GPS and Battery Life

[dvalmont]

I just want to bounce this off some other Hero users and hopefully verify that i'm on the right page here.

A month or so back I started running mine with GPS toggled ON all the time. (For apps to find a lost Hero it seemed the only effective way to find it was if GPS was on). GPS is not powered (or maybe very low powered?) UNLESS the GPS Symbol is showing at top of screen?
I've noticed NO difference in battery life with GPS toggled ON vs OFF over the last month. GPS (when toggled ON) appears to be actually turned on or off by particular Apps that use it.
Anyone? Am I correct??

It seems to be "common knowledge" and I think Android even says to toggle it OFF to save battery life but this seems to be not true?

I DO have an App that does turn GPS on but does NOT turn it off when I exit, which does drain the battery until I manually correct, which could be a problem, but I do see the GPS icon so I know it's on and draining.

 

[BlackedOut]

It should use a little more power when it is toggles on. While it is on, it has to keep track of satellite locations for easier locating when it does power up for an app. So I wouldn't think the drain would be much more significant unless you are in an app that is using it a lot.

 

[randel77]

I've been wondering about this also. I will try leaving it on and report back. With recovery apps like wavesecure you can turn on the gps remotely. So, if that is your only reason for keeping it on, it's really not necessary.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Same here, noticed no difference in battery life at all.
From now on I always keep it on. I waste more time going back to the widget and switching it ON than to just leave it on.

-Nigel

 

[jmxp69]

With recovery apps like wavesecure you can turn on the gps remotely.

How do you remotely turn GPS on with Wavesecure? I just scoured the Wavesecure portal and didn't see an option to do that.

Thanks...

 

[cooolone2]

GPS is not powered (or maybe very low powered?) UNLESS the GPS Symbol is showing at top of screen?
I've noticed NO difference in battery life with GPS toggled ON vs OFF over the last month. GPS (when toggled ON) appears to be actually turned on or off by particular Apps that use it.
Anyone? Am I correct??

Yes, absolutely correct. The GPS antenna is only put into function when an app specifically calls for it.

It seems to be "common knowledge" and I think Android even says to toggle it OFF to save battery life but this seems to be not true?

Well, the default function of most of the Sense settings is that all the apps are using location data, pooling frequently for updates, etc., so the assumption is that it is ON and if you wanted to eliminated some battery usage you could leave those settings on and not use the GPS to obtain location data. It's possible, but doesn't work as well.

I DO have an App that does turn GPS on but does NOT turn it off when I exit, which does drain the battery until I manually correct, which could be a problem, but I do see the GPS icon so I know it's on and draining.

Which app? Most I use DO turn it off... you should contact the developer and make it known that is an issue/fault with coding that could probably be corrected...

All in all, I leave the GPS enabled always and have not experienced any battery drain for it. I use a few GPS apps and they work awesome...

Happy Trails!

 

[dvalmont]

Which app? Most I use DO turn it off... you should contact the developer and make it known that is an issue/fault with coding that could probably be corrected...

All in all, I leave the GPS enabled always and have not experienced any battery drain for it. I use a few GPS apps and they work awesome...

Happy Trails!

The one that does it to me is that "Movies" Flixster app. I know it's popular so I was kind of surprised. In fairness i'm sure i'm at least one update behind on it so maybe it's already corrected.

 

[eyebeam]

I also leave GPS on all the time and have not noticed any adverse effect on my battery life.

As for Movies by Flixster, I use it quite a bit and, at least for me, it doesn't leave the GPS on. Weird.

 

[cooolone2]

I also leave GPS on all the time and have not noticed any adverse effect on my battery life.

As for Movies by Flixster, I use it quite a bit and, at least for me, it doesn't leave the GPS on. Weird.

+++1

I use that as well and it doesn't stick the GPS... weird, try uninstalling the app and reinstall it. Hope that'll clear it up for ya'. Is that the only app to hang the GPS? if it is more than one app, maybe it might be a hardware issue... maybe?