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[Q] Mod or kernel hack to force GPS to stay on?

I would like to disable the ability to disable the GPS in the phones for use with an "invisible fence" app.
I don't care if the toggle in the notification area goes off or on, but I would like the phone to enable GPS on bootup, and just keep it on regardless.
Any ideas?

Why would you want it to stay on? It is a huge battery hog.

voldomart13 said:
Why would you want it to stay on? It is a huge battery hog.
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mrcpu said:
I would like to disable the ability to disable the GPS in the phones for use with an "invisible fence" app.
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I think I was pretty clear in the original post.

WTF is an invisible fence app??
and any app that requires GPS, will use GPS as needed. OLD Facebook app version for example, as long as it was on your screen, GPS was constantly locking. But it would kill the battery in less than 2 hours from full charge. so the facebook app changed the gps to lock once every so often, while the app is open on screen.
Other apps run a background service to access GPS at a set or random interval. Google Latitude for example. Not on screen, but will check-in or update location when-ever.
As you see the APP needs to have the set permissions, and options selected.
and in the end. your battery is dead in 2 hours with what you *think* you want

TRusselo said:
WTF is an invisible fence app??
and any app that requires GPS, will use GPS as needed. OLD Facebook app version for example, as long as it was on your screen, GPS was constantly locking. But it would kill the battery in less than 2 hours from full charge. so the facebook app changed the gps to lock once every so often, while the app is open on screen.
Other apps run a background service to access GPS at a set or random interval. Google Latitude for example. Not on screen, but will check-in or update location when-ever.
As you see the APP needs to have the set permissions, and options selected.
and in the end. your battery is dead in 2 hours with what you *think* you want
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This is not correct. (at least on the apex rom I'm running).
If you turn off the GPS in settings (not using the toggle on the notification bar), then fire up google maps, the first thing it does is tell you that not all the options for locating the user are turned on, and to go to settings and turn on GPS.
I recall reading somewhere that Google disabled the ability for apps to turn the GPS on and off. They could query it if it was enabled, but couldn't turn it on if it was off.
If the user can turn it off in settings, then that defeats the purpose. I want the GPS on all the time, regardless of settings.
I don't care about battery life, I have 4 captivates in this house, I am well aware of their capabilities and limitations. And I don't really care if you think it's a good idea or not, all I'm asking is if anybody knows of a way.

there is a difference between switching GPS "on" and having GPS activated or locking signal.
in the android settings or with any toogle app, you can turn GPS on or off.
I have it ON 24/7, I bet you do too.
you turn GPS "on", so apps CAN use/activate it if they try to.
you turn GPS "off" to prevent apps from using it, thus reducing battery drain and increasing security.
having GPS on 24/7 doesn't do crap to battery, it depends on the apps, and how they are programmed to use GPS, and if they were programmed to work like you want, they would work like I SAID.
there have been apps that used GPS like you suggested. THEY GOT FIXED. you really dont understand how fast it drains the battery.
and i dont mean to offend, but you also dont understand how the apps interact with the GPS.
Originally Posted by mrcpu
I would like to disable the ability to disable the GPS in the phones for use with an "invisible fence" app.
I think I was pretty clear in the original post.
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No. You weren't, WHAT THE FRICK an invisible fence app? and how does using the LARGE font help?
house full of captivates? did your dad get a family plan?

[Q] Juice Defender Ultimate

So using this app, I want to be able to listen to live radio but when my screen turns off JD turns off all data connections (expect if I'm on wifi)
What settings do I need to set JD at to keep it from doing that?
Thanks.

Theres a simple setting that is "turn off data when screen is off" or something to that effect. Don't use that setting, and it won't cut off your data.
Be aware that this is one of the main features that Juice Defender uses to save battery, but as you've found out, you get no background data. This means no streaming, but also no push updates from any services.
Keep in mind as well that if you're using your phone frequently, but not for a long time (aka frequent e-mail or text replies, etc.), so you're turning the screen on/off often, JD might actually drain more battery than simply leaving the phone stock. It takes a long time and subsequently a lot of battery power to be turning the data services on and off dozens of times a day. Sometimes moreso than simply letting it stay on. 3G data doesn't really drain a lot of battery unless its actively transmitting.

YoungGun821 said:
So using this app, I want to be able to listen to live radio but when my screen turns off JD turns off all data connections (expect if I'm on wifi)
What settings do I need to set JD at to keep it from doing that?
Thanks.
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I'm using the advanced settings in JDU. If you go to the Triggers tab you can try 2 things. Right now I have traffic set to enabled. If live radio is playing and using data then it should continue to do so until the data stream stops. You can play with the settings if you think it needs more or less time or data, obviously.
Previously I used the Apps trigger and told it to give Pandora, Amazon music, etc., full rights to use data. That might be another option for whatever program you are using.

Just go to the Trigger tab (note: You might have to choose Advanced as profile to see the Trigger tab). Then, in the "apps" section, choose activate (or enable, I'm not sure what is called in the english version) if not already chosen. Then tap below on "Configure apps". In that list you look for your Radio app and set it at "Enable/screen off". Then the data connection for your radio app should be enabled even if the screen goes off.

I use it for cut 3g and battery life, do his job, nice app

I would recommend using Tasker instead. You can configure it so that data stays on if the radio is on, but turns off when the radio is off.

Mekanikz said:
I would recommend using Tasker instead. You can configure it so that data stays on if the radio is on, but turns off when the radio is off.
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What's the advantage of using Tasker instead of Juice Defender?

staud said:
Just go to the Trigger tab (note: You might have to choose Advanced as profile to see the Trigger tab). Then, in the "apps" section, choose activate (or enable, I'm not sure what is called in the english version) if not already chosen. Then tap below on "Configure apps". In that list you look for your Radio app and set it at "Enable/screen off". Then the data connection for your radio app should be enabled even if the screen goes off.
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This seems to work but what I didn't know was that the app has to be in full screen mode. Can not just run it from the widget on my home screen...

GPS management with ICS

I have been using llama (Llama on Google Play) since my early days on the OG Atrix and now on the Atrix 2. Moving to the ICS leak, I've noticed that GPS control has been disabled, and after searching I see that Google removed the ability for user programs to enable/disable the GPS.
However, the llama website says this about it:
Android fixed the hack that applications used to turn GPS on and off in Gingerbread (Android 2.3). Bear in mind that Android manages GPS power usage by itself: if no applications are using GPS, then the GPS hardware isn't turned on and using power. The tickbox in the settings is simply permission to use GPS.
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One of the few places I've found that corroborates that statement is this post from a Droid Razr forum (forgive the cross-post): Post on another forum, which eventually says
GPS is turned on by default after updating to ICS. That said, turning it off really won't save battery. It's a myth that just having GPS switched on will drain your battery. GPS will only use battery when it's active, and it's only active when the crosshairs are flashing in the notification bar. That will only happen when you have an app running that uses GPS. So, as long as you're not running something that's using GPS, leaving GPS switched on will not drain any more battery than leaving it switched off.
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Now, obviously there are many programs that might be running in the background that like to use the GPS, and it still seems like there are times I wouldn't want to let anything use the GPS which means the GPS chip should never power on.
Here's the question finally: given the plethora of advice that says to turn off the GPS when not in use, what are you doing with the GPS in ICS?
In my case, Llama can't turn off the GPS for me anymore, so unless I couple Llama with something like Smart Actions (which apparently can turn off the GPS), the GPS is staying on most of the time. I'm going to try leaving the GPS on all the time to see how much it affects my battery.

close tiantam
hi,
i had same problem that profile scheduler did not switch on/off the gps once i upgreded to ICS.
there is a work around for your apk (to turn on/off gps), pls search for "secure settings" at play store which will serve as plug-in for your apk.
unfortunately, it did not compitable with profile scheduler.
i had tried to put profile scheduler as system apk, did not work.
only motorola default profile manager will toggle the gps.
hope this helps.

[Q] Service management (google maps)

I found that removing Google Maps has made battery life much much better but am sad that I don't have the app for when I actually want to use it. Is there any way to force the service to never run unless I have the app open?

The app doesn't use a noticeable amount of battery life for me.
Do you have GPS enabled in "Location" settings ? Also, go to Map app's settings and uncheck "report from this device" under it's "Location settings". See if that helps. I keep the network and wifi location reporting on, it doesn't seem to use much/any battery for me. I only turn GPS on when I am actually using it as such (like when I used the Navigation today).

Pennycake said:
The app doesn't use a noticeable amount of battery life for me.
Do you have GPS enabled in "Location" settings ? Also, go to Map app's settings and uncheck "report from this device" under it's "Location settings". See if that helps. I keep the network and wifi location reporting on, it doesn't seem to use much/any battery for me. I only turn GPS on when I am actually using it as such (like when I used the Navigation today).
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I have turned off all location settings. For some reason it still sucks a massive amount of my battery. With maps installed my battery dies in 6 hours with very little usage. The last two days without it I've managed to make it 13 hours and still be at 50% by the time I plug it in at home. It took a ton of narrowing down the problem but maps is definitely it.
I'm running AOKP on my Galaxy S3 with the latest 4.1.2 gapps installed. Not sure if the rom would have anything to do with the way maps operates though.
Edit: I also have GPS turned off at all times until the app is running (tasker turns it on when I open certain apps).

Bluetooth Settings

Somehow I screwed up my Bluetooth settings when I turned it off to save battery life. Now when I go into settings - wireless there is no option to turn in on ( no wireless devices found). I then went into the services area I try to turn it Bluetooth services on but keep getting errors about the dependency services and / or the account for this service is different than the accounts for the dependency services. I tried to correct this by these dependent services do not allow to make changes.
I also tried to open bthprops.cpl but this did not open .
Can someone export out their registry settings from the registry or make recommendations as to what else to try to change this.
Thanks in advance

I can turn mine off as expected, and like you switched it off to save battery, not tested to see how much it saves but still..
Is it still in device manager?

You've probably deactivated your Bluetooth in device manager, so this is what you do. (sorry if you a lady know how but this is for people who don't know)
Right click on 'My Computer'
Click 'Manage'
On the left hand side there will be a tab called 'Device Manager' click it.
Then find Bluetooth and enable it.
I think Bluetooth really needs work on the RT OS, because it's stupidly hard to turn it on and choose different hardware.

Nope, wasn't in the device manager.
Was gone, tried to activate the Bluetooth services, this didn't help.
Not sure how it just disappeared.
Did a reinstall of just the files, without losing my settings . All is good now.
I know that I won't be turning this off.
I wish there were apps that toggled the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth settings , Display brightness etc. It's cumbersome to go into settings and drill around to find these settings all the time. Would be ideal to have this as a tiled feature so it's easily accessible.
Thanks for the suggestions as this issue is now closed.

pc4ever1 said:
I wish there were apps that toggled the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth settings , Display brightness etc. It's cumbersome to go into settings and drill around to find these settings all the time. Would be ideal to have this as a tiled feature so it's easily accessible.
Thanks for the suggestions as this issue is now closed.
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Agreed, I also wish it was in the charms bar to make it easier. Also there is no easy way of making the sound go to Bluetooth speaker... you can't click devices... which pisses me off.

am I missing out on something?
you can adjust the brightness and wifi settings right from the charms menu and you can even deactivate bluetooth using the airplane mode... what's missing?

Wischm0pp said:
am I missing out on something?
you can adjust the brightness and wifi settings right from the charms menu and you can even deactivate bluetooth using the airplane mode... what's missing?
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How many steps do you need to go through to get to the Bluetooth settings ( I count 4).
Swipe Charm, press settings, press change pc settings, press wireless, then swipe the toggle
I just want a live tile that I can toggle Bluetooth or any other settings that I have to drill down into charms to get at.

Win+i -> Networks -> Airplane Mode. If you don't have a keyboard, the first step becomes Swipe for Charms -> Settings. If you're already on the desktop, the first two steps become "click the WiFi indicator in the system tray".
Don't get me wrong, such rapid-toggle stuff would be cool, but I spend almost all my time on the desktop or within very easy reach of it, and very, very little time needing to switch wireless networks on or off.