Related
Gingerbread doesn't allow apps to turn on/off GPS anymore (CM still does but it's missing some features for my device that I can't live without). Only system apps can do this these days.
As I use Tasker to automate a lot of stuff this quite sucks. I tried making Tasker a system app but the latest version still refuses to toggle GPS.
Thus my request: Could someone please create 2 tiny apps that just turn GPS on/off that can be moved to system and used by other apps to toggle that setting?
Why do you need to do that?
Just keep gps on, it doesn't do anything while it's not in use by some app. In particular, it doesn't contribute to battery drain while inactive.
some apps use GPS while in background, e.g. Google Maps. So having GPS enabled does drain the battery
XlAfbk said:
some apps use GPS while in background, e.g. Google Maps. So having GPS enabled does drain the battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, I don't think I've ever seen that happen. The only time I see the GPS in use indicator on my notification bar is when an app like maps, my tracks etc is in the foreground. Just checked that as soon as I switch away from maps by hitting the home button, the GPS indicator vanishes.
Sent from my COS-DS using XDA App
XlAfbk said:
some apps use GPS while in background, e.g. Google Maps. So having GPS enabled does drain the battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
drbobb is right. Having GPS enabled does not mean that the actual hardware is on all the time. It merely means that android will allow apps to use it, at which point the GPS hardware will become active. So having it "ON" is just a permission thing.
If you are worried about GPS background apps (really Maps does that? I will surely test this), then I would highly recommend LBE Privacy Guard. Set the app up in such a way that Maps will need to ask you for permission to switch on GPS hardware. I tried this with the android browser because it uses GPS when you start it at google.com. Works like a charm!
well, it is as it is. this thread is not intended as a discussion thread about whether someone thinks disabling GPS is unneccessary. it's a request for an app that just turns on GPS and quits.
I often see the GPS satellite symbol showing activity like some app is using my GPS when I dont have a GPS or navigation related app open. How can I tell what active process is using GPS at a given moment?
Thanks
tk_xda said:
I often see the GPS satellite symbol showing activity like some app is using my GPS when I dont have a GPS or navigation related app open. How can I tell what active process is using GPS at a given moment?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you just disable it?
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using Tapatalk
matt95 said:
Why don't you just disable it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I want GPS to be ready when I do open a nav app. And I am curious if there's a way to tell what is using it.
Go to menu-system apps-running...
List all you have running when you see that gps symbol. My guess is that you may be signed into google latitude.
If it is latitude, go to google maps, settings, and somewhere in there is an option to sign out of latitude.
Its not latitude. Google sets GPS to sleep when apps are running in the background. Third party developers aren't as good as Google.
Anyone have a real answer and not a guess?
Searched very long for a solution and it was quite hard to find the solution working without root, so I'll post it here:
Get the app "GSAM Battery Monitor" from Google Play, on GSAM's start screen select "Application Usage",
then on top of the screen select to view the used GPS time.
Well, this doesn't show which app is using GPS right now but you can see how much time each app actually activated GPS since the last battery charge, so this is very helpful to determine the apps using GPS in the background.
Hi
Even if your gps is turned on, it dosen't necessarily means that gps is being used. Use Spare Parts app from play store and it'll show you what all apps used gps since you last plugged in your phone charger. And yes, don't use this app while your phone is being charged...otherwise the readings gets resetted.
Also, the android os uses gps continually, like the camera app, gallery app etc.
abachhd said:
Hi
Even if your gps is turned on, it dosen't necessarily means that gps is being used. Use Spare Parts app from play store and it'll show you what all apps used gps since you last plugged in your phone charger. And yes, don't use this app while your phone is being charged...otherwise the readings gets resetted.
Also, the android os uses gps continually, like the camera app, gallery app etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi i want also ask about usages of my GPS and CPU
Before i go to bed I was at 100%
IMG: 2i.cz/2i/i/5238835a/105ba874a6a915965707995aef057fe5/718485af7c.p.jpg This is graph of my battery after morning.
Is there some tool which tells me what process used CPU and what used GPS?
I know last hour of graph could be facebook, but till that time was no activity.
d1one said:
Is there some tool which tells me what process used CPU and what used GPS?
I know last hour of graph could be facebook, but till that time was no activity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
yes there is: GSAM battery monitor - please read my post above on how to find out with it which app used the GPS for how long
Sent from my Lenovo B6000-F using xda app-developers app
Does Advanced Task Killer drain my battery even if I'm not using autokill or killing any tasks at all? Like if I just leave it there, will it still drain.
And one important question as well, if a AOL's notification icon appears in the status bar, but I don't see it on the running services list, is the app still running in the background?
Does anyone have bad battery by using WidgetLocker or Weatherbug? I can't tell what is usingy battery
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
NekoNyapii said:
Does Advanced Task Killer drain my battery even if I'm not using autokill or killing any tasks at all? Like if I just leave it there, will it still drain.
And one important question as well, if a AOL's notification icon appears in the status bar, but I don't see it on the running services list, is the app still running in the background?
Does anyone have bad battery by using WidgetLocker or Weatherbug? I can't tell what is usingy battery
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok first, throw out ATK. the only reason you should use it is to kill a rogue app that has a bad memory leak, or is stuck in a race condition. and you can do this through the settings in any rom, so there is no need for an app.
Second, do you use an AOL app? if so then if it has an icon on the status bar then yes it is running and it has the ability to drain your battery. if its not showing up in the running services, then its not really running. its a neat trick where the app puts a notification in the bar then closes. and when you click it it reopens to where it was.
As for widgetlocker, i used it for a long time and if its setup right it shouldnt drain battery. it all depends on the widgets you have on both your lockscreen and your homescreen. widgets that use alot of battery will do so, while well written ones will not.
anyway, before i get too far off track. if you think a certian app is sucking your battery dry, use an application to freeze it, or just uninstall it and run the phone for a full charge cycle to see if it improves or stays the same. if it gets better, and you used the phone the same way, than that app is the culprit.
Klathmon said:
ok first, throw out ATK. the only reason you should use it is to kill a rogue app that has a bad memory leak, or is stuck in a race condition. and you can do this through the settings in any rom, so there is no need for an app.
Second, do you use an AOL app? if so then if it has an icon on the status bar then yes it is running and it has the ability to drain your battery. if its not showing up in the running services, then its not really running. its a neat trick where the app puts a notification in the bar then closes. and when you click it it reopens to where it was.
As for widgetlocker, i used it for a long time and if its setup right it shouldnt drain battery. it all depends on the widgets you have on both your lockscreen and your homescreen. widgets that use alot of battery will do so, while well written ones will not.
anyway, before i get too far off track. if you think a certian app is sucking your battery dry, use an application to freeze it, or just uninstall it and run the phone for a full charge cycle to see if it improves or stays the same. if it gets better, and you used the phone the same way, than that app is the culprit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh sorry I didn't mean AOL app I meant like any app that has a notification icon on status bar. And do you know any good apps to monitor what is using the CPU or causing the battery drain?
And I know ATK is not really needed, but does it still drain battery if you don't use autokill or kill any tasks?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
NekoNyapii said:
Oh sorry I didn't mean AOL app I meant like any app that has a notification icon on status bar. And do you know any good apps to monitor what is using the CPU or causing the battery drain?
And I know ATK is not really needed, but does it still drain battery if you don't use autokill or kill any tasks?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i couldnt tell you if it does or not, but if it does not have a service or process running then its not hurting anything.
as for monitoring cpu or battery drain. i use a program called "System Tuner Pro" it costs money, but it tells you what apps are using how much cpu time in seconds. Any app like that will help, but its not a perfect system, it just helps point you in the right direction.
Last Note, the developer of "System Tuner Pro" is a good friend of mine, so i might be bias in using it
Klathmon said:
i couldnt tell you if it does or not, but if it does not have a service or process running then its not hurting anything.
as for monitoring cpu or battery drain. i use a program called "System Tuner Pro" it costs money, but it tells you what apps are using how much cpu time in seconds. Any app like that will help, but its not a perfect system, it just helps point you in the right direction.
Last Note, the developer of "System Tuner Pro" is a good friend of mine, so i might be bias in using it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just downloaded System Tuner Pro, its awesome. I have it on recording right now, hopefully it doesnt drain too much battery.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
While recording it will, buy it also will show you EVERYTHING that is happening on your phone
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
Klathmon said:
While recording it will, buy it also will show you EVERYTHING that is happening on your phone
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I paid for the app. Do you know if the Maps app eats a lot of battery as well? Its always in the running services.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
There is a reason Maps is always running. When an app wants to get location data, it can call on GPS. GPS will return the distance from 3 (or more) satellites, various times, and latitude and longitude. This information is useless to the majority of apps that use it, so they will have to convert it to something useful (like nearby address or a city name).
Now, Google knew this, and instead of making each app that needs a city or address figure it out on its own (which would most likely be a slow, resource hungry process) Google made its Maps program open source. So now these apps can just make a call to the always running maps process and it returns an address, city name, nearby supermarkets, ect...
This app is also responsible for your phone being able to get a rough position without having GPS turned on, it gets WIFI data, Cell tower names, and various other things to figure out roughly where you are in the world. This lets apps like WeatherBug to get your city without ever using GPS.
So thats why its always running, and there is no need to try and kill it ever. Maps is a very well written program, and your better off just letting it do its thing. (if you try to fight it, it's probably going to win )
I do believe I have an answer to this. I found today that, after I finally sat down and finished rooting and flashing and installing and rebooting and updating and all the rest of the happy stuff that equals a much happier user, that ATK did infact drain my battery in an exponencial amount. Prior to that, it was ok. After running CM7, in about 2 hours it drained my battery almost to dead. Now, i work in radio shack, so I've had my phone on the charger and my battery was still dying. So in all haste, remove ATK!!!
jaywillsoul said:
I do believe I have an answer to this. I found today that, after I finally sat down and finished rooting and flashing and installing and rebooting and updating and all the rest of the happy stuff that equals a much happier user, that ATK did infact drain my battery in an exponencial amount. Prior to that, it was ok. After running CM7, in about 2 hours it drained my battery almost to dead. Now, i work in radio shack, so I've had my phone on the charger and my battery was still dying. So in all haste, remove ATK!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also go here and read.
http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
Klathmon said:
There is a reason Maps is always running. When an app wants to get location data, it can call on GPS. GPS will return the distance from 3 (or more) satellites, various times, and latitude and longitude. This information is useless to the majority of apps that use it, so they will have to convert it to something useful (like nearby address or a city name).
Now, Google knew this, and instead of making each app that needs a city or address figure it out on its own (which would most likely be a slow, resource hungry process) Google made its Maps program open source. So now these apps can just make a call to the always running maps process and it returns an address, city name, nearby supermarkets, ect...
This app is also responsible for your phone being able to get a rough position without having GPS turned on, it gets WIFI data, Cell tower names, and various other things to figure out roughly where you are in the world. This lets apps like WeatherBug to get your city without ever using GPS.
So thats why its always running, and there is no need to try and kill it ever. Maps is a very well written program, and your better off just letting it do its thing. (if you try to fight it, it's probably going to win )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used system tuner to prevent maps from starting up and it doesnt show up in running services anymore. It seems like my battery is a lot better this way.
The only time I really use maps is for gps. I use gps, maps turns on and then when I turn gps off, maps doesnt run in the background anymore. That's the only reason why im keeping system tuner I have no other need for location service.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
And plus I don't see why Maps always needs to be running. When I need it for location services, then it could just start up then, no need to always keep it running, I really do believe it drains a lot of my battery.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Is there a way so that when the battery dips below a certain threshold the phone can automatically disable things like Bluetooth or GPS to save battery? Is something like this built into JB (I'm on CM 10) or is there an adequate app for this functionality?
Hmm...I think there is. Try going to settings, profiles, and change up or play around with the default/home/work... settings. You can toggle WiFi, mobile data, Bluetooth... Etc
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app
Tasker (app) does it. I think Llama does also and is free.
I'm not setting a gps quick setting option. Am I missing something or it doesn't exist? Closest one I found was location, but that turned off the whole location
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
It does exists. I don't understand well your question.
If you press and hold position toggle you can access Position settings.
Yes the Location toggle is the GPS toggle. It will turn the GPS on and off.
schmeggy929 said:
Yes the Location toggle is the GPS toggle. It will turn the GPS on and off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it turns off location which is different than turning on and off gps
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Wildclip said:
No it turns off location which is different than turning on and off gps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it turns off my GPS.
schmeggy929 said:
Well it turns off my GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In location settings you have 3 modes. High Accuracy, Battery Saving, Device Only. Only High Accuracy is technically considered GPS since it uses the GPS module on the phone. I want to be able to flip from High Accuracy to Battery Saving because of applications like weather or yelp that require your location through mobile data. If I turn off all location services which is what that toggle does, it turns off everything. I guess I'll just have to go through the menu for this.
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Wildclip said:
In location settings you have 3 modes. High Accuracy, Battery Saving, Device Only. Only High Accuracy is technically considered GPS since it uses the GPS module on the phone. I want to be able to flip from High Accuracy to Battery Saving because of applications like weather or yelp that require your location through mobile data. If I turn off all location services which is what that toggle does, it turns off everything. I guess I'll just have to go through the menu for this.
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah Both The High Accuracy and Device are True GPS modes, while battery saving mode is only using wifi or mobile data(not actually using True GPS). Like the above user said only way to do what you want is long press the quick settings Location and choose from there.
Found what I was looking for by downloading the HTC gps widget https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/htc-c.../gps-widget-7-50-636098-android-apk-download/
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Wildclip said:
Found what I was looking for by downloading the HTC gps widget https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/htc-c.../gps-widget-7-50-636098-android-apk-download/
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed that too on my device, but doesn't works...it only reads status, does not toggle gos on or off...
It doesn't have a GPS icon. It only has a location icon. If you go into location in settings you can turn it off completely by the toggle at the top right..
skodann said:
Installed that too on my device, but doesn't works...it only reads status, does not toggle gos on or off...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't work anymore with the Oreo update
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Wildclip said:
It doesn't work anymore with the Oreo update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that is not so hard to make it work for someone who knows the secrets of android...