trying to set tasker to turn on gps w/ maps

[gale65]

I've been reading tutorials all night, watching videos, etc. I added the profile, used apps>map and then for the task I set it to turn GPS on. Plus, as a test, I added a notification. Then I did the exit task which is to turn GPS off and I added a notification to that too (the notifications were so I could see for sure if gps came on and off). Saved everything as I exited tasker but when I open maps nothing happens. When I press the location button it tells me GPS is not on. I also don't see the notifications I set. The profile is turned on, but the on/off button is a gray color-is that normal? What am I missing?

My phone is a nexus 5, rooted, with the dirty unicorns rom.

 

[WarriusZero]

Why switching the GPS off at all?
When Maps and other apps needing GPS are not running, GPS is unused/dormant, therefore doesn't drain any battery.

Or am I missing something so obvious that I should be embarrassed?

On a side note: I don't know the answer to your question...

 

[gale65]

From what I understand, GPS running all the time is harder on the battery, even if it's not being used by an app. I know that people use this particular task often because I read about it in a lot of places. I just can't seem to make it work. I've never tried making any other profiles or tasks so I don't know if I'm even doing it right.

 

[WarriusZero]

From my experience, GPS has no impact on the battery when unused.
It's not really switched on, it's just switched available.

"The profile is turned on, but the on/off button is a gray color-is that normal?"
No. can you send a screenshot?

 

[codesplice]

Hi gale65,

WarriusZero is correct; having the GPS enabled is not the same as having the GPS active. The GPS will only cause a battery drain when it is actively in use by an application - in which case you'll see the little "Location Active" indicator at the top of your screen.

To answer your question on why your profile isn't working, though, Tasker hasn't been able to directly manage the GPS status since Android 2.3. You'd have to use a third-party plugin (like Secure Settings) to manage that.

 

[gale65]

Thanks. I do have and used Secure Settings when making the profile. Good to know about the gps-it makes me curious why so many have tasker profiles to turn on gps only when maps is opened though. Also why almost all of the 'battery saving' hints on articles say to turn off gps when it's not being used.

 

[codesplice]

It's probably for the same reason that so many battery-saving tips also recommend turning off Wifi when not in use - again, the power drain attributed to wifi standby is also negligible. In fact, wifi standby is far more power efficient than cellular standby.

I used to try all the power-saving tips out there - power management with Tasker, apps like Juice Defender, etc. I eventually got frustrated with intentionally crippling my device all the time, and instead just left well enough alone. Turns out that I wasn't actually saving nearly as much power as I thought I was.

At any rate, I did find a bit on the Tasker Wiki that might help with GPS automation if you still want to play at it: http://tasker.wikidot.com/navigationgps