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Purpose: I'm starting this thread to discuss the effects of using Latitude on battery life. Specifically, is there anything we can do to minimize the extra battery drain it causes. I like using latitude with family and friends and want to continue using the service (I'm sure I'm not the only one). I really need to find a way to use it without giving up on around 70% of my standby battery life.
Background: Over the past 2 nights, I've left my phone unplugged when I went to sleep. On the first night I was signed OUT of latitude and lost about 7% of my battery. On the second night I was signed IN to latitude and lost about 23%. To me, this doesn't make any sense and given what latitude does, its way too high. I noticed that in BetterBatteryStats, NetworkLocationLocator has 2h31m of partial wakelock time (Count: 2482, 16%) when latitude is turned ON. With latitude OFF, it was near the bottom of the list with a negligible amount of activity. I believe this is the primary contributor of the significant increase in battery usage when I use latitude on my device. I'm not an expert on BetterBatteryStats, but over the course of a day, I expect latitude to update my location a few dozen times. So, why is it showing a count of wakelocks in the thousands?
Specific Questions:
What might be causing the huge increase in NetworkLocationLocator wakelocks and is there anyway to get that number under control when using latitude?
I use tasker on my phone and I have profiles set up for higher battery life vs higher performance. Is there anyway to have tasker control latitude? If I can get an activity that would sign me in and another to sign me out, I'm sure I can incorporate that into my various profiles. (if tasker can't do it by itself, could a script be written to do it? I know tasker can execute certain types of scripts I just have no idea how to write them)
Has anyone used the program Latify (or something similar)? I know its an alternative client to the latitude service and I was wondering if it had better battery life than Google's client. This would be my last resort as I like having latitude integrated into Maps, which I also use often.
For the record, I'm running stock rooted KI3 (2.3.5). But, I have noticed huge battery drain with latitude on every rom so far with my GS2.
Thanks in advance to any and all who can help contribute to this problem and a solution.
Try this new app, from the developer of BetterBatteryStats: [APP] ALTitude, a Google Latitude updater with a low battery footprint
I think there are a lot of issues with Maps. Here is another thread where we think it causes wakelocks from Gtalk_async_conn: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1242519
Hopefully Google will fix these issues soon. But in the meantime, I think the solution is to freeze/kill Maps when you don't need it, and update Latitude through an alternative app.
Unfortunately, there's no way to control how Latitude will perform location updates, and it does stress the battery, even when you're not moving.
I would also advice to look into some third party apps to update your Latitude account.
As far as Latify is concerned (please note that I'm the developer of Latify), there are a lot of options in Latify that allow you to update your location. Not only the polling interval, but also WiFi / GPS usage, or a simple last known location republish without using the location manager can be configured). By hooking it up with Tasker, you can activate the polling profile that suits you best, allowing for accurate location updates while keeping battery life in mind. Many users have reported better battery life, and there's also a Battery Saving tips article at hemorrdroids.net that mentions Latitude/Latify
I'm usually signed out of latify from the Maps application, and only sign in to see my friends. I also see a battery life increase when not using Google Maps / Latitude, and using Latify to perform my location updates.
I only use latitude when I need it. So if me and my wife go out for the day with a couple of friends and split up, we can turn it on and locate each other when we want!
Otherwise I don't see why it would need to be on all the time. Also its good when traveling with more than one vehicle so you can see the progress of the other vehicles.
Its going to use battery as its checking for your location.
@Sparksltd : That's true, but some people like to use Google Latitude in a different way, updating their location more frequently, to make use of the dashboard features of Google Latitude (time spent at home / work , overview of places visited.....).
In order for the dashboard to work properly, you need a lot more data to be pushed in Google Latitude. For those users, they need to keep Latitude up and running most of the time, where it does eat up a lot of battery, without any control on how these updates are occurring.
I have over 150000 records in Latitude, and it gives a very detailed overview of when I was at home, when I was out working, when I'm visiting friends.... It also allows you to see all your trips abroad, and the places you visited there. It's nice sometimes to replay that, or if you need some kind of "Where was I / what did I do on a particular day" functionality.
When I'm at work for example, I don't want Latitude to constantly update my exact same location every couple of minutes, but I would like a more intelligent way of updating it (ex: update it every hour based on my last known location, or update it every 2 hours until I'm in my my car, and than resort to GPS based location updates as I'm probably going to be on the move, and in my car I can charge my phone).
That's why people resort to third party apps, as it gives them more control over how location updates occur, and how it will affect their battery.
Hello there! I have a suggestion. Is your phone rooted? If it is then this option is for you.
Install Titanium Backup Pro from Market and Freeze the Latitude app(I think it is bundled together with Maps) when you don't use it. When you need it then you can unfreeze the app.
Checked, this still happens when I do not use Latitude. The same service causes the partial wake locks. I am using Maps 6.0.2. I think the issue was accentuated since Maps 6.0.0, probably wowing to better integration with latitude and the core application?
IMO this looks like very bad programming from google. I doubt if they will ever fix this completely.
Well I have tried Backitude and it works fine for me. It has several options which you can configure like
- update interval (5 min - 60 min)
- Minimum change in distance (100 mts - 1000 mts)
- Real time tracking (Might cause huge battery drain)
I use update interval of 15 min and minimum change in distance of 250 mts. Set latitude to update manually and Backitude will do the rest for you. Enable Use wireless networks within location and security so that it uses your cellular network instead of GPS to track your approximate location.
This helps in reducing the partial wakelocks caused by google maps. Other similar apps are Latify and ALtitude.
Note : This app requests for google authentication token in order to access your account, you can create an application specific password by enabling two way account validation in your google account.
I use Latify, and find it works pretty well. In particular, the scenario described above applies to me - I don't want regular location updates when I'm at work or home. So I use Tasker to control latify - I only send an update once-per-hour when at home or in the office, but as soon as I go outside or to another location it switches to my 'out and about' profile, and Latify sends updates every 5 minutes. That way, I get granular updates while I'm in more interesting locations. I also have it switch to 'SatNav' mode when I launch Google Maps/Nav or CoPilot, which then enables GPS for hi-def location, and publishes updates every 30 seconds.
Works really well - you should give it a shot.
I have Location reporting/location sharing/location history all switched off in Google Maps, but still see the NetworkLocationLocator top of the list in BetterBatteryStats (14 minutes/count 221 in the last 2hrs 45mins). Does anyone have any idea why this service is still consuming so much battery if I have the Latitude options switched off??
(the phone is an S3 but presumably the issue is the same?)
For a few days now I've noticed a massive battery drain of Google maps, up to 60 per cent of the battery use, without evening opening the app (must have been running in the background). I have temporarily disabled the app on my phone, but am I the only person with this problem?
stevennekens said:
For a few days now I've noticed a massive battery drain of Google maps, up to 60 per cent of the battery use, without evening opening the app (must have been running in the background). I have temporarily disabled the app on my phone, but am I the only person with this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure the "Location reporting" (in Google Maps settings) is disabled if you don't want the battery drain. Moreover, Google Now activates the Location reporting so you might have to disable Google Now as well...
P.s: this post should be in Q&A section, doesn't it ?
vakbrain said:
Make sure the "Location reporting" (in Google Maps settings) is disabled if you don't want the battery drain. Moreover, Google Now activates the Location reporting so you might have to disable Google Now as well...
P.s: this post should be in Q&A section, doesn't it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have google now disabled all the time, and the location reporting was unchecked too.. Besides that, even if that had been activated, it shouldn't have taken 60% of my total battery (I had about 70% of my total battery left when I noticed it today), should it?
(...and yes, this one should be in the Q&A section, hadn't thought about that when I posted it though...)
I had the same issue. I turned all location reporting off and turned off Google now, also made sure GPS was off. All that helped a fair amount but Maps still kept running in the background even though I'd never used the app. In the end I used an app called Greenify to hibernate maps and a bunch of other background apps and it made a world of difference. Use wakelock detector to see which apps are causing wakelocks and disable any you don't need running.
Wyman Gibuil
use an extension car battery so it can add battery life even for month, just make sure you will get the same voltage
Its coz of google location services bug that HTC phones are having after the update.
If you are interested about it: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...ssues-for-htc-owners-google-working-on-a-fix/
In short:
Only location service thats working if you have this bug, is gps. Rest of locations services (wifi, mobile newtwork etc.) wont work.
Who couses it? - latest updates for google services.
How to fix it? - atm google is working on fix. There is some type of user fixes you can try. (see post).
Hope it explains your drain. I have this bu and i get this unusual drain from maps too.
Ive been running some battery monitoring software on the TS and it seems that google services is killing the battery, apparently something with the location apps constantly pinging for a location etc...
If I find a good tut i will post here, has anyone else noticed this prob with services chewing through their battery likes its free candy?
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1zxri4/google_play_services_battery_drain_the_real/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.andro.wlt
Edit:
The main culprit apparently seems to be "Google Search"
and possibly "Google Play Services"
The free app above will at let you block google search wake lock etc...
So what is the difference when blocking these services and does it have any drawbacks?
Hello all,
I recently flashed CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S5 and I've been trying to stop Google Play Services eating my battery. I've got Xposed and Amplify installed and I followed this guide
At 75% battery, Google Play has used 7%, Android OS 5%, Android System 2%. Compare this to my sisters phone, which is a HTC One M8, running Marshmallow Google Play Edition, Play services accounts for around 1% over a full charge.
I noticed that Google Play is constantly checking my location, I had the problem running both stock ROM and CyanogenMod. I don't use Google now and I've got Location History turned off. I've even set location to GPS only, but somehow Google still constantly checks my coarse location. I've disabled everything I can think of that might use my location, even auto time zone. Wifi and bluetooth scanning are both turned off. Initially I had a fresh install of CyanogenMod, Pico Gapps (Play Services and Play Store only), no Google account, but Play Services was still checking my location constantly. Using Amplify I've also disabled any services with "location" or "GPS" in the title.
According to Wake Lock Detector, my battery stats are pretty good. At 75% battery, Play Services has kept my phone awake for only 1 minute and 2 seconds. Awake time is usually around 2%, until I use Endomondo.
Any ideas where my battery power is going and how can I stop Google checking my location all the time?
Thanks in advance
Team - I am running the latest version of greenify posted on the playstore. I've followed guides for enabling agressive doze on android 6.0 on my moto x pure (non root) -- including adbing to the device to grant permissions on the app. It seems to be working most of the time. The device seems to go to sleep and i've seen a great increase in battery. However, seemingly randomly i'll notice battery draining fast. When i look at my usage its google play services keeping the device awake 100% of the time. If i reboot the phone, google play services stops doing that and all is well for awhile, till it repeats. I've been unable to find the cause of this. I imagine i'm missing some information that we might need to track this down. thanks in advance!
tange1 said:
Team - I am running the latest version of greenify posted on the playstore. I've followed guides for enabling agressive doze on android 6.0 on my moto x pure (non root) -- including adbing to the device to grant permissions on the app. It seems to be working most of the time. The device seems to go to sleep and i've seen a great increase in battery. However, seemingly randomly i'll notice battery draining fast. When i look at my usage its google play services keeping the device awake 100% of the time. If i reboot the phone, google play services stops doing that and all is well for awhile, till it repeats. I've been unable to find the cause of this. I imagine i'm missing some information that we might need to track this down. thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That may not have anything to do with Greenify unless you have greenified Play Services. If you have, remove it from hibernation.
Usually Play Services will go berserk upon updating itself in the background. What you can try is clear it's data and cache and reboot. If you have TWRP, do it in recovery. If not, do it in Settings>Apps.
tnsmani said:
That may not have anything to do with Greenify unless you have greenified Play Services. If you have, remove it from hibernation.
Usually Play Services will go berserk upon updating itself in the background. What you can try is clear it's data and cache and reboot. If you have TWRP, do it in recovery. If not, do it in Settings>Apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Here's what i've done:
I removed greenify, performed the actions you suggested and left greenify off for about 12 hours. No issues with google play services and keep awake. I reinstalled greenify and everything was good for a number of hours. Unfortunately the play services keep awake started again about 3.5 hours ago. The phone has a solid 'awake' bar in battery settings and play services is the culprit with 3.5 hours awake. While i dont blame greenify, there's some sort of correlation of events here that I can't explain.
tange1 said:
Thanks for the info. Here's what i've done:
I removed greenify, performed the actions you suggested and left greenify off for about 12 hours. No issues with google play services and keep awake. I reinstalled greenify and everything was good for a number of hours. Unfortunately the play services keep awake started again about 3.5 hours ago. The phone has a solid 'awake' bar in battery settings and play services is the culprit with 3.5 hours awake. While i dont blame greenify, there's some sort of correlation of events here that I can't explain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have Xposed? If so, install AppOpsXposed and untick the "Keep Awake" function of Play Services. Another thing you can try is uninstalling the update to the Play Services, reboot and then manually update it and again reboot.
If it is still not arrested, Google is your friend.
Unfortunately I've the same problem on my OnePlus 2 with stock ROM. I've installed Greenify two days ago, and enabled aggressive doze with amazing results! Last night I enabled Doze on the Go (using ADB) and since unplugging my phone this morning there is this constant wakelock of Google Play Services. Disabling Doze on the Go as well as reinstalling Greenify didn't help. Looking forward to a solution!
This is a known problem. Sometimes it's worse and sometimes less, but Google Play Services is a known offender in this manner. And Google processes in general. Part of the reason for this is that Google often wakes up your device, periodically, to track your location (horrible, yes, and it continued to happen for me even when all Google location options I could find, as well as GPS, were turned off).
Solutions that have reportedly worked for some people in the past (try one at a time or all of them) - they don't require root:
-Make sure you do not Greenify/freeze/hibernate Google Play Services, or similar processes, as this may make the issue worse.
-Clear cache and data of Google Play Services.
-Manually update Google Play Services to latest APK version available from your device, downloaded from the web. Make sure you select the right version for you. http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-services
-Try turning off as many Google background features as you can, such as location tracking/history, etc.
I guess some of these steps may only work after the next reboot, so reboot the device when you're done.
But as I said, this process is a known big offender. The above may not work, or may work temporarily. The stronger and more permanent solutions require root (you don't really need to try the above options if you do these). The more of them you do, the less 'keep awake' you should experience:
-Install Xposed Installer app and install Xposed Framework, so you can use the modules mentioned below...
-Use AppOpsXposed module (or CM Privacy Guard if you have it) to deny keep awake permission to Google Play Services, and other Google background apps.
-This is a big one: Install Amplify (Xposed module) from the Play Store, and it will automatically take care of limiting Google wakelocks. That's it. If you pay for the pro version, then you can additionally tweak and limit all wakelocks, alarms and services on your device (pretty cool and useful, but more involved, so for advanced users).
Cultar said:
..............
-This is a big one: Install Amplify (Xposed module) from the Play Store, and it will automatically take care of limiting Google wakelocks. That's it. If you pay for the pro version, then you can additionally tweak and limit all wakelocks, alarms and services on your device (pretty cool and useful, but more involved, so for advanced users).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unpaid version of Amplify will block a maximum of a couple of wakelocks related to location. Only the pro version is capable of blocking other wakelocks and alarms including those of Play Services. But as you said, it is not automatic and you will have to set it up.
Any updates on this?
Google play services is awful
MSK1 said:
Any updates on this?
Google play services is awful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a Greenify issue. Some devices/ROMs/configs seem more susceptible to GPS runaway. Clearing GPS cache+data on occasion followed by an immediate reboot has proven helpful for some. Good luck.