solution besides rebooting every time after using any of these apps?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does CPU Spy confirm that problem, showing awake instead of deep sleep?
chamonix said:
Does CPU Spy confirm that problem, showing awake instead of deep sleep?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does seem to go to deep sleep, but I still see a big difference in battery life between when it happens (around 7-10%/hour), and after I reboot (~ 1%/hour).
Before I start applications using those sensors, the battery life is normal as well, so I don't think it's something else.
I've just made a few screenshots to show what's happening.
Last night, before going to bed, I've rebooted the phone, then started Sygic and AndroSensor, exited the apps, then manually force closed them to make sure.
Then I left the phone charging for the night.
This morning, I remove the phone from the charger, and Badass Battery Monitor starts from that point to calculate the battery drain from everything (so I'm sure neither Sygic nor AndroSensor have been running at all since I unplugged the phone).
Since then, a bit less than 2 hours have passed (I've barely used my phone during that period since I was getting ready then driving to work).
There was a 5% discharge (which is strangely not as much as I had yesterday, but still more than the usual 1%/hour when in standby) and we can clearly see what's eating the battery the most in Badass Battery Monitor.
The "Orientation", "Pressure", "Magnetic Field" and "Accelerometer" sensors have been running the whole time since it was unplugged.
What do you think, is this normal behavior?
I've now installed another custom ROM (Omega 8, with the new samsung firmware update), and the problem seems to remain..
If I'm the only one with the problem, I'm starting to think it might be something hardware (or an app I've installed every time maybe), since I've had the problem with every ROM I've installed...
Switching to another kernel didn't seem to help either.. I'm really starting to wonder if this is something I can fix.
Does no one else have the problem?
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I care. Thanks very much for posting this. I've noticed exactly the same thing and it's been driving me crazy. Good to know it's just a false alarm. With ICS 4.0.4 coming to the Galaxy S2 soon, maybe it will be fix there.
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this is really the problem that would be an deep in Android or between the hardware and android as it is the 'batteryinfo' service reporting sensors data.
Indeed, I don't think there is an easy fix for this one, unless someone has already worked on that part ((un)registration of sensors from the battery measurement service).
Hopefully it'll be fixed in a future version of the firmware, or in Jelly Bean.
XDA-Usr : maybe it'll be fixed in that version, indeed..
It is just a false alarm, although it still leads to inaccuracy of the battery level.
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now 1 year has past since your original post. I'm still experiencing the same problem on my Galaxy Note 2. :silly:
luzok said:
Now 1 year has past since your original post. I'm still experiencing the same problem on my Galaxy Note 2. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my Galaxy S4, the problem seems to be gone, so hopefully it'll be gone on your device as well once Samsung releases the 4.2.2 update.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app
I noticed recently after my phones and tablets updated their maps application that no matter what...maps was using battery every day. I don't even use the app everyday and was force closing it to try to make it stop.
I also noticed that a LARGE number of small streets and country roads are now showing traffic data so i started to suspect something was up.
Check out this...
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428732/androids-rise-helps-google-grow-its-traffic/
Interesting, I didn't know that's how they aggregated traffic data.
I noticed this when the ICS update came out, disabling the stand-alone GPS when not needed seems to stop this usage.
Hi guys! This is my first post here. Also i'm not native english speaker
Ok, right now i own a Galaxy Player YP-G1, rooted it with SuperOneClick like a week ago looking for a way to make battery last for longer time. Actually i've got good results after installing SetCPU and doing some reseach about how to config it.
However i still have a problem related to the GPS radio. It keeps turning on even if i disable it in the status bar and in the device's configuration menu. I've realized this GPS thing drains battery toooooo much and haven't found a way to force it to stay off. Always turns on by itself whatever i do.
Tried to disable autorun on all apps that used GPS localization with Gemini App Manager, still turns on...
I'd like to know if there's a rooted way to keep tgis guy off. Yesterday it turned on in the morning and even having used the music player for less than an hour the battery died extremely fast! and another days that it has stayed off battery has lasted until late night. It has to the the GPS.
Please guys help me, i've had univ courses of java and matlab so i have some idea of what i do when programing, so if it's necesary to write some lines i think i could handle it, maybe. Even better, if there's an app out there that fixes me this issue it would be even better.
Thanks !!!!
Up?
As per my knowledge, battery doesnt drain if you turn on gps and leave it like that forever. Battery drains are observed only when any app like google maps or apps like facebook use gps to set location. It might be your misconception about battery drain while gps turned on.
I would like to give an advice to use pdroid for custom roms. Pdroid is an app that enables you to change permissions of installed app so that you can disable any app to access gps location. This saves hell of battery.
Sent from Hell!!
Well I found an app that so far has kept GPS off since i installed it: GPS Toggle Widget (root)
(can't post the link for being noob )
I'll be updating if it really works in a few days
BTW thanks .xxx. !!!