Important note about turning on/off gps
When earlier cell phones and smartphones began implementing the GPS feature, it was pretty much exclusively for the purpose of 911 operators being able to approximate your location when you made an emergency call. Thus, if you invoked the option to turn of the GPS feature, there was usually a warning letting you know that if you do turn it off, your location will not be identified in an emergency situation. Beyond that, these earlier phones with such technology had no other features that used GPS (navigation, location-based services, etc.).
I am now a police dispatcher, meaning part of my job includes receiving 911 calls. Thanks to ever-evolving technology, most cell phones in use today and all newly-produced cell phones incorporate what's referred to as "Phase II" technology, which allows a 911 call-taker to identify your estimated location when you call using a cell phone, which I find the majority of calls to 911 are made from these days (land lines are easy to identify and are almost 100% accurate because the phone company knows from exactly where the call is placed and passes that info on to 911 centers). This is very significant as the single most important piece of info a 911 operator needs to acquire is the location of the emergency. The importance of this is amplified when you consider that, a) many 911 calls come from locations that the caller may not be familiar with (along a highway, in a downtown area with limited familiarity, at a friends house whose exact address is unknown, etc.), and b) in a crisis, people are often so emotionally charged that they forget their exact location or inadvertently communicate the wrong location. (You may think, "Not me," and perhaps you're correct; but trust me, these two scenarios play out ALL THE TIME.) So whether you call 911 from your cell phone or a land line, you DEFINITELY WANT the call taker to see where your calling from.
That said, unless technology is programmed differently now in smartphones, IF YOU TURN OFF GPS ON YOUR PHONE, YOU PREVENT YOUR LOCATION FROM BEING SEEN WHEN YOU MAKE AN EMERGENCY CALL. Now, as I just alluded to, newer phones may be programmed to never allow you to block that GPS signal that accompanies a 911 call. However, I do know that on earlier cell phones/smartphones, when you turned off this GPS feature, your screen showed the little cross hair icon with a slash through it; conversely, when it was on, the icon had no slash through it. At the very least, this visual indication seems to be the same on today's phones.
So unless someone can confirm that "turning off GPS" DOES NOT affect how emergency (911) calls are identified, AS A DISPATCHER, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU NOT TO TURN OFF GPS. The last thing you will think about or have time for in an emergency is turning on your GPS before you dial 911.
Just something to consider. If anyone can add additional info or provide clarification, please do.
HTH,
ME