Where is the GPS on/off?

[Preformer19]

Is the GPS the location button? Coming from an HTC One M8 there was a dedicated GPS on/off button. On the GE6E+ all I can find is 'Location', but I'm thinking that this is for location services, rather than for connecting to satellites for directions on Maps. This all sounds stupid but I'm still getting used to Samsung's operating system! Thanks in advance.

 

[SpookDroid]

Hi Preformer,

Yup, I think that was a change that Google introduced in KitKat and the M8 might not have updated the toggles. I pretty much preferred the old, dedicated switch, too.

Now, the Location Services is the 'Master Switch' for all things location, but if you go to Location Settings (or long press on the Location toggle) you can select to use location only with tower data (GPS off) by selecting the Medium or Low accuracy method. If you select the High Accuracy one, then it'll use GPS. However, things have gotten smarter now, and GPS isn't actually on all the time, only when an app is polling for location.

 

[Preformer19]

Thanks for the reply!

So, to my understanding, the 'Locating method' is just the way and the extent that your location is determined? Why, for example, would I want to choose high accuracy? When is it good for? Right now, I have 'GPS only' checked. Also, if I am at home, connected to my WiFi, would there be any added benefit to having 'Location' on? Or can my location be retrieved via WiFi?

You also mention that Location Services serves as a 'master switch'. If I turn this off, that means that GPS is off, and in addition, I cannot get information from apps such as weather? Or since I have 'GPS only' checked, when I turn off 'Location', GPS will be turned off but location services will remain? I'm still a bit confused. Usually (when I had my M8) I would only turn on GPS for when I was going off of the maps app on my phone for directions...is this the same thing as turning on 'Location' on?

Finally, as a comment, this is why a stand-alone GPS button would be better in my opinion, as you could be able to have location services turned on for apps that require it (like weather), but have GPS turned off so it doesn't hog the battery.

 

[SpookDroid]

If you leave only GPS checked, nope, your location will not be able to be retrieved either using WiFi information or mobile network tower info. It will always try to use GPS to get your location when an app polls for it.

Yup, if you switch Location Services off, as long as the app is properly coded and 'reads' the state of this switch, it won't be able to get a location. Some weather apps will default to the last known location or if you set a fixed city instead of Current Location. The location method you selected is only active if the Location Services master switch is active. If not, all location methods are off.

For your maps question, nope. If you turn Location Services on, you can still use maps, but unless you select either the GPS only or GPS + WiFi + Cell Data, you won't get a high-accuracy pinpoint and most apps will block navigation until you activate GPS (there should be a warning message saying so and taking you to your location settings if you try to do it). Here if you turn location services off, it won't give you your location in maps, but the degree of accuracy of said location and the services available from the maps app will depend on which method you selected. Also remember, that now, even if you have Location Services on all the time, if no app is polling for location (you turn off all Weather app pollings, you're not actively using maps or navigation, you've turned off location history for Google, etc.), even if you selected to use GPS + WiFi + Cell Data, none of these are actually used (and therefore GPS is actually off) until an app polls for your location.

For your final comment, I agree. I do prefer the standalone GPS button, too. But in Android's defense, their management has been greatly improved so now it shouldn't affect your battery life all that much. You can test drive it, for instance, if you use your phone for one day with GPS + WiFi + Cell Data and then one day with WiFi + Cell Data only... as long as your daily usage remains somewhat the same, you shouldn't see that much of a difference in battery drain from location services.

 

[Preformer19]

Wow! Thanks for the big response!

So in short, keeping 'Location' on shouldn't drain my battery because it is only used when needed, and keeping it on all the time is probably the way to go?

 

[SpookDroid]

Yup, pretty much. Unless you have apps that are abusing location polling, keeping it on would be the best practice. But like I said, notjing like trying it out yourself.