Is there a "Smart Protect" or similar available for the GalaxyS?. I do have the sim swap security enabled but would like to track the phone if it's lost or stolen. I have SP on my Omnia and it's been brilliant.
i use 'lookout mobile security' there is a free version and a paid version (or 30day free trial) and i think its awesome..... i can quickly go to the website mylookout.com if my phone is lost or stolen. i can switch gps on,,, track it down ,,, do a complete wipe of the phone,,, block the phone and loads more.. all from my pc..
and it doesnt drain my battery either (i keep mine active 24/7) cause i never know when im gunna get jumped by a load of chavs when im walking my doggie lol
Thanks ADazzle I installed lookout and it works well but...............
GPS needs to be turned on all the time (cell locate too inaccurate). GPS uses google maps so consumes data all day ? GPS consumes battery all day? or am I missing something
well i never have gps activated on my phone. but when i activated it thru mylookout.com it turned gps on and tracked it down quite well... there are a few 'gps fixes' out there that could improve the accuracy.... just put it in the search bar...
ive never looked this up as im happy with my gps accuracy
OK, thanks, maybe I was confusing GPS enabled with turned on.........you are correct......from Lookout FAQ
"Yes! Lookout makes use of the Android phone’s GPS receiver as efficiently as possible. When a locate is requested for an Android device, Lookout can remotely turn on the GPS while the locate is running and then turn it back off again (locates can run for a few minutes to get the best location results). This helps to conserve your phone’s battery life. Lookout only uses the GPS to get your location when you explicitly request it.
It should also be noted that if your GPS is enabled, that only means apps have the ability to use it. It does not mean it is being used continuously or that your location is constantly being tracked"
Where in the world are you? For some countries the built in security does just this plus remote lock/wipe.
Tehpriest, I'm in South Africa. I think I misunderstood 'Remote Tracker' as being activated only by a sim swap. Probably because of the way the description is written. Having read carefully once again as a result of your post, it appears it's a full function tracker.
I'll follow up and test it. 'Lookout' is working well and has back-up and a virus scanner too.
Tried it and web responds......."for legal reasons this service is not in service in some countries"
Checked with service provider and they confirm RT not enabled in RSA
I use Prey, it works by sim swap or activation text, never had reason to use it yet, but you can use it for multiple devices so have it on my iMac and my kids phone as well.
Related
Today, I took my wife to work and took my TP2 and turned on GPS with Google Maps knowing full well that once I got her to her job, I would have no T-Mobile service. The moment I lost the signal, GPS continue to plot me correctly up to the point it needed updating my maps and I got "Network Unavailable". I have an 8GB microSD card installed. My question to all is can GPS run independent of the network and if not, is there a 3rd party software that will run on the Windows Mobile OS? I like to know if I lose service I still have GPS. I can't imagine what dumbass came up with the idea to tether data services to GPS knowing there will be situations where service might not be available, for example severe weather knocks out a tower. Wasn't the idea into GPS to be independent. I get needing data services if I don't have a memory card; I don't get the logic that says, the moment I lose my cellular provider's service I'm SOL; thanks!
This is an unfortunate limitation to Google Maps. Although there is a workaround of sorts. If you cache the map data by doing all the stuff while you are in a good service area, when you are there it won't need to download all the stuff. This is a pain I agree, but it works.
yes, that is a GoogleMaps feature, but it has nothing to do with GPS - it has to download maps as it goes. if you install other software with built-in maps, e.g., tomtom, you will be free from your networks.
gehzumteufel said:
This is an unfortunate limitation to Google Maps. Although there is a workaround of sorts. If you cache the map data by doing all the stuff while you are in a good service area, when you are there it won't need to download all the stuff. This is a pain I agree, but it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, works nice, used this 'workaround' for my past holidays. The only drawback is that Google Maps does cache the maps in the device memory and not on the memory-card, thus filling up the device memory pretty fast
Anybody knowing how to change this behaviour?
MeCry
Ahh I was unaware of that. I assume then that it would be solved by installing Google Maps to your SD card instead of device memory.
SnittyKitty said:
Today, I took my wife to work and took my TP2 and turned on GPS with Google Maps knowing full well that once I got her to her job, I would have no T-Mobile service. The moment I lost the signal, GPS continue to plot me correctly up to the point it needed updating my maps and I got "Network Unavailable". I have an 8GB microSD card installed. My question to all is can GPS run independent of the network and if not, is there a 3rd party software that will run on the Windows Mobile OS? I like to know if I lose service I still have GPS. I can't imagine what dumbass came up with the idea to tether data services to GPS knowing there will be situations where service might not be available, for example severe weather knocks out a tower. Wasn't the idea into GPS to be independent. I get needing data services if I don't have a memory card; I don't get the logic that says, the moment I lose my cellular provider's service I'm SOL; thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A-GPS is dependent on the Carrier. No other solution to access GPS according to Wikipedia.
kable said:
A-GPS is dependent on the Carrier. No other solution to access GPS according to Wikipedia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO, you completely missed the point. There is a real GPS in the phone.. Fairly daft, but actual GPS chipset which gets data from satellites, not entirely dependent on cellular coverage.
But he's trying to navigate based on Google Maps, which requires constant data. The answer is to get something with maps.. iGO, TomTom, etc.. Earthcomber is another free one that'll do "Google Map-like" routing and it's free, but not sure it's worth it.
^agreed
you guys are using pretty strong language to describe something that's, imho, user error. a small problem with free information on the interwebs is that, unless you can articulate exactly what you're looking for, you may not find the answer... making you the perfect customer for the sales clerk selling you $70/month data plan.
GPS is different from aGPS(assisted). the TP2 has both. that is, it has the GPS chip that can receive the satellite signal, and it is aGPS capable in that it uses cell tower triangulation and other wifi IP info. in both cases, you'll need maps on your device so it can place the satellite coordinates for you to see. GoogleMaps does this by downloading maps a-la-carte.
like Mesquire said in post3, if you buy independent maps and install them on your SD card (TomTom,Garmin,IGO,etc), your phone can be in FlightMode and still receive the satellite signal with the GPS chip, and still plot the coordinates on YOUR map, without WIFI, without Data plan, without Cell signal. but you'd have to turn aGPS off so it doesn't interfere. Keyword here is to use Your Own map, and turn aGPS off.
i'm no expert in this, and the above is my humble interpretation, but i just wanted to say, take a deep breath, and see if it's not user error that's causing the frustration.
aGPS also includes atmospheric aberration correction data to make the GPS coordinates more accurate. People seem to leave this out and think it is just internet data. This is false.
gehzumteufel said:
aGPS also includes atmospheric aberration correction data to make the GPS coordinates more accurate. People seem to leave this out and think it is just internet data. This is false.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best post of the day
The gps is not very good atleast it is not working very well in my phone.
I tried using cardio trainer. And the gps jumps about. Plus the gps signal shown is very low can anyone put their phone gps through the paces and then tell me should I ask for a replacement or its in all phones
Mines fine.
Mine works fine, GPS is actually pretty good as navigation tells you the road names..!
Dopedangel said:
The gps is not very good atleast it is not working very well in my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you clarify if you're talking about hardware or software?
And did you compare GS with other GPS at the very same time and place?
I too am seeing poor performance with the GPS. Seems to be a hardware issue.
I did a test over the weekend comparing my Galaxy S with a friend's HTC Desire. Using one of the many GPS utilities the Desire was consistently seeing and locking more satellites when stood in an open area outside. When running Google maps and showing the current location I found that the "accuracy circle" (for want of a better description) was growing and shrinking several times a minute causing the map to zoom in and out.
I've also noticed that the compass is almost unusable and showing a much lower signal compared to the Desire. I did perform the figure of 8 calibration several times.
Not tried the GPS yet, but I'm amazed how accurate network location is on this thing.
On my old G1 network location was laughable, but this thing knows pretty much exactly where it is without GPS.
MarvinTheAndroid said:
Not tried the GPS yet, but I'm amazed how accurate network location is on this thing.
On my old G1 network location was laughable, but this thing knows pretty much exactly where it is without GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably having wifi on? google can locate you more precise cause it has registered every wifi network during the streetview picture taking.
tommy34 said:
probably having wifi on? google can locate you more precise cause it has registered every wifi network during the streetview picture taking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this is with wifi turned off.
tommy34 said:
probably having wifi on? google can locate you more precise cause it has registered every wifi network during the streetview picture taking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol what kind of anti-google propaganda have you been reading?
Google streetview cars collected data of open wifi networks.
Besides from the fact that google doesn't use the data (which it isn't allowed to have), there are by far not enough open wifi networks to find your location.
Also. You have to have at least 3 networks to be able to determine a location using wifi access points.
So the statement you just made is rubbish and ofcourse nonsense...
BasieP said:
Lol what kind of anti-google propaganda have you been reading?
Google streetview cars collected data of open wifi networks.
Besides from the fact that google doesn't use the data (which it isn't allowed to have), there are by far not enough open wifi networks to find your location.
Also. You have to have at least 3 networks to be able to determine a location using wifi access points.
So the statement you just made is rubbish and ofcourse nonsense...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont care about it, i like it.
hmm. just figured this because where i live there arent any open networks and with wifi on it knows my exact location. Without wifi it has a 1600 m radius.
The GPS seems to work flawlessly for me at least.
BasieP said:
Google streetview cars collected data of open wifi networks. Besides from the fact that google doesn't use the data (which it isn't allowed to have), there are by far not enough open wifi networks to find your location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google collected the SSID and MAC addresses for all of the wifi networks they found, with the explicit intention of using them as an additional source of location data. They also inadvertently collected more data from open networks, and that's what they're in trouble for.
googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wifi-data-collection-update.html
yes and the new google navigation api in the i9000 and android appears to use this data as the damn thing turns on your wifi even when off when gps tries to get a fix!
lgkahn said:
yes and the new google navigation api in the i9000 and android appears to use this data as the damn thing turns on your wifi even when off when gps tries to get a fix!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can disable it in location settings then it wont look for wireless data
Dopedangel said:
you can disable it in location settings then it wont look for wireless data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope it is disabled and try to get a gps fix.. wifi still comes on and then goes off.. not sure what it is doing.
I got mine and tested.
In the beginning I had a perfect fix on location. When I started moving, however, I experienced this "jumping around" issue with a huge loss of accuracy. The circle of accuracy was also changing constantly. I think I show something about the wifi seeing (or not being able to see - can't remember) some hotspots although my wi-fi was turned off.
Maybe indeed - the phone detects wifi networks even if the wifi as such is off and possibly compares it to an internal database (thus explaining the persistence of the problem even when the radio is off and the phone is not connected on the net).
Do you know any good free program that would allow me to get some test data - e.g. number of satellites / signal quality etc (unless there is already one somewhere in the interface - I am new to Android).
Can someone else run a test? Can some one run a test in an area where no wifi exists.
That's bad news,i'm really interested in this phone (money-forgiving for a while ),but i need great gps performances...
Evans_Prophet said:
Do you know any good free program that would allow me to get some test data - e.g. number of satellites / signal quality etc (unless there is already one somewhere in the interface - I am new to Android).
Can someone else run a test? Can some one run a test in an area where no wifi exists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try "GPS Test" its on the market for free. From my test the GPS is actually quite nice, several 18-25 SNR connections and a few 26-30 SNR ones ( When outside I even find one or two 31-40 SNR ones which is really great).
Anyway I notice that GPS had become far more accurate when I disabled the Wifi-location option. The only problem is that locking down takes some time ( about 10-20 seconds max) in my area.
kitsune223 said:
Try "GPS Test" its on the market for free. From my test the GPS is actually quite nice, several 18-25 SNR connections and a few 26-30 SNR ones ( When outside I even find one or two 31-40 SNR ones which is really great).
Anyway I notice that GPS had become far more accurate when I disabled the Wifi-location option. The only problem is that locking down takes some time ( about 10-20 seconds max) in my area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok - i will test with that and revert..
By the way, in my wm6 Touch HD there was a utility called quickgps which would download data from server instead of having them downloaded from a satellite with a low speed connection. This increased speed of cold lock. Furthermore there was also another option to enable assisted gps (not sure whether this was different from the quick gps application and what this did exactly). I wonder whether these application / features are automatically enabled in our case.
Evans_Prophet said:
I got mine and tested.
In the beginning I had a perfect fix on location. When I started moving, however, I experienced this "jumping around" issue with a huge loss of accuracy. The circle of accuracy was also changing constantly. I think I show something about the wifi seeing (or not being able to see - can't remember) some hotspots although my wi-fi was turned off.
Maybe indeed - the phone detects wifi networks even if the wifi as such is off and possibly compares it to an internal database (thus explaining the persistence of the problem even when the radio is off and the phone is not connected on the net).
Do you know any good free program that would allow me to get some test data - e.g. number of satellites / signal quality etc (unless there is already one somewhere in the interface - I am new to Android).
Can someone else run a test? Can some one run a test in an area where no wifi exists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It can also be a problem of google navigation beta?? Did anyone try another gps navigator?
i felt the same thing about GPS, as it is not that good , as there's no wi-fi Google can detect hear. the performance was not that good at all!.
but tonight i used the GPS without the Wifi (i turned it off) and for a surprise the performance was amazing, I was with my friend in his car watching the road as he drive and watching the google map in my phone and was very good indeed.
that's strange!.
Somehow I managed to lose my evo and its nowhere to be found. Its fully rooted running dc 3.2.3. Is there any way of locating it or remoty turning on gps? I don't have any special software for that type of stuff. any help is appreciated
sprint used to have the family locator thing where all the lines on your account could be located by their gps signal. dunno if they still have it or not, i haven't used it in a while.
I tried that but gps needs to be turned on. Is there a way to remotely turn on gps?
Any chance sprint might be able to help? the phone seems to be on, no one has made any calls with it or otherwise used it so I'm pretty sure it's somewhere where I can find it. I wonder if Sprint will (I say will because I'm pretty sure they can) try to find the phone via their cell towers or at least an approximate location.
i know windows mobile had software that could turn on gps and reply back to your other phone via sms its gps coordination... but the software had to be built into the rom so its not uninstallable.
ive been wondering if theres an app or similar for android.
just in case someone swipes my phone i'd like to be able to track it.
would be nice if a dev had this feature built into a rom so noone can disable or remove it.
Sprint could help but won't (I have tried). Family locator needs sms verification with user of phone before it will activate. Unless you had installed an app to track it you don't have any options. Look on craigslist or ebay.
Next time use "wheres my droid" or some other such software. Unfortunately google thinks that having an app switch on gps is a privacy issue so they disabled that api in 2.x, so you are really out of luck even if you had software.
I have quick sshd installed on mine so hopefully will be able to remote in and run ase, delete files, etc.
Sprint Family Locator will work. It doesn't require user authorization and it does not require the phone to have GPS turned on. Try it. The only thing it will do is send the phone a message saying that SFL has been activated (or the phone has been located via SFL).
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
dudewithnofood said:
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
glad to see you've found your phone...lolz.
half mile radius doesn't really qualify as finding it
dudewithnofood said:
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks man. Did you have a password on it?
I have three apps for this sort of thing:
The previously suggested "Wheres My Droid". If you lose your phone, you can send an SMS to it with a custom phrase that will turn on the sound to ring for up to 5 minutes.
Lookout Mobile. A combo of GPS location, antivirus and contact/picture backup. You can log in through the website to locate.
Mobile Security. The best, IMO. Log into the website and it will locate the phone with options to lock, send a text, send a sound alarm. Key feature: If you are rooted, you can flash the app to your system of your phone, which means it won't appear in your app drawer and can't be uninstalled...its invisible unless a thief has the expertise to pull it off the phone with ADB. Was able to successfully pinpoint the address the phone is currently at.
In conjunction with these, you might want to download 'Protector'. This is basically an app that password protects certain apps/functions to your liking. I use it to require access to the market (so apps like lookout cant be uninstalled), system apps (like astro or estrongs...same idea) and sensitive $ data like Mint.com and Paypal apps.
I like redundancy on issues like this so thats why I have all three apps going. Also, always leave your GPS on. There is no battery drain issue unless an app is actually utilizing it, and that will be obvious because the GPS logo will appear in the notification bar next to the 3g/CDMA/Power icons.
You can make your phone pretty useless to anyone who isn't you by using the above ideas.
Pintail is always the first app i install, just text Locate and a pin number and it will send you the address of where its at. Coordinates would be nicer though.
captivate said:
Sprint Family Locator will work. It doesn't require user authorization and it does not require the phone to have GPS turned on. Try it. The only thing it will do is send the phone a message saying that SFL has been activated (or the phone has been located via SFL).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow they must have changed that policy then. I had lost a treo 600 back in the day and they told me it needed to activate it with a code sent to the handset. Good to know they changed that and I apologize for being inaccurate.
Family locator works on phones without gps by using tower triangulation. But as you see it isn't all that accurate.
Good luck!
* I use ' tasker' to listen for sms and it will send sms back with location and ip. I can then ssh into phone and do various things there.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Just another thought. If you have a bluetooth headset you could wander around there and see where it connects. 10 meters?
sorry to hear of your misfortune.
yes.. only way to work.. is to have an app that helps you loaded before you loose it.
Half mile radius, sounds like tower triangulation to me. NOT GPS.
This is a warning to all.. spend a little time to find an app you like to do this ASAP. you will feel better.
there are few in the Market. I use Wavesecure.
these apps use Text messages to activate functions on your phone. Can give you a lot of control over the phone.
1. Checkout Craigslist or Ebay to see if your phone is listed.
2. If you can not find it online. Then tell sprint it is lost.. so it will be turned off so they can not use it or sell it.
3. I hope you have insurance that covers loss.
zonyl said:
Just another thought. If you have a bluetooth headset you could wander around there and see where it connects. 10 meters?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is a good idea.. but battery on evo will not last long...it might be dead by now or very soon.
Seriously, drop everything and invest into some sort of software and set it up properly so you won't be in a ****ty situation like this. Now I gotta go hunting on ebay/craigslist and drop another $400... FML.
another $400? This is why people should buy insurance. at the most it is $100.
FYI depending on how long you have had the line open, you can still add insurance to the phone within 30 days I believe. Most likely wont help you but you never know.
I'm shopping for a phone but have a specifice requirement: Does the GPS in the G2 work without having access to cell or wifi ephemeris download ie can the GPS as fitted to this phone download ephemeris data from the GPS constellation and then be used as a GPS? I realise, of course, that maps would have to be stored locally, as well has having navigation software installed.
I've searched but have been unable to find an answer around the web. Lot's of comments similar to "Why would you want to?" or "...but Google maps/VZ navigitor won't work." but that's not the point. I hope to be able to use the phone as a stand alone GPS device when I'm out of wifi/cell coverage.
I compared setup options in the G2 to those in the Droid 2 Global (my other phone candidate due to its international bands). The D2G has a specific option to disable AGPS while leaving the GPS active - something I've not found in the G2, hence my question. The D2G specs. also refer to S-GPS as well as A-GPS. I presume that the 'S' is for 'Standalone'?
Ideally I'd like a hybrid of the two phones. Something like the D2G bands with the keyboard & thumbpad of the G2. Until manufacturers & telcos stop screwing around with crippled hardware I'll just have to make do.
Tinstaafl said:
I'm shopping for a phone but have a specifice requirement: Does the GPS in the G2 work without having access to cell or wifi ephemeris download ie can the GPS as fitted to this phone download ephemeris data from the GPS constellation and then be used as a GPS? I realise, of course, that maps would have to be stored locally, as well has having navigation software installed.
I've searched but have been unable to find an answer around the web. Lot's of comments similar to "Why would you want to?" or "...but Google maps/VZ navigitor won't work." but that's not the point. I hope to be able to use the phone as a stand alone GPS device when I'm out of wifi/cell coverage.
I compared setup options in the G2 to those in the Droid 2 Global (my other phone candidate due to its international bands). The D2G has a specific option to disable AGPS while leaving the GPS active - something I've not found in the G2, hence my question. The D2G specs. also refer to S-GPS as well as A-GPS. I presume that the 'S' is for 'Standalone'?
Ideally I'd like a hybrid of the two phones. Something like the D2G with the keyboard's keys & thumbpad of the G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I use a program called Aura, it stores the maps on my sdcard, I can use them with my data off and no cell reception, works fine. The gps unit in the phone is stand alone from the cell/data system.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Well, that was a fast reply! Thank you.
Is there a work around of any sort required? For example, will the GPS lock on even in aeroplane mode or must it lock on before selecting that mode?
What is the difference between VZW Location Services and Google Location Services?
Thanks,
Jeff
Not to be a smart ass but ones from VZW and ones from Google. Lol, I'm pretty sure thats the only difference.
cmlusco said:
Not to be a smart ass but ones from VZW and ones from Google. Lol, I'm pretty sure thats the only difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was fairly obvious!
Been reading up on it myself and google brought me here. Thought I may learn something new. So Far I have learned:
VZW Location Services provides location data to phone/apps via Cell Towers (Useful if indoors), GPS location data when a clear line of sight to sky is available (Will use more battery power as it is a seperate chip/component) and Google Location services uses a Wifi Network "Guesstimate" (the least accurate of all three). What it comes down to is accuracy and battery life/usage.
Go with vzw services if you want accuracy and little battery usage, however if you keep wifi on allot (or have eg Juice Defender Installed) use Google. Most of time I use Google. I am however on the paranoid side as it is. I read where a Verizon Tech stated that you can be located within 2-10seconds with that enabled. However if I were up to no good I would simply remove battery, just bothers me my phone company knows where I am. They sell that data possibly more, yet do I get a discount for that?
I only use GPS when driving.
I think you've got it a bit mixed up. There's a few ways our phones can get location information.
Think of it this way.
--- satellite GPS = Your phone connects with satellites to determine the location. It can pinpoint your location within feet if it has a good enough lock. You can still get locks indoors, and yes it does use a considerable about of battery if you use it continually. If it only turns on for about a minute just to get a single lock on your location, it really has no impact on battery. If you run it for 20-30mins+ is when you start to notice. You have the option to completely turn this off if you want. Really it's best to keep it on, because your phone will not actually turn it on and use it unless an app tells it to (like navigation).
--- WIFI GPS = Your phone can determine your location by using the WiFi the same way you can go to http://www.geoiptool.com/ on your desktop and it can get a generic idea of where you're at (usually not more specific than the city you're in). Google likes to use this because it needs some sort of location information so it can best provide searches and advertisements. This is the least accurate. This also has an option to be turned off.
--- assisted GPS or aGPS = your phone uses the network you're on (in this case, Verizon) and it can give a rough estimate by triangulating your position through nearby cell towers.
It's called assisted GPS because it actually helps the 'satellite GPS' by letting the satellites know the general area of where you're at, so it can get a lock quicker and with less battery.
Assisted GPS does not require any additional battery or wait time because your phone is already connecting with those towers just by having a signal (the more towers in your area, the smaller area it can guess you're at)
When you first start up a GPS application (or if you disable the 'satellite GPS'), you'll see a circle around a very wide area. This is what the radio tower/VZW/assisted GPS is. Then after a minute or so, it'll lock on, this is the 'satellite GPS'.
Also there is a separate chip in all phones that determines your location if you dial 911. You can not turn it off, and I'd imagine that the government could use it with reason. If this is in use there should be an icon that pops up, you've probably never seen it.
If you're worried about your location, the only thing you can do is turn off your phone or remove your battery if you're really paranoid.
All this info is to the best of my understanding.
Hope this clears it up.
POQbum said:
I think you've got it a bit mixed up. There's a few ways our phones can get location information.
Think of it this way.
--- satellite GPS = Your phone connects with satellites to determine the location. It can pinpoint your location within feet if it has a good enough lock. You can still get locks indoors, and yes it does use a considerable about of battery if you use it continually. If it only turns on for about a minute just to get a single lock on your location, it really has no impact on battery. If you run it for 20-30mins+ is when you start to notice. You have the option to completely turn this off if you want. Really it's best to keep it on, because your phone will not actually turn it on and use it unless an app tells it to (like navigation).
--- WIFI GPS = Your phone can determine your location by using the WiFi the same way you can go to on your desktop and it can get a generic idea of where you're at (usually not more specific than the city you're in). Google likes to use this because it needs some sort of location information so it can best provide searches and advertisements. This is the least accurate. This also has an option to be turned off.
--- assisted GPS or aGPS = your phone uses the network you're on (in this case, Verizon) and it can give a rough estimate by triangulating your position through nearby cell towers.
It's called assisted GPS because it actually helps the 'satellite GPS' by letting the satellites know the general area of where you're at, so it can get a lock quicker and with less battery.
Assisted GPS does not require any additional battery or wait time because your phone is already connecting with those towers just by having a signal (the more towers in your area, the smaller area it can guess you're at)
When you first start up a GPS application (or if you disable the 'satellite GPS'), you'll see a circle around a very wide area. This is what the radio tower/VZW/assisted GPS is. Then after a minute or so, it'll lock on, this is the 'satellite GPS'.
Also there is a separate chip in all phones that determines your location if you dial 911. You can not turn it off, and I'd imagine that the government could use it with reason. If this is in use there should be an icon that pops up, you've probably never seen it.
If you're worried about your location, the only thing you can do is turn off your phone or remove your battery if you're really paranoid.
All this info is to the best of my understanding.
Hope this clears it up.
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I just joined to say thanks for this. I've been searching forums for this, and could only find half the info or smart @$$ responses on other sites. I've been searching for possible bugs and battery drains ever since the ics update and the media app smoked razr maxx battery and burned my phone to the point where the back turned brown.