When Using a Pakistani Sim Card in Pakistan, I realised that the phone's location was being shown on the main screen (within like a 2 street radius) , it was on a Nokia 6300, so there wasn't any data usage or gps involved, I was wondering How this could be possible on an Android phone, and how to program with it, as it would be more power efficient than using a gps (more or less), for an app I am looking to develop, but I can't find anything about it anywhere.
Thanks in advance.
Questions should be asked in Q&A forums, not Development forums.
Thread moved.
nh1402 said:
When Using a Pakistani Sim Card in Pakistan, I realised that the phone's location was being shown on the main screen (within like a 2 street radius) , it was on a Nokia 6300, so there wasn't any data usage or gps involved, I was wondering How this could be possible on an Android phone, and how to program with it, as it would be more power efficient than using a gps (more or less), for an app I am looking to develop, but I can't find anything about it anywhere.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what you get asking LocationManager for a "coarse" location. Instead of using GPS, it's using the ID of cellular base stations and WiFi hotspots, asking Google for the coordinates of them. The Nokia must have tabulated the locations of the cell base stations, if not using mobile data.
Related
Hi,
I'm just wondering why my GPS doesn't work without internet connection. It just can't connect to any sattelite. I'm currently using PFGPS v2.0 FIX for my country (Poland) and I don't see any changes. What is wrong?
It requires Internet to load the maps
Can I load maps now to use GPS without internet connection if I'm not in wifi area?
Brajano95 said:
Can I load maps now to use GPS without internet connection if I'm not in wifi area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how can you load maps without internet connection ??
I'm at home now so I can do it cause I have wifi here :/
Brajano95 said:
I'm at home now so I can do it cause I have wifi here :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so you have wifi that means you are connected to the internet!!!
for GPS it can only find your position but can't display your location on a map without an internet connection so GPS needs one.
I will wait for answer from another person. Thank you.
There is an application on the market(related to sports/tracking) that allows you to download a portion of a map and then you can use your GPS offline(no data connection). When I get home I will look for it(I have it on my tablet).
Correct me if I am wrong but Brajano95 means that is it possible to load the maps on his wifi connection and keep then saved when he is out and about to allow the gps to connect. You used to be able to do this in the google labs section on google maps but they've since taken it away unless you look for an older version. Otherwise have a look for third party map app on the android market which allows downloading of map data to the phone
adsada arc said:
Correct me if I am wrong but Brajano95 means that is it possible to load the maps on his wifi connection and keep then saved when he is out and about to allow the gps to connect. You used to be able to do this in the google labs section on google maps but they've since taken it away unless you look for an older version. Otherwise have a look for third party map app on the android market which allows downloading of map data to the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats exactly what I'm talking about! Now I'm downloading Sygic Aura (about 550 mb) and will test it later.
Because GPS and Maps on CM7 suck balls at best. Maps is using your I.P. for the GPS coordinates when on WIFI, without it Maps is counting on a reliable signal from your GPS; and that's just not going to happen with CM7.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium
You can use iGo My Way
I know a fair bit about the GPS module in the Ace so i will comment. I think someone has already told you that it is possible to operate the Ace with preloaded maps. Likewise, i thought that the OP's choice of Sygic Navigation is a fair one.
Back to the original question in the title. GPS can operate with or without internet be it wifi or data e.g. 3G/2G. The difference is how fast you can obtain a GPS lock. Without using any positioning help from data connectivity, you are looking at a lock time of possibly 15 minutes thereabout.
There are 4 modes of operation possible for the GPS module in the Ace which is actually Qualcomm's GpsONE.
1.) Standalone (Slowest using positioning information in cache and smart polling)
2.) MS-Based (Sends data to nearby cell tower(s) and makes use of GPS transceivers in the cell tower(s)
3.) MS-Assisted (Similar to MS-Based BUT data connectivity is broken when GPS transceiver is online. I don't quite like that!)
4.) MS-Based/Hybrid (You need to have superb data connectivity probably cell tower signal strength should be in the -50dBm region. Not very useful in real life usage)
i have had my own thread for fixing GPS, so read up if you want to know more here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1320626
first you need the maps to use it offline, and the correct gps.conf for your location http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1284506, then you can use it without internet
Mapdroyd is a great app that allows you to download maps for offline use. Unfortunately there isn't offline navigation though..
Hi,
I've solved my problem, just install Sygic! Thanks for helping guys
btw u dont need too install anything.. go to google labs inside maps and add map cache.. now long press a location on map.. click the arrow on the address and u ll see an option to cache that area.. the steps may not be accurate as i tried it a long time back and dont have my phone with me but its possible and what u have to do will be more or less the same...
Hey guys,
I recently switched to fulltime android phone again after 1 years of absence.
However, the country where i live have 3 different networks with 3g.
I am suspecting that the one i am on, does not really have good 3g coverage, or is heavily used.
I get NO DATA or 2G connection a whole lot and im living in the "city".
I've been looking at Google Play for an application that ONLY monitors the connectivity.
I would like to know how much of the on time i am on NO DATA, 2G COVERAGE or 3G COVERAGE (wifi excluded or included).
The apps that exists from what i found only shows "MOBILE" or "WIFI" Usage.
Such apps showing amount of gigabyte downloaded on each won't help me much as if i am on 2G, i won't be able to download much..
If anyone knows of such an app (speedtest would be perfect if they could show this somehow and provide data on their netindex.com site).
Again, all i need to know is the amount of time i am on 2g data, 3g data, no data.
With that i will test my current sim for a week, get the other 2 sims for another 2 weeks, and based on the outcome of the statistics, chose which one to keep.
Let me know!
Questions or Problems Should Not Be Posted in the Development Forum
Please Post in the Correct Forums & Read the Forum Rules
Moving to Q&A
oh, thanks.. normally i know it all so i rarely post questions.
Hi
you should try 'Traffic Monitor' from RadioOpt GmbH
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radioopt.widget
Gives you Wlan and 3G overview, and details on the traffic per application. Its free und i like it.
Greetings,
cinq
xdacinq said:
Hi
you should try 'Traffic Monitor' from RadioOpt GmbH
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radioopt.widget
Gives you Wlan and 3G overview, and details on the traffic per application. Its free und i like it.
Greetings,
cinq
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks unless it shows 3G and 2G separately it wont help my purpose..
I'm about to buy a mobile phone white label that says owning just "A-GPS" (not internal GPS).
If I install a browser like CoPilot or iGO and respective maps on sd card, I can navigate offline?
In other words, my question is whether the system with A-GPS it is possible to browse offline, without spending net traffic, since the browser and maps are on the respective memory card.
Or this system always needs to connect to the network?
Thank you.
Anyone????
It should have GPS, since A -GPS is assisted GPS and only helps the actual GPS get a more accurate reading
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
JATG.001 said:
I'm about to buy a mobile phone white label that says owning just "A-GPS" (not internal GPS).
If I install a browser like CoPilot or iGO and respective maps on sd card, I can navigate offline?
In other words, my question is whether the system with A-GPS it is possible to browse offline, without spending net traffic, since the browser and maps are on the respective memory card.
Or this system always needs to connect to the network?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many maps can be downloaded and if they are of your area can be used for location with GPS when you are offline. Navionics charts are an example. Latest googlemaps as well. Experiment with your desires provider. The answer is NO, your system does not always need to be connected to cell network.
Techically AGPS is a method used to get a quicker GPS lock by using wifi/cell approx location. If it only has AGPS they could just be referring to the Google location services part of android which will get your approx position from wifi networks. If it has a real GPS then you could use it offline with any app that has offline maps.
JATG.001 said:
I'm about to buy a mobile phone white label that says owning just "A-GPS" (not internal GPS).
If I install a browser like CoPilot or iGO and respective maps on sd card, I can navigate offline?
In other words, my question is whether the system with A-GPS it is possible to browse offline, without spending net traffic, since the browser and maps are on the respective memory card.
Or this system always needs to connect to the network?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not link to a sales page for the phone so people can see some details about it and maybe have a better idea of whether it has gps as well as a-gps?
Officially a-gps uses cell tower information so without more details of the phone you can't get a more specific answer than being told people aren't sure.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks for all opinions.
One phone is this: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-Android-4-0-Smartphone/600394_640257466.html
And the other is: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...roid-2-3-WCDMA-3G-GSM-gps-wifi/518597611.HTML
Anyone have real GPS?
Hi, I have very inaccurate location based on the cell tower triangulation (in building), it shows me my location to be almost 100 m away outside of the building. (my friends with G2 and S3 has got correct location in the building , when they are on the same place as me).
Please do you have any tip, how to fix it? Or there is nothing I can do with it? (only to buy a new mobile)
jozka said:
Hi, I have very inaccurate location based on the cell tower triangulation (in building), it shows me my location to be almost 100 m away outside of the building. (my friends with G2 and S3 has got correct location in the building , when they are on the same place as me).
Please do you have any tip, how to fix it? Or there is nothing I can do with it? (only to buy a new mobile)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cell tower location is always inaccurate. your friends were probably using wifi location. in settings, these two are together called battery saving location. just turn on your wifi and you'll have the right location displayed, you don't need to be connected to the wifi network, you just need any kind of internet connection
Sent from my LG-D620 using XDA Free mobile app
bombaglad said:
cell tower location is always inaccurate. your friends were probably using wifi location. in settings, these two are together called battery saving location. just turn on your wifi and you'll have the right location displayed, you don't need to be connected to the wifi network, you just need any kind of internet connection
Sent from my LG-D620 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Well actually we have both switched wifi off (and we turned off the GPS in location menu). and we have the same net provider. I have even downloaded antennas program, and put it on the both mobiles, they are at the same place and both shows a different location.
jozka said:
Well actually we have both switched wifi off (and we turned off the GPS in location menu). and we have the same net provider. I have even downloaded antennas program, and put it on the both mobiles, they are at the same place and both shows a different location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS is very poor on the G2 Mini, that's probably why.
Sent from my D620r [Stock 4.4.2]
jozka said:
Well actually we have both switched wifi off (and we turned off the GPS in location menu). and we have the same net provider. I have even downloaded antennas program, and put it on the both mobiles, they are at the same place and both shows a different location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol if you turn gps off, your phone just shows the last location it remembers.. also, it is possible that one of you has turned an option on, which enables for the phone to look up wifi location even when wifi is turned off
Sent from my LG-D620 using XDA Free mobile app
Sent from my LG-D620 using XDA Free mobile app
bombaglad said:
lol if you turn gps off, your phone just shows the last location it remembers.. also, it is possible that one of you has turned an option on, which enables for the phone to look up wifi location even when wifi is turned off
Sent from my LG-D620 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, that would be the reason - their GPS can fix the location even in the building, so the last location is from the building... Thank you for your tips, I will not any more waste your time... Another lesson is learned, next time, when I buy a mobile, I will run a GPS test to be able to return it within 14 days of protection period...
I haven't found the "one" best mock location fake gps app - but I found a few good ones that have ads.
But if I had to pick just one as the "best", I'd pick Lexa simply because it works without ads.
*Fake GPS Location* by LexaFree, no ads, requires gsf, rated 4.6, 456K reviews, 10M+ Downloads<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>
Note that these mock location apps are set inside the operating system, such that EVERY app gets their information from them, and that these mock location apps can randomly move along roadways by a given distance per a given time period, and they can start at the last location, and they can randomize the amount of movement per second, and they can spoof the altitude, and some can set a specific exact location by the keyboard instead of only graphically, etc. They can even send the location to another phone or get the location from another phone if you want that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But others (with ads) do a better job of random location following roadways with random movement time periods.
Others (with ads) can also shift the GPS location from one phone to another (either way) - but what use is that for you?
Also others (with ads) can spoof both the wi-fi provider & the GPS provider - but what use is that for you?
Which fake GPS mock location app do you feel is best and why?
GPS position falsification is currently not very effective when RIL is enabled on the phone. Apps can easily orient the phone in space based on the signal strength to the network operator's mast.
ze7zez said:
GPS position falsification is currently not very effective when RIL is enabled on the phone. Apps can easily orient the phone in space based on the signal strength to the network operator's mast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For privacy reasons... I have every setting for location accuracy turned off, and I also have every unused radio on the phone turned off (e.g., NFC, bluetooth, gps, wi-fi, etc.) and my phone's wi-fi does NOT reconnect (auto-connect is turned off) as my home AP SSID is hidden (for privacy, not for security!) and it has a "_nomap" appended to keep out of the well-behaved databases such as Google/Mozilla, but not Wigle/Netstumbler/Kismet,etc, which aren't well behaved, and I randomize the phone's Wi-Fi MAC upon every connection - which is a new feature of Android 12 in Developer options, etc., ....
... But I had to look up what RIL stands for, so I thank you for bringing up that unknown-to-me Radio Interface Layer detail...
RIL references:
https://wladimir-tm4pda.github.io/porting/telephony.html
https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/ril
Specifically
Radio Interface Layer: It is the bridge between Android phone framework services and the hardware. In other words, it is the protocol stack for Telephone. The RIL consist of two primary components.
RIL Daemon
Vendor RIL
RIL DaemonRILD will be initialized during the Android system start up. It will read the system property to find which library has to be used for Vendor RIL, provide the appropriate input for vendor RIL and finally calls RIL_Init function of Vendor RIL to map all the Vendor RIL functions to the upper layer. Each vendor RIL has RIL_Init function.Vendor RILIt is a library specific to each modem. In other words, we can call it as a driver to function the modem. The RIL daemon will call the RIL_Init function with the device location (eg: /dev/ttyS0). It will initiate the modem and returns theRIL_RadioFunctions structure contains the handles of radio functions
After skimming that RIL information, I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to tell me, but I guess you're saying that we can be geolocated when we make phone calls and even when we don't, in that the cell towers can be triangulated if the phone is in calling mode... which I understand full well.
But, in terms of privacy, how many apps that need to be fooled by their GPS location have access to that cell tower radio location information?
You understood correctly. A phone in call mode, as you wrote, can be easily located while moving.
The google map tricked out by "Fake GPS Location", does quite well while driving a car, as I recently verified in the field.
I don't analyze the app for route tracking.
ze7zez said:
You understood correctly. A phone in call mode, as you wrote, can be easily located while moving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you that any phone, if it's going to be used for two (or three) things, will be easily tracked by those with the resources to do so
Make/receive phone calls
Send/receive sms/mms texts (mms requiring data)
Wi-Fi connections (aka "the Internet")
However, in all cases above, the geolocation isn't as accurate as with GPS (if you are judicious about your location settings), and, more to the point, the applications themselves don't have access to the cell tower information (although they do have access to your IP address, which can be roughly geolocated).
We have to assess our threat level where I'm not using fake location apps to hide from a well-funded TLA adversary; I'm using the fake location to simply hide from the likes of Google and other nefarious outfits that put the tracking APIs inside the code (which is why almost none of my apps require GSF).
ze7zez said:
The google map tricked out by "Fake GPS Location", does quite well while driving a car, as I recently verified in the field.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If what you're saying is that the mock location apps "fool" the likes of Google Maps, I fully agree with you. If... If... if...
If you don't allow Google Maps to run a more detailed analysis that is.
As an example, I recently ran a test inside of a local town where I had the fake location set to miles away, and Google Maps was telling me I was where the fake location said I was... but...
But... then Google Maps asked me to snap a photo so that it could better figure out where I was, and BINGO! It figured out where I was based on the video that I allowed (for test purposes) to show the storefronts.
When I tested it again without allowing the video to see anything of value (e.g., I panned to the mountains above), Google Maps could NOT geolocate me.
Likewise when you don't let Google Maps geolocate by WI-Fi address (although for all I know the camera mechanism sneakily allowed that as I'm well aware there are TWO APIs for turning on your GPS radio, one of which (from Google) is downright nefarious)...
ACTION: "android.lintent.action.MAIN"
PACKAGE: "com.google.android.gms"
CLASS: "com.google.android.gms.location.settings.LocationAccuracyActivity"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vs
Notice it's similar but different from the Android setting for accuracy.
ACTION: "android.intent.action.MAIN"
PACKAGE: "com.android.settings"
CLASS: "com.android.settings.Settings$ScanningSettingsActivity"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Notice that, for this very reason, you NEVER want to turn on your GPS radio from ANY Google app prompt!
ze7zez said:
I don't analyze the app for route tracking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you need to navigate and if you don't want to be tracked by Google, I found a little trick that works kind of nicely with the simple interfaces of the offline mapping programs.
Set your position as your destination in the mock location app
Use any offline map to set your current position as a waypoint
Then use the offline map app to route to your destination
Another "trick" that keeps you out of Google maps' databases is that you can easily get traffic using a web shortcut of the area you are currently traveling in - where you don't need to know your exact location in order to check out the traffic in front of you.
Yet another trick for traffic is that PLENTY of web sites provide Google traffic updates without logging into Google web servers (afaik), such as sigalert apps, 511 apps, and many local DOT apps such as caltrans (for California).
Overall, in summary, the mock location apps work to prevent apps that use your GPS location from tracking you - but as @ze7zez warned, it will only work for GPS and not for cell tower tracking.
GalaxyA325G said:
(...) the applications themselves don't have access to the cell tower information (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not true.
Go into your phone's service mode and see for yourself what the phone knows about the mast connection.
Here's a cheesy Cell Diagnostic app that I wrote myself:
Note that the only permissions that it uses is android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE and android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
It refuses to give you this information if you have "Location" turned off.
ze7zez said:
This is not true.
Go into your phone's service mode and see for yourself what the phone knows about the mast connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As always, you're correct... but.... you're being too narrow I think... in that debugging apps which we use when we need to are different from the run-of-the-mill apps we use all day every day...
There are only "some" apps, which I'm well aware of, that have your telephony information, such as this one which requires you to provide that permission first...
Once you manually provide that permission, yes, of course, the app has you dead in its sights... but most apps (that don't need it) don't ask for THAT much permission... (nor would you let them if they did).
Renate said:
Here's a cheesy Cell Diagnostic app that I wrote myself:
Note that the only permissions that it uses is android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE and android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
It refuses to give you this information if you have "Location" turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bring up a good point that a few Android releases ago Google cheated like hell by forcing apps to request "Location" being turned on in order for the app to display unrelated things such as "Wi-Fi signal strength"...
Which is ANOTHER good reason for being able to set the mock location... because the Wi-Fi Signal Strength of all nearby access points has nothing (per se) to do with your current GPS location.
EDIT: BTW, as a related aside, I post a billion screenshots to the Internet, where some of them contain GPS location - which - if spoofed - means I don't need to redact it in those screenshots. For other information though, such as the cell tower information, I never know how much to redact (for privacy) where you didn't redact anything on your screenshot.
Can you let me know which are the cellular tower information pointers that we should redact for privacy when posting screenshots?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachments/cell1-png.5676683/
The CDMA system has a place for actual Lat/Long. But, these cells are set up by various people and the amount of information in them is variable.
I've rarely seen lat/long on a CDMA signal
The LTE stuff only references cell number. You need a database to reference it to location.
I have a few cell numbers hard-coded to named location.
I can't even find my current tower on https://www.opencellid.org/
Renate said:
The CDMA system has a place for actual Lat/Long. But, these cells are set up by various people and the amount of information in them is variable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm aware there are open signal public OSM cell-tower-location databases (which essentially suck - but which are good enough to track your general location) and then there are the "real" databases (which the carriers and the FCC kind of sort of keep to themselves.
Renate said:
I've rarely seen lat/long on a CDMA signal
The LTE stuff only references cell number. You need a database to reference it to location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason open signal public OSM databases only "essentially" suck is because they're averages from lots of people, so, for example, a tower might be on the wrong side of the railroad tracks or in the middle of a river on those open signal public OSM maps when it's not really the case - but they're still good enough to geolocate you to a general area were I to publish the unique number in the screenshots.
Renate said:
I have a few cell numbers hard-coded to named location.
I can't even find my current tower on https://www.opencellid.org/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My tower is almost always my own femtocell or my cellular repeater (both of which I have but usually the femtocell wins out), which is unique to me (which is why I'm worried about privacy).
Unless you're in my driveway, only I would be using that femtocell (I don't know how far out they go, but it's not more than a few hundred feet at the most, isn't it?).
Hi, I'm a new member of the forum and this is my first post.
I've read this thread and it's an interesting discussion about layers in global positioning. But I have a simpler question out of curiosity;
is there perhaps a way to work around this plugin (https://github.com/wongpiwat/trust-location) without root / only with developer option, since I haven't found any fake gps app that could fool/bypass this part.
Or do I have to use a custom ROM to accomplish it?