HTC One - About the weather widget -

rozroz

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Hi,
i was wondering, can i still make the weather widget (while on lock screen) show me the stats on my current location,
while the google location services is turned off? (and GPS is on).

right now i get "location unavailable", and have to enter the weather app, and every time go to the current location to get an update.
any way to update only the current location on the widget WITHOUT turning on the google location services?

thanks.
 

Dave Clark

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I'm not sure, isn't Google location tied directly to the gps in the phone? I'm unsure if you can get another app to take its place. Why can't you have the location service on? The phone caters for Android and that is the default for getting the weather, via gps. You could try another app like yahoo weather? Maybe it updates via wifi or data connection rather than gps? I could be totally wrong though.
 

rozroz

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I'm not sure, isn't Google location tied directly to the gps in the phone? I'm unsure if you can get another app to take its place. Why can't you have the location service on? The phone caters for Android and that is the default for getting the weather, via gps. You could try another app like yahoo weather? Maybe it updates via wifi or data connection rather than gps? I could be totally wrong though.

Because those online services are acting weird with all kinds of battery draining so I prefer to stop them.
My only problem is the weather.
 

rozroz

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Have you tried a factory reset? That may help, but again battery life is dependent upon use.

No I meant that I "caught" Google services activating their updating in wakelock while I'm unaware, and making the phone lose power while supposedly in deep sleep. I hate that.
 

Dave Clark

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Having gps on gives access to the weather updates on the widgets and lock screen. Google location is just giving permission to show your location in apps like G+ etc.
 

rozroz

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Having gps on gives access to the weather updates on the widgets and lock screen. Google location is just giving permission to show your location in apps like G+ etc.

so if what you say is true, i don't really get it yet: ATM the weather widget cannot get the info, because the google locations are disabled.
but you say that all the weather widget need is the active GPS.. :/
 

rozroz

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No Google location is for apps like Google+. Location services is for weather widgets.

ok then.. think i got it now, sort of.
so from your experience, in my situation i just cannot enjoy an active weather widget. right?

so please explain:
how come i can still get the weather report if i go into the weather app and check my current location manually?
if that's active, why i cannot get this info in the widget?? this drives me crazy! i just need the weather in my city.
 

Dave Clark

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Seems as though if I change my location manually it reverts back to my actual location. Probably because I have location services on. Sorry I cannot be of anymore help.
 

rozroz

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Is it tied into the synch options?

Posted via Android Central App

i don't have a clue,
but i'm still intrigued how come i cannot get the details on the widget but i DO get them when i go to my current location.
(every time the same story- i have to open the weather app, it asks me to activate location services, i have to choose "no", and then go manually to my current location and i get all the weather FINE)
why the hell it cannot just be written on the widget??
 

VidJunky

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Briefly reading through your conversation I think somethings were conveyed incorrectly. Access to my location is just that, it allows apps to access some way of determining your location. That could be the Google service or GPS. The app requesting your location usually only looks at one or the other. Some may look for either or both, but I think it's usually just one or the other. The way Google determines your location is based on where your connected to the network. How many towers you are connected to and your signal strength between those towers or your WiFi connection address and it's location. This is more of a rough location. It roughly guesses where you are based on these several factors. GPS on the other hand is a fine location. It is based on where you actually are physically. Looking at your OP it sounds like your weather widget is only concerned with your rough location, because weather is a regional thing it doesn't need to know precisely where you are located. Chances are the devs of the app assumed that, as you mentioned, people would be concerned with battery usage and draws on resources, and they would likely have one of the location services turned off. For most that is the actual GPS because it uses more power and resources than the Google location service to provide location information. Why is this, because you are normally connected to towers or WiFi anytime your device is "ON" in order to use the device. You don't need GPS for your phone to make calls, receive email, or text, but you do need towers and/or WiFi for those things. So it's just tapping into something your phone is already doing and must do to function.

If you want to save battery and you are concerned about so many hits on your widgets (weather or otherwise) my suggestion is to just leave the Google service on, it's not that big of a hit, and instead change how frequently your widgets update. For example I use weather bug, I don't use the widget just the notification display, but it still updates every so often. What I've done is go in and changed how frequently it updates from every 30 mins to every 6 hours. I'm not that concerned about the weather except a couple of times a day, mainly when I have to leave. I believe there are also options of every 2 hours, every 12 hours, and once a day. Most widgets will automatically update when the device is powered on and then fall into whatever frequency they have been set to update. I would imagine most widgets have an update frequency that can be set. Most but not all. You can change the update frequency for other apps too like email, and Facebook. This way they place less of a demand on your battery and your resources. Plus changing the frequency to save power is a heck of a lot more convenient than opening menus and looking for settings to keep something off to prevent it from using power only to have to turn it on and off a half dozen times a day for a second. You can have functionality and continents by managing the apps more and the device less.
 

rozroz

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my suggestion is to just leave the Google service on

thanks,
but that's exactly the conclusion that i came up with the LAST time i had this dilemma.
so what happens now, is that those google services start activating all kinds of things that keeps my device from deep sleep for a few hours every day, resulting in battery loss that is unpredictable and irritating. i fought this weird behavior for a few days (check wakelock, restart) and i gave up.
see my problem now? whether it's a bug or whatever, i prefer stable predictable battery loss. if i lose only the weather widget, i'll live with that.
i rarely use GPS so i thought only the weather could be updated to my widget via GPS once every few hours. too bad.
i was just hoping for some kind of other way to get sort of an active weather widget.

btw- you still didn't answer me how come i cannot get the details on the widget but i DO get them when i go manually to my current location on the weather app.