Database Info

New GPS API idea

IGNORE ME!!! Waste of a post, seems this is not only not a new idea, but already implemented (just not used apparently).
I know this might not be the best place to put this but I do not know an official way to suggest this to google.
Background info: I have been testing out latitude and it has been failing. I spent a few hours (really) reading a forum on google about other users having the same problems (where it sometimes will not update your location for hours or days at a time). I started thinking what if there was an api to get the location instead of a direct gps read.
My idea is what if every time an app got a gps lock if the OS were to record it in a db somewhere as "last known location" (lkl from here on) and "last location time" (llt). Apps that need an immediate fix (maps) could turn on the gps and get it (which would then update the lkl and llt), but apps that need a recent location (locale, latitude, google local search etc) could check the llt and see if it is recent enough for them. If for example, locale needed a lkl from 5 minutes or less it could check to see if one is recent enough to use. If not it could turn on gps and get one. If so, it would use the lkl that was recorded and be done. In this example one gps location fix every 5 minutes could satisfy 20 different apps, with the app that needs the most recent updates doing most of the polling. For example, say most of your apps want a 30 minute llt but locale wants a 5 minute llt. Locale would probably be doing all of the polling, but the rest of the apps would not need to since 5 minutes is recent enough for them. This could potentially save battery and make apps like latitude work better since not all apps need an exact fix.
I know this was long and might not fit in here, but I figured if I put it here maybe someone of importance (or someone who knows the right people) could pass it on. It is one of those things that I would forget if I do not get it out.

This is already built into the Android APIs. You can get the last location known to the device, the time of the location, for any of the location providers.

yeah, was just talking to someone who told me the same thing. waste of 10 minutes of my life. I am a little pissed now that I know latitude and other apps could be using this and are not.

[Q] Syncronising time

Is there a way to syncronise the time on my HTC HD7. I notice it regularly loses a couple of minutes each day.

brian leach said:
Is there a way to syncronise the time on my HTC HD7. I notice it regularly loses a couple of minutes each day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Settings, Date & Time, make sure you've got "Set Automatically" switched on.
This should keep your phone's clock in sync with Internet Time servers.
If it doesn't work, then there's either a bug, or the time servers can't be contacted for some reason.
But AFAIK there is no other way to sync the time.

Thanks for the response. It is already set that way. perhaps an app will appear in due course.

brian leach said:
Thanks for the response. It is already set that way. perhaps an app will appear in due course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I very much doubt it! For a start, as I understand it, apps can read the system time on the phone but they do not have the privilege to change it.
I may be wrong on that, but then you've got the fact that WP7 already does time synchronization, even if it doesn't seem to be working for you at the moment.

Looks like I shall just have to correct it manually periodically.
Still like the phone and wp 7 even with a few foibles.

Maybe a Microsoft update can fix it.. does Microsoft even know that their clock is faulty and needs manually fixing?

I don't have such a switch in date and time...
there is just a switch to make the time show 12 or 24 hour...
a selection field for time zone, selection field for time, selection field for date
No automatic update switch.
I have a HTC mozart, and I also noticed a slight delay (if I don't connect to the computer, but if I connect to computer then it seems OK...). BTW shouldn't work this automatic update also through Wlan?!?

My clock is 5-10 minutes late!

Hello everybody,
since I am not allowed to post in the official thread for ARHD until i have at least 10 post, i will do it here.
I flashed ARHD 6.51 a while ago and noticed, that my clock is couple of minutes late. So I decided to sync it with the internet. Nothing happened. I rebooted my device and the clock was showing the correct time - at least for a while. After a few hours, the clock was late again. So I set it to the right time manually. I guess you know what happens next... its late again.
So i superwiped my phone and flashed the latest version of ARHD v. 6.6.2.
At first the clock showed the correct time, but after a few hours it was late AGAIN!
I booted into the recovery and noticed that the time in the recovery was correct. I reseted my phone to factory defaults and still no change.
Does anyone of you know how to fix this?
Greetings,
elyts

Happened to me once while I was on college..
I turned of automatic clock sync and set it manually... When I got home (after 7-8 hours), I turned it on again and it was showing correct time.. Dunno what happened but now its ok for me... It was on older version of ARHD... 6.x.x

try downloading ClockSync from Google Play Store, that syncs your clock really accurately using the internet and you can get it to sync automatically bit of a botch but might do it

lifeisfaked said:
try downloading ClockSync from Google Play Store, that syncs your clock really accurately using the internet and you can get it to sync automatically bit of a botch but might do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow damn. If I could use all of today's thanks on this one post, I would. I had already accepted that my time would lose sync every couple of days, but ClockSync seems to be doing the trick after unchecking the HTC time sync. Thanks!

rawrfische said:
Wow damn. If I could use all of today's thanks on this one post, I would. I had already accepted that my time would lose sync every couple of days, but ClockSync seems to be doing the trick after unchecking the HTC time sync. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem could you do me a massive favour and vote for me in this competition I'm in? See my signature! Thanks

I already downloaded ClockSync. But that is only a way to bypass this problem and not to solve it. I want to know why the clock is always late. Espacially when WiFi is on. This is a 400 € phone. It should at least be able to show me the correct time.

elyts said:
I already downloaded ClockSync. But that is only a way to bypass this problem and not to solve it. I want to know why the clock is always late. Espacially when WiFi is on. This is a 400 € phone. It should at least be able to show me the correct time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I have the feeling that it is not the phone's fault, hear me out. Your phone does not keep the time, it reads it from your phone provider or wifi if it is connected. My guess is that your phone is reading the wrong time from some of those sources.
And by the way before continuing I would go to Greenwich and check the correct time!
rio

I bookmarked a similar page to check the correct time. So you think my phone doesn't have an internal clock server or something that provides the time if its set manually? I have to correct my last statement. The time is late only when WiFi is enabled.

elyts said:
I bookmarked a similar page to check the correct time. So you think my phone doesn't have an internal clock server or something that provides the time if its set manually? I have to correct my last statement. The time is late only when WiFi is enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, the phone has an internal clock, but it rather not use it, while there is internet connection. So setting up your time manually will only work until the phone syncs with the sources from your service provider/internet.
If you want to keep your own "manual" time my guess is you would have to disable a few sync options on your phone, one of them being Settings/Date&time/Automatic date&time.
rio

rio911 said:
Of course, the phone has an internal clock, but it rather not use it, while there is internet connection. So setting up your time manually will only work until the phone syncs with the sources from your service provider/internet.
If you want to keep your own "manual" time my guess is you would have to disable a few sync options on your phone, one of them being Settings/Date&time/Automatic date&time.
rio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Automatic date&time is disabled... Everything i know is that if WiFi is enabled the clock will be late after a few hours. I disabled every possible option that could have something to do with wrong sync or something. And the lower my battery gets, the faster my clock gets slow.. Could it have something to do with WiFi and or battery?

Anybody there?

[Q] Is my battery a dud

Hi everyone I'm new to the forums and smartphones. But I got a razr hd from fido a few months ago. I've never compared the battery life and could get 3 hours of screen time on one charge. At first I thought it was great but then I used my friends razr (non maxx like mine). But I could watch 3 hours of YouTube videos with max sound and only used 50% of the battery. I got the warranty from future shop that will replace my battery, but since the battery isn't removable they will replace it with another phone of the same retail value. I turned off all apps, apex launcher, and avg, and used only what he had, JuiceDefender Ultimate and SwiftKey. My battery was about the same.

I don't get even get three hours of screen out of mine with brightness at around 40% and I have the maxx. I game a lot on mine though and talk a lot on the phone. I think the battery figures were obliviously under the ideal circumstances, so in the real world that's pretty good what your getting.
Do a side by side with both devices and see what the difference is.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda app-developers app

Mines just a normal RAZR HD. I'm not in an LTE area like you so I stay on 3G and throttle up to H+ when its transferring data.
I don't game much; my heaviest game is Angry Birds Star Wars which I don't use much so usualy its just Words With Friends.
I don't use it often for phone calls but I do use it. I'm a guy so I'm not talking for hours and hours.
I always get a full day out of it, and by full day I mean 16 hours or therabouts, until I put it to recharge while I sleep.
I'm not using anything to save battery.
I run Apex Launcher opposed to stock.
I run Tasker and have it looking for cable plugged in, orientation, change in wifi connection (nothing major, just gets the SSID and MAC and stores them as variables), and have it looking for screen unlocked and Display off (for ADB toggle).
In the background I'm running NG call recorder, LMT, WhatsApp, Lookout, LocateMyDroid, Words With Friends, TEAM battery bar Pro, Go SMS
Pro, Calengoo, BetterBatteryStats, ModemFastdormancyMonitor, SmartCardService, Google Services, Google Play, and Notification Toggle.
I sync Gmail and Contacts.
I have frozen Acoustic Warning, Audio Effects, Calendar, Calendar Storage, Email, Facebook stays frozen but unfreezes and runs with GPS off when I run a script but I don't use it much and the same for Maps but GPS on obviously (Maps made a differance for me and needed to be refrozen on every boot as well as the ROM seems to unfreeze it at boot time), Google Caledar Sync, Google Play Books/Movies/Music, Google+, Homescreen (default launcer), Moto Chinese Input, Moto English... infact almost everything starting with "moto or Moto is frozen", Quickview, All of Smart Actions, Swype, and Telstra One (specific to my ROM). Of everything frozen, the only things that I think make a significant impact are the way I have Maps and Facebook handled, that they stay frozen and then are called by a script that unfreezes and runs them and refreezes them on exit.
The Motocare may make a differance however I think its something that's needed to see when you have updates.
This list is very specific to my ROM as I'm on Telstra Austrlia which is (so I've gathered) one of the most bloat free ROMs, and freezing is always going to be carrier specific from what I've read about the phone from other people's carriers.
In adition to the freezing, I've stopped heaps of stuff in Autostarts. I don't reccomend messing with this as its easy to get lost and forget your settings. There is no undo or restore to default, so if you get lost then you're only sure fire way is a factory reset. If you feel safe using it though, then its worth having a look through what's starting up (start with just the stuff after boot) and disabling things that aren't needed. There's heaps of apps that run that really don't need to; non system apps I mean. If you get comfortable with it then the next greatest place they like to start up is when new apps are installed or old ones updated but there needs to be some care taken here as some apps do need to know this while others are just spying and wasting resources while doing so. If in doubt, just don't mess with it at all as there's no "set back to default" option.
I don't use Juice Defender, that's something that stuck out at me, is that I don't know how its being used in one of the posts stated above, but in the case of my ROM, the power management seems to be as good as I'm going to get it on its own. Toggling wifi in particular is something that I tried out with Tasker and it was better to leave it alone. I did try an app... I can't find it now but apparently I didn't back it up before uninstall. Its the beta app made by the chip manufacturer that runs in our phones (or so I read anyway) and it spent time in the background collecting data then tried to optimise power management. I think it was okay but I didn't see anything significant. I was hoping it would end the wakelocks that turn the wifi on but it ended up just leaving my wifi on most of the time and then turning it off when I actually was at home, and I couldn't manually turn it on and get a connection. It may be quite helpful for others though... Its the same thing for Juice Defender; I reckon that the way I would use it would be less helpful because of the wifi handling. I've gathered that wifi doesn't so much turn off but just goes into a power friendly state, and that a full toggle on and off takes more power so I ended up leaving that alone entirely. For people with other power issues, for example I stated that I don't use LTE or 4g in my area, then perhaps it could be useful... I can't give advice on that.
...
...but to answer your question, that's how I use my phone and I get at least 6 hours screen time in a 16 hour day. In fact I always get that much (assuming its used that much) and usually more if I need it. I have battery left over but it does admitadly go down quickly after it reaches a point. I would be dissapointed if I got less. I came from the S2 with the Samsung extendable battery (just under %20 more juice than out of the box) and would get 4 or 5 hours on that before it was dead. I think that you have a genuine frustration on your hands, but that you should deal with it slowly and one step at a time, and that the first step is diagnosis and if it were me I would start by switching it to 3g/2g and seeing how that goes for a few days... let it settle in like that and see if it makes any differance after at least a few days later and a few charges of the battery.
By the way, Location services work fine with maps frozen. Another thing I neglected to mention is that I don't use Google Now. All of my apps that use fine or course location work fine (Google ones and third party) with Maps frozen.
Oh... One more edit; I also have DroidWall or some other equivalent firewall installed. I forget which one at the moment but if you use one, make sure it simply is a front end to iptables as there's almost zero resources used in this fashion. As I don't have 4G in my area, I don't know what is best suited for that. Mine is very simple and has a checkbox for wifi and for data, however it makes a lot of sense that a lot of these firewalls may not be updated to be detecting the interface that 4G is running on. This doesn't make a huge difference on my phone and I don't think I would notice any battery savings if I didn't have it but it may be of help if you were hell bent on using 4G, as its supposed to be power hungry, because you can prevent a lot of apps from making a connection to report the crap they discover (Contacts, numbers dialed, etc) and block ads in some games that don't otherwise need the internet to be played. At the same time, I'm honestly not sure if the results would be good or bad... for example if an app persistently tries to make a connection and isn't programmed to give up when the connection is timed out then that would be bad. I still thought I'd throw it in there. It would actually be one of the last additions I'd make to my phone after being finally satisfied with the power management. Its also something that you need to be aware of, for example if you can't play a game or use an app, it can cause you (me) to uninstall and reinstall only to find that I had firewalled it when it needed to have a connection. Some apps need to connect to check the validity of their licence as well and you just need to be aware and enable it when it shows up.

How to track a run with GPS?

So I went for my first run with just the watch - no phone. I started the S Health run tracking on the watch as I left. Initially it said it couldn't find location but then this message went away. Throughout the run the location icon on the watch was flashing grey to white. I don't know if this meant actively tracking or trying to find location?
When I came back the data synced over to S-Health on my phone, but there is no map.
I don't know if the distances and speeds have been tracked based on steps and cadence or by GPS?
How is this supposed to work? I presumed the watch GPS data would produce a map when synced with the phone?

It should show you a map in s health. You have to click on the specific run activity though to see it. If it isn't there then maybe GPS wasn't working for some reason. Did it show you the map on the watch in the completed workout summary?
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

photojonny said:
So I went for my first run with just the watch - no phone. I started the S Health run tracking on the watch as I left. Initially it said it couldn't find location but then this message went away. Throughout the run the location icon on the watch was flashing grey to white. I don't know if this meant actively tracking or trying to find location?
When I came back the data synced over to S-Health on my phone, but there is no map.
I don't know if the distances and speeds have been tracked based on steps and cadence or by GPS?
How is this supposed to work? I presumed the watch GPS data would produce a map when synced with the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had this happen with other watches and with a Gear Fit 2. I did a run this morning and had the map show up instantly on my watch at the completion of my run (LTE version). When you have the watch in S Health Run mode and hit the start button you will see a small icon at the top left that looks like a balloon, it is the icon for your GPS. It will be flashing. Once it is always on it means you have a GPS lock. Sounds like you never got a lock.
I recommend 2 things. Go outside with your phone and put the watch in run mode. Watch for the GPS icon, it should lock very fast since you have your phone working with the watch. Now put your phone inside or turn it off so you can try a stand alone test. Put the watch into run mode and see if you get a quicker GPS lock.
Good Luck

cdd543 said:
It should show you a map in s health. You have to click on the specific run activity though to see it. If it isn't there then maybe GPS wasn't working for some reason. Did it show you the map on the watch in the completed workout summary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. No map, it's appears it failed to get a lock over the whole run.
Bladder61 said:
I have had this happen with other watches and with a Gear Fit 2. I did a run this morning and had the map show up instantly on my watch at the completion of my run (LTE version). When you have the watch in S Health Run mode and hit the start button you will see a small icon at the top left that looks like a balloon, it is the icon for your GPS. It will be flashing. Once it is always on it means you have a GPS lock. Sounds like you never got a lock.
I recommend 2 things. Go outside with your phone and put the watch in run mode. Watch for the GPS icon, it should lock very fast since you have your phone working with the watch. Now put your phone inside or turn it off so you can try a stand alone test. Put the watch into run mode and see if you get a quicker GPS lock.
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll try this but a bit concerned it failed to get a lock over the whole run. I hope the GPS chip isn't faulty after the hassle actually getting hold of it.
Edit: I should say I'm in the UK so this is the non LTE version. Don't know if that makes a difference.

I don't think the non LTE has GPS. It would only acquire GPS from your phone.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

cdd543 said:
I don't think the non LTE has GPS. It would only acquire GPS from your phone.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course it does.

Fozzee1970 said:
Of course it does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need the phone. But if you have the phone connected, the connection will be faster as it uses the phone for GPS locking
Sent from my SGP521 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Fozzee1970 said:
Of course it does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep you're correct. My bad.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

photojonny said:
So I went for my first run with just the watch - no phone. I started the S Health run tracking on the watch as I left. Initially it said it couldn't find location but then this message went away. Throughout the run the location icon on the watch was flashing grey to white. I don't know if this meant actively tracking or trying to find location?
When I came back the data synced over to S-Health on my phone, but there is no map.
I don't know if the distances and speeds have been tracked based on steps and cadence or by GPS?
How is this supposed to work? I presumed the watch GPS data would produce a map when synced with the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your location settings on your Gear. You should have GPS+ wifi not only wifi.
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app

Bladder61 said:
I have had this happen with other watches and with a Gear Fit 2. I did a run this morning and had the map show up instantly on my watch at the completion of my run (LTE version). When you have the watch in S Health Run mode and hit the start button you will see a small icon at the top left that looks like a balloon, it is the icon for your GPS. It will be flashing. Once it is always on it means you have a GPS lock. Sounds like you never got a lock.
I recommend 2 things. Go outside with your phone and put the watch in run mode. Watch for the GPS icon, it should lock very fast since you have your phone working with the watch. Now put your phone inside or turn it off so you can try a stand alone test. Put the watch into run mode and see if you get a quicker GPS lock.
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I've tested this out and either I have a faulty device or the S3 is useless. I repeatedly tried to get a GPS lock on a long walk today - in open countryside with no buildings around and under clear skies. The watch connects instantly when using the phone GPS via bluetooth. When I disconnect bluetooth the watch will not connect on it's own at all despite repeated attempts. It will try for around a minute and then say 'cannot connect, move to a more open area' - this is whilst I'm stood in a field k's from the nearest building under a blue sky.
After the hassle I had getting hold of this I'm tempted just just get a refund, but if this is just a faulty unit and they generally work I guess I'll give one replacement a go - though I suspect I'll be waiting weeks for one.

photojonny said:
So I've tested this out and either I have a faulty device or the S3 is useless. I repeatedly tried to get a GPS lock on a long walk today - in open countryside with no buildings around and under clear skies. The watch connects instantly when using the phone GPS via bluetooth. When I disconnect bluetooth the watch will not connect on it's own at all despite repeated attempts. It will try for around a minute and then say 'cannot connect, move to a more open area' - this is whilst I'm stood in a field k's from the nearest building under a blue sky.
After the hassle I had getting hold of this I'm tempted just just get a refund, but if this is just a faulty unit and they generally work I guess I'll give one replacement a go - though I suspect I'll be waiting weeks for one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had carried out similar test this evening, the built in GPS worked when the bluetooth of my phone was off.

RayHK said:
I had carried out similar test this evening, the built in GPS worked when the bluetooth of my phone was off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried a factory reset and it's now working. I found a thread on a Strava forum where someone had the same problem and switching the watch on and off worked. Must reset the GPS.
It takes around 30-60 secs to get a lock but it has worked since the reset.

photojonny said:
I tried a factory reset and it's now working. I found a thread on a Strava forum where someone had the same problem and switching the watch on and off worked. Must reset the GPS.
It takes around 30-60 secs to get a lock but it has worked since the reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if you are going for a run do you just stand there for 30-60 after the 3,2,1 countdown? If so, isn't that going to throw off your average mile times?

awilson181 said:
But if you are going for a run do you just stand there for 30-60 after the 3,2,1 countdown? If so, isn't that going to throw off your average mile times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a significant design flaw seems to be the inability to get the GPS lock before you start the run as you do with all dedicated running watches. I'm not sure what happens if you start the run then immediately pause it - whether it will continue to try and get the lock. There should be an option to set the lock then start the run. It's far from perfect.

photojonny said:
Yes, a significant design flaw seems to be the inability to get the GPS lock before you start the run as you do with all dedicated running watches. I'm not sure what happens if you start the run then immediately pause it - whether it will continue to try and get the lock. There should be an option to set the lock then start the run. It's far from perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes definitely not a well thought out design of the software. Did they really test it with someone that actually runs?
It was the major reason I returned my Gear Fit 2 and went with a Garmin. I love my Gear S3, and I di exactly what you mentioned, I start the run program and when it counts down 3,2,1 I immediately hit the pause. I then wait a minute and resume it and make sure I have a locked GPS signal.
I went on too many Gear Fit 2 runs only to get back and find out I didn't have a GPS lock so info was estimated and no map info. Maybe Sammy will do a software update to the run program to fix this. Again, did Sammy have any real runners test the watch and give them feedback?

Bladder61 said:
Yes definitely not a well thought out design of the software. Did they really test it with someone that actually runs?
It was the major reason I returned my Gear Fit 2 and went with a Garmin. I love my Gear S3, and I di exactly what you mentioned, I start the run program and when it counts down 3,2,1 I immediately hit the pause. I then wait a minute and resume it and make sure I have a locked GPS signal.
I went on too many Gear Fit 2 runs only to get back and find out I didn't have a GPS lock so info was estimated and no map info. Maybe Sammy will do a software update to the run program to fix this. Again, did Sammy have any real runners test the watch and give them feedback?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah It doesn't seem like they did as it lacks some basic functionality you would expect as a runner. I'm finding pace to be off as much as 20-30 seconds per mile compared to strava. I no longer have my fenix or I'd compare that.

Make sure Location is turned on in the settings

I started a thread on XDA comparing the G3 to my Garmin 620. In addition to the GPS issue, the HR wasn't consistent day to day either. I wasn't as concerned with that as I was the GPS. No way did they have somebody actually run with this watch. The lack of lap/split times in the run summary says it all.
Seems like an easy fix to just disregard that whole countdown timer and take you to the run screen so you can see if/when you get a GPS lock. My Garmin has a little satellite that turns solid when it locks. I'd probably get the watch, again, if they resolved this run issue.

After firmware updated today, the built-in GPS locked within 3 to 4 sec (after the count down) without a phone.

awilson181 said:
I started a thread on XDA comparing the G3 to my Garmin 620. In addition to the GPS issue, the HR wasn't consistent day to day either. I wasn't as concerned with that as I was the GPS. No way did they have somebody actually run with this watch. The lack of lap/split times in the run summary says it all.
Seems like an easy fix to just disregard that whole countdown timer and take you to the run screen so you can see if/when you get a GPS lock. My Garmin has a little satellite that turns solid when it locks. I'd probably get the watch, again, if they resolved this run issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll stick with it for now but it seems 5 mins with an actual runner and some of the problems would have been avoided. How are you supposed to time a race with a 3 2 1 countdown? And does the first part of the run not count whilst it's finding the GPS? If they are going after Garmin's market these are bad oversights.
RayHK said:
After firmware updated today, the built-in GPS locked within 3 to 4 sec (after the count down) without a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw there is an update out. Haven't been able to push it to my device yet. Hopefully it'll show up soon.