Hello,
I recently noticed that when my GPS is activated, and I write a text (new or replying) the GPS icon in the notification bar will start flashing. I know enough from other programs, like Maps and such, that the flashing means it is trying to get location. At the time this happens, I am not (actively) using any apps that require GPS. Usually I'll turn off GPS when I see this.
My question is, why on earth is my phone trying to get location when I'm writing a text message? How do I figure out what app is triggering it?
I've owned this phone for a year, and have not rooted. I am using the native texting app.
Thank you in advance for your help.
nickzee said:
Hello,
I recently noticed that when my GPS is activated, and I write a text (new or replying) the GPS icon in the notification bar will start flashing. I know enough from other programs, like Maps and such, that the flashing means it is trying to get location. At the time this happens, I am not (actively) using any apps that require GPS. Usually I'll turn off GPS when I see this.
My question is, why on earth is my phone trying to get location when I'm writing a text message? How do I figure out what app is triggering it?
I've owned this phone for a year, and have not rooted. I am using the native texting app.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try turning it off, I had this issue with my stock ROM, where GPS would turn on automatically, if I turn it off, it would turn back on in 5-10 seconds.
mohitgarg said:
Try turning it off, I had this issue with my stock ROM, where GPS would turn on automatically, if I turn it off, it would turn back on in 5-10 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. If the GPS is off before I text, then the Icon does not flash.
If GPS is on before I text, then it flashes.
I haven't seen the GPS (as a whole) turn on by it's self like you mentioned.
Thank you
Related
hey im wondering if this would work for us or is there some porting needed and is this somthing that would help gps and if im in the wrong section please move.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881941
Very interesting post indeed.
From his findings, I'm also wondering if we have Auto Rotate Screen (the accelerometers) turned off, if that hinders the ability for our GPS to accurately detect location and movement. He suggested that it goes into low-power mode when it isn't detecting movement via the sensors, but didn't say what happens if the sensors are turned off.
...I'm going to have to test this out tomorrow.
Are people still having issues with GPS on the fascinate? Since we more or less had the issue fixed I've had as good or better GPS performance than on my other smartphones.
Da_G is a good buddy of mine, trust me, if anyone knows wtf they are talking about, it would be him....
lane32x said:
Very interesting post indeed.
From his findings, I'm also wondering if we have Auto Rotate Screen (the accelerometers) turned off, if that hinders the ability for our GPS to accurately detect location and movement. He suggested that it goes into low-power mode when it isn't detecting movement via the sensors, but didn't say what happens if the sensors are turned off.
...I'm going to have to test this out tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im just wondering if this is safe to flash to our phones or does it need to be ported to fascinate
yep still having issues with gps...sometimes doesn't lock. sometimes takes forever. sometimes...omgsh...it actually locks!
not reliable.
I applied the d101 gps fix to eb01 and my gps locks in around 20sec. Auto rotate or not my gosh never locked on eb01 without the d101 fix.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Just tested my gps a little. Mine is locking within 5 meters in a brick building with auto rotation on or off. Not in a car currently but I took a little jog and it seemed to follow my direction and location very accurately in both.
So I guess my GPS is pretty good.
Regardless... I wanted to say thanks for reposting that because it was a really interesting read!
It should just work, even though EB01 stock should just work too.
Just don't flash the AT&T-specific version...
The Fascinate doesn't seem to have the same layout concerning the gps jupiter files (I don't see them anywhere, at first glance). Either I am missing something or it's a completely different setup.
There are some settings in his /data/gps/secgps.conf (just a text configuration file) that are different than the stock fascinate file. These might be worth looking into to see if they help improve the signal without using his modified binary. You don't need to flash the file using CWM, just use adb to push a modified file (or root explorer and edit it on the phone itself).
Since this is a CDMA phone, I don't know how many people this would affect, but here is a general Android GPS tip for those who don't live in North America:
In /system/etc/gps.conf, change the address to the server that corresponds to your country:
Code:
NTP_SERVER=[COLOR="Red"]north-america[/COLOR].pool.ntp.org
I usually can't get an accurate lock or any lock at all unless I reboot with gps already enabled. Then I will get a good lock instantly... If I reboot the phone with gps off then I will get no signal/lock again.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Let me share my experience with GPS on EB01, it's GREAT, you just have to turn on GPS "correctly."
If I turn on GPS using the Notification switch, GPS takes FOREVER to lock, if it even does so. Gone several minutes with no lock.
Now here's the thing, if you turn on GPS in the Settings > Location settings, I always get super fast, under 5 second GPS locks. ALWAYS. I've tried this out repeatedly over several days, and it really makes a difference. Once you turn on GPS using Settings, you can leave your phone on, reboot, whatever, and GPS will still be responsive. If you turn it off, wait a while and use the Notification switch to turn on GPS and you're trying to get a cold lock, it'll be slow again, just be sure to use the Setting option and it'll be back to being responsive.
That's my experience.
CrushD said:
Let me share my experience with GPS on EB01, it's GREAT, you just have to turn on GPS "correctly."
If I turn on GPS using the Notification switch, GPS takes FOREVER to lock, if it even does so. Gone several minutes with no lock.
Now here's the thing, if you turn on GPS in the Settings > Location settings, I always get super fast, under 5 second GPS locks. ALWAYS. I've tried this out repeatedly over several days, and it really makes a difference. Once you turn on GPS using Settings, you can leave your phone on, reboot, whatever, and GPS will still be responsive. If you turn it off, wait a while and use the Notification switch to turn on GPS and you're trying to get a cold lock, it'll be slow again, just be sure to use the Setting option and it'll be back to being responsive.
That's my experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice observation...just worked for me too!!
By golly... He's right, although it took me about twenty seconds to lock.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Hmm... I remember this from a different android device I have. The stock power control widget for wifi would take 45 seconds longer for the network to connect then if I would go to the wifi menu and turn it on myself. I found out that there were two methods for turning on the wifi programmatically, and that some widgets used one method and the other widgets used the other.
If I remember right, the fast method changed the setting by calling the wifi menu and emulating the menu press, while the slow method attempted to power on the wifi directly.
$10 says that if you started decompiling, you'd find a similar situation here.
stock rom
If i leave gps on.... and all the apps i have that may use gps (travel, voucher etc) do not run in the back ground,
except google maps.... will this really drain random battery throughout the day.
The reason I ask this is when using google maps...i see the gps symbol on the top of my phone, but once i back out of it...the symbol disappears, and when i go back into it to resume what i was doing the symbol turns back on and the gps has to find my location all over again.
Hence I come to the conclusion that the gps is not 'always on' when you don't need or (given you don't have any dodgy apps)
Then I could turn off googles location sharing thing, because if I am correct you need that on if you want to use location services without gps?
SGS2 uses sirfstar IV
http://www.sys-con.com/node/1822443
http://www.csr.com/products/25/sirfstariv-gsd4t
This is a modern GPS chip, it don't think it uses much battery. I've always GPS on and I've no battery issues. And I agree that it seems that the chip is set to some kind of standby when not in use so turning off the GPS in the settings (or notfication pull down) seems more like a privacy thing than power related.
Thanks for confirming. Will now try leaving gps on and location services off and see what happens. sometimes gps on its own takes a few extra seconds to locate you...might be annoying with certain apps
If you refuse location sharing you will not be able to use WIFI positioning service, but can still use cell tower positioning if your GPS is off. Personally I never use WPS since WIFI use a whole lot of power so I always keep it off. There are situations where it's useful (i.e. inside downtown can't get a GPS signal), so you can decide if you want it or not.
I usually keep my GPS off too, since when I open maps I just want to look at map, I don't need to know my exact location (and use the extra power).
My Galaxy S2 GPS sucks the battery life when I keep it on. My partner keeps his Galaxy S2 GPS on and the icon only comes on when something like Maps loads but immediatly goes away when you you exit Maps. Mine seems to stay on all the time and I can't see any obvious process running all of the time (except Maps). I monitor the battery usage with a tool and GPS is certainly running my battery down far quicker than if I turn it off.
Anyone else experiencing the same?
marklyn said:
My partner keeps his Galaxy S2 GPS on and the icon only comes on when something like Maps loads but immediatly goes away when you you exit Maps. Mine seems to stay on all the time and I can't see any obvious process running all of the time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the GPS setting turned on all the time, but my GPS only really turns on when I open an app that uses GPS, like Maps or Facebook. Just like your partner.
I actually want to keep it on all the time... like yours
Can you send me your /etc/gps.conf and /etc/sirfgps.conf ?
I'm not sure if that's what control this behaviour.
Noed said:
I have the GPS setting turned on all the time, but my GPS only really turns on when I open an app that uses GPS, like Maps or Facebook. Just like your partner.
I actually want to keep it on all the time... like yours
Can you send me your /etc/gps.conf and /etc/sirfgps.conf ?
I'm not sure if that's what control this behaviour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only had the gps.conf, not the sirfgps.conf file. Attached here.
I have to turn on GPS only when I need it for something and turn it off, otherwise it clearly drains my battery, in pretty quick fashion.
I had to rename it gps.txt to upload it.
Keeping GPS on is not draining your battery, because its realy turning on, only on application requests. Battery drain may come from some buggy app, which not close it GPS connection. You can easily see this by your GPS indicator. No indicator - no app using GPS atm - no battery drain, flashing indicator - GPS trying to lock ur position, indicator on - GPS is used and got lock on sattelites.
incident404 said:
its realy turning on, only on application requests
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to keep GPS always on, independent of an application request?
I want to control it on/off manually
I leave GPS on all the time. Only works when apps request / need it. No battery life issues for me.
Sent from my GT-I9100
Hey guys, I don;t really use GPS on my Galaxy Player 4'', but I have notices that it will all the sudden display the GPS icon in the notification area even when it is off. I have disabled GPS and the "Use wireless networks" option, but the icon will appear at least once a day and won't disappear until I reboot the device. It just keeps blinking over and over until I reboot the device.
I have noticed it drains my battery way to quick when that icon appears (uses about 10% when the deviced is locked), which is crazy because it uses about (2%) battery power when it is locked during the night and the player does not shows that GPS icon in the notification area. I have killed pretty much every single application I have been able to kill to find out what app is trying to use GPS, but the icon won't go away no matter what process I kill. I use juicedefender and it has really improve my battery life, but when that icon appears, my device still will waste about 10% battery power even when it is locked with no apps running. Cannot explained why this is happening.
Has any of you had this problem?
Thank you
Try reseting to factory default, my batttery life on galaxy 4.0 is incredible.
I've had the same problem on my 5.0. I figured out it was an app that was constantly trying to get a gps signal. Simply going into the app and the exiting out seems to solve it however. It still happens but going into the app and exiting out helps. I would try to figure out which app is constantly trying to connect and if you don't use it very frequently uninstall it.
Dampfire said:
I've had the same problem on my 5.0. I figured out it was an app that was constantly trying to get a gps signal. Simply going into the app and the exiting out seems to solve it however. It still happens but going into the app and exiting out helps. I would try to figure out which app is constantly trying to connect and if you don't use it very frequently uninstall it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Difficult to pinpoint this app.
Do anybody know any way to log what app is using (or trying to use) GPS?
I noticed this happening today. I have my notification bar hidden, so not sure how often this happens. I could make it go away by turning on GPS and GPS Test, then back off. I checked for apps that might be trying to find a location in running services, killed a couple "maybes", but the icon kept blinking. Only app I installed today was Simple Calendar Widget, but didn't see anything in it's options that would be pinging location...
I have Power Tudor that shows how much juice apps are using while you monitor them, the only app there that looked like it could be was something like "system_1025" or something like that.... nothing I could find to stop it.
Dampfire said:
I've had the same problem on my 5.0. I figured out it was an app that was constantly trying to get a gps signal. Simply going into the app and the exiting out seems to solve it however. It still happens but going into the app and exiting out helps. I would try to figure out which app is constantly trying to connect and if you don't use it very frequently uninstall it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tcat007 said:
I noticed this happening today. I have my notification bar hidden, so not sure how often this happens. I could make it go away by turning on GPS and GPS Test, then back off. I checked for apps that might be trying to find a location in running services, killed a couple "maybes", but the icon kept blinking. Only app I installed today was Simple Calendar Widget, but didn't see anything in it's options that would be pinging location...
I have Power Tudor that shows how much juice apps are using while you monitor them, the only app there that looked like it could be was something like "system_1025" or something like that.... nothing I could find to stop it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also use Simple Calendar Widget, but I don't think it's the reason.
Did you use Samsung Dive recently? I did, in order to test the ring, lock and location service provided from within Dive. The service running on device tries to establish a GPS connection even if GPS is disabled. I didn't make a location trace, only a simple location test.
After reboot GPS icon do not show up any more ...
Looks like Google Latitude might be the culprit. Try opening it and signing out of that service. Also go into "Settings" --> "Location and security" and uncheck "Use Sensor Aiding". Once I turned those off the GPS Notification went away.
What does sensor aiding do anyway? Sure doesn't help the Compass!
I had the same issue with my HTC ONE M8 I did the same process as you. Went into my settings found my battery usage and saw what was draining my battery. It was groupon. So I force stopped the app and the GPS notification went away.
Hello all!
Since yesterday, when I updated the firmware of my phone, the GPS icon has been shown constantly in the notification bar. It did not use to happen before. I am afraid it might be draining more battery than needed but I don't want to turn off GPS completely as I wanted it to be "ready to use" whenever I need to use, for example, Google Maps.
Is there something I can do? How can I control which app's might be using GPS connection in every moment?
Thank you!
+1
Every once in a while I see the GPS icon light up for a couple of seconds without apparent reason. I have no auto geo locating widget or so running, which might be an obvious guess.
Edit: just noticed I had weather information enabled on the lock screen so that may be the cause.
I've had this issue for a while now, but I'm wondering if it's just me or if this is something common.
Every once in a while, my Player (5.0 US) will show the GPS trying to acquire a signal icon, but it won't go to lock. I've been in places where I have good GPS signal normally, and it will stay that way for hours.
To add at my confusion, it sometimes comes up even if the GPS is turned off. In these cases, I've turned on a GPS reporting tool, and it can see that I've got a good connection with several satellites. I turn the GPS officially on, and it gets the lock (thanks to the program). Close the program and the GPS goes dormant again.
The only thing I can remotely think of is Google location services trying to pin point where my wifi is, but that doesn't explain why it can't get a lock.
Anyone else seen this or know what it is?
Hi there,
I have exactly the same problem as you. GPS is turned off but its symbol is flashing in the notification bar. I noticed this problem tomorrow morning wondering why my battery is low although I charged it yesterday afternoon.
Are you using gingerbread?
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, stock setup right now