Drives me crazy that after opening google maps, entering an address and then pressing navigate that there are at least 3 additional steps before I actually get GPS. Likewise if I do a voice navigate command. Is there any way to streamline this process other than keeping stand alone GPS on all the time? Thanks in advance for your responses.
Ok. Question posted before researching on other sites. What I found was that if you have stand alone GPS turned on all the time in the settings menu, the GPS is only actually ON when an app is actively using it. the following is reposted from a different forum:
Here again you need to understand how the GPS "radio" works. When you go into system setting and check all the various services you want to use for GPS this in itself does NOT turn on the actual GPS radio. To show you in real time - go into system settings and select which ones you want to use. Then open either your navigation or maps application and you will see a little icon appear on the task bar. It looks a little bit like a snow flake. When you see this icon appear then your GPS radio is turned on and working. Close the navigation or map application and you will see the icon disappear. Now the GPS radio is turned off. The services you select in system settings are only to tell the GPS radio which ones to use when it is actually turned on by one of the applications that uses GPS. SO go ahead and select them and leave them alone. The GPS radio will turn off and on when needed.
This is 100% true for the standalone GPS. However, when other AGPS location services are in use - Verizon & Google - the GPS icon does not appear on the notification bar. Like the standalone GPS, they only run when an app or process is actively using them, but there's no indication of when they're actually running. Many apps that have location permissions use the AGPS functions, and they'll attempt to determine your location without using the standalone GPS, so you won't have that crosshair icon letting you know they're active. The impact on battery life is minimal because they use very little amounts of background data, and they only run when an app or service actively uses them, but you don't get the notification like you do for standalone GPS. This is probably because the standalone GPS can cause major battery drain if constantly on, while the AGPS services won't.
But I agree that leaving GPS enabled is vastly misunderstood by many users. Unlike WiFi or Bluetooth, which continually scan to find networks/devices, GPS functions only run when an app or service is actively using them. So simply leaving then enabled in the settings won't adversely impact battery life. It's the use of applications and services that access your location that will.
Ok. Question posted before researching on other sites. What I found was that if you have stand alone GPS turned on all the time in the settings menu, the GPS is only actually ON when an app is actively using it. the following is reposted from a different forum:
Here again you need to understand how the GPS "radio" works. When you go into system setting and check all the various services you want to use for GPS this in itself does NOT turn on the actual GPS radio. To show you in real time - go into system settings and select which ones you want to use. Then open either your navigation or maps application and you will see a little icon appear on the task bar. It looks a little bit like a snow flake. When you see this icon appear then your GPS radio is turned on and working. Close the navigation or map application and you will see the icon disappear. Now the GPS radio is turned off. The services you select in system settings are only to tell the GPS radio which ones to use when it is actually turned on by one of the applications that uses GPS. SO go ahead and select them and leave them alone. The GPS radio will turn off and on when needed.
This is 100% true for the standalone GPS. However, when other AGPS location services are in use - Verizon & Google - the GPS icon does not appear on the notification bar. Like the standalone GPS, they only run when an app or process is actively using them, but there's no indication of when they're actually running. Many apps that have location permissions use the AGPS functions, and they'll attempt to determine your location without using the standalone GPS, so you won't have that crosshair icon letting you know they're active. The impact on battery life is minimal because they use very little amounts of background data, and they only run when an app or service actively uses them, but you don't get the notification like you do for standalone GPS. This is probably because the standalone GPS can cause major battery drain if constantly on, while the AGPS services won't.
But I agree that leaving GPS enabled is vastly misunderstood by many users. Unlike WiFi or Bluetooth, which continually scan to find networks/devices, GPS functions only run when an app or service is actively using them. So simply leaving then enabled in the settings won't adversely impact battery life. It's the use of applications and services that access your location that will.
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