Develop Bugs

3G Location

Hi guys. Simple question here:
Always thought it was strange but never had the time to check if it was actually a Apple service only. Is it possible to obtain "My Location" through Google Maps app or Latitude, whatever, only with 3G on. I mean having Wi-fi and GPS disabled, wasn't it supposed to 3G be enough to obtain my phone's location?
Yesterday my brother who owns an Iphone4 did it and i thought "how come i never couldn't with my xperia arc"?
Is it any wrong configuration on my phone, or a google configuration or is it just a service xperia arc/xperia/android phones don't have?
Thanks.

Google Maps - works over GPS or 3G(HSDPA,EDGE)
Latitude also can work like one above..
But, if you have wirelles, and GPS disabled...accuracy will be around 300-500m.
while GPS accuracy is 2m

I always use Google maps with the data switch on. I usually have the GPS switch on also. Using just the mobile phone tower to use google maps doesn't accurately represent your true location, only the closest mobile phone tower the phone is receiving the signal from.
I have done this in the past, meaning using Google maps while using only the mobile phone network, since my phone at the time did not have built-in GPS.
Sent from my LT15a using XDA App

Thanks, electrash, you are spot on!
Sent from my LT15a using XDA App

No problem, try it and let me know.
P.s (sometimes it takes longer to get your location max 1-2min)

So meaning that something is wrong in my phone. I have it updated and non root. I have 3G (HSDPA) on and the phone is unable to obtain "My Location" and asking me to turn wireless or GPS on. What can i do to fix it?

but do you have 3G MB packet (pay for 200mb or etc) or you have flat internet on phone like me?

I have a 300mb per month subscription. Is there a difference here? The 3G or data connection isn't the same in both cases?

yes, but sometimes if you run out of MB Packet this wont work, i dont know why.
I have to go now, when im back i will find some app to test your phone (market seacrh)
Till then, have a nice day

Everything is working now. I needed to check in the location configuration the use of wireless and data connection to obtain position. LOL My bad! Thanks for all the help anyway! Cumps

Glade to hear that

Question about Tasker, or the like...

I think I remember an app it was called Tasker. Where it ( I believe ) used your location to set certain settings. True? If thats the case, couldn't I set it to change my internet to 3g when I get to work and wifi turn on when I get home? If it does use your location wouldnt that use more battery? Or is a simple toggle the best? Id like an automatic option if possible.

Battery usage depends on how it detects your location. GPS would me the most accurate and use the midst battery. Network is only accurate to a couple miles/km, but uses less battery. I use what cell tower I am connected to wish is more accurate than location, used less battery but can be less reliable as there can often be several towers you connect to, took me a few days to set them all. Also, if towers get upgraded, that can throw things off until you update your settings. I also had problems with wifi calling as that disconnects you from towers all together.
But yes, tasker is awesome.

Tasker and Locale do this, and much much more. Looking to just change networks, other apps like Juice Defender will do it too.
They of course will drain some battery because they need to use GPS and be running in the background to properly work. Of course you could choose to use network location but you won't get as good of performance as far as specific location services.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus i9250

Battery drain on bad reception

Hey, guys.
I have my phone now for 4 month and I've checked following thing: the battery drain is incredible on bad mobile coverage. In my apartment I have really pur reception, all phones loose the reception permanently (in this way one x is much better than my wife's Iphone 4).
It is normal, that the phone consumes much energy, but one x consumes just to much. For example, if I'm at home, the drain is like 2 or even 3 procent in hour even on sense roms, and if I'm in place with good reception, it's like 1 procent in 2 and more hours, so the overall batter life is waaaay much better...
Now the question is, if I could do something to make my phone to be not so aggressive on searching for the network? I know, it can bring worse network, but it is not really a problem for me.
P. S.:switching to flight mode is not an answer for me
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

flight mode is the first thing i would have said, but not an option, so the next thing i would look at is something like vodafone suresignal - check with your network provider, they might offer a service similar, basically you get a little box from them, plug into your internet connection, and it will give your phone signal.
can't really think of something apart from a kernel tweak of some sort that would stop the phone scanning so much for cell towers, but i'm not sure where that would be, or even if it is possible..

its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app

treebill said:
its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
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I use this option a lot, this is not directly what I asked for. I just want my gsm radio to be not so aggressive. Just like changing cpu governors values
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Hi
Zlotin said:
I use this option a lot, this is not directly what I asked for. I just want my gsm radio to be not so aggressive. Just like changing cpu governors values
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is no reception at all the phone radio shouldn't use much power, this is because it is just listening for a signal and will not be transmitting anything. If the radio is consuming more power, it is likely because it can hear the transmitter (they obviously transmit with much more power) and so the phone on hearing the mother ship is trying to reply at full transmit power available to it, but this isn't enough to be heard which drains more power. It doesn't taking many attempts at transmitting at full power to have a battery draining faster than usual.
Some applications on having no data connection might start waking the device a lot in a panic and don't back off trying, so every few seconds they will be waking the phone trying to connect to a remote server somewhere. Do you have Wi-Fi on to keep applications happy if they want to keep phoning home?
You have few options really,
1) is to just the mobile phone part off and leave Wi-Fi running which should help. You can do this by switching to flight mode then enabling just the Wi-Fi, or there will be widgets available I'm sure to just turn off the mobile phone part.
2) Turn off syncing to see if it is an application getting panicky, again you will have widgets you can add to your home page to easily switch this setting
3) You can use a Phone Schedule type application and have your phone go to flight mode automatically timed for when you are usually at home and overnight to save battery drain, free ones at the Play store.
4) If you have internet access at your apartment and depending on your mobile phone operator you might be able to get a femtocell, this will give you a full signal and service at home.
Regards
Phil

Its not just the HOX that does this, its all phones and it is bloody annoying.
My wifes parents live in the middle of nowhere and if we didnt' change our phones (inc, hox, s2,n900,iphone3...) to flightmode when there over night they would be flat.

treebill said:
its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
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I don't have that option. What's up with that? Does AT&T lock that option on their phones?

Tcndeb said:
I don't have that option. What's up with that? Does AT&T lock that option on their phones?
Click to expand...
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dial *#*#4636#*#* and goto phone information, scroll down, and you'll have all different modes there.
sometimes this doesn't stick though
that option would probably be there on a normal custom rom (unless this isn't actually possible on at&t??)
i could be misinformed, im from uk, so a little un educated on how the networks work over there..

Is there monitoring software to monitor everything sent to towers?

The phone is constantly connected to cell towers which can triangulate your location.
Is there some sort of root software which would completely intercept and monitor all traffic between you and cell towers? One that would tell you what is being sent and received? And tell you if the GPS is really off.
What about forcing the phone to connect to only one tower?

Dinger558 said:
The phone is constantly connected to cell towers which can triangulate your location.
Is there some sort of root software which would completely intercept and monitor all traffic between you and cell towers? One that would tell you what is being sent and received? And tell you if the GPS is really off.
What about forcing the phone to connect to only one tower?
Click to expand...
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You could remove the battery. That will solve it.

antonis_sp said:
You could remove the battery. That will solve it.
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Click to collapse
The idea is to have the phone usable...

Monitoring is done mainly by the towers not the phone. Theres no way to stop your carrier from tracking your phones movements around its network.
Your other worries have nothing to do with the carrier. If GPS is off it will show as off unless your phone is compromised, location data will only be sent if you have location reporting on (this does not affect mobile towers from recording device connections).
You could monitor traffic on your phone with something like tcpdump and analyse the data, but a better way would be don't use apps you don't trust.
What exactly are you worried about?

Dubhar said:
Monitoring is done mainly by the towers not the phone. Theres no way to stop your carrier from tracking your phones movements around its network.
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So the protocol is such that you don't address any particular tower but rather just broadcast and that's how they are able to triangulate you?
What about turning the RF radio off and on without taking out the SIM card, know any app to do that? (Assume that I don't need to take calls only place them. The goal being to minimize tracking/interaction with carrier.)
Also can you explain to me or link me to how this cellular protocol knows where to route calls to you? If there is a keepalive signal how frequently is it transmitted? What if you turn off all broadcast but not the radio itself, will the tower still try to route calls to your last known location and if you are there you would be able to take them?

Dinger558 said:
So the protocol is such that you don't address any particular tower but rather just broadcast and that's how they are able to triangulate you?
What about turning the RF radio off and on without taking out the SIM card, know any app to do that? (Assume that I don't need to take calls only place them. The goal being to minimize tracking/interaction with carrier.)
Also can you explain to me or link me to how this cellular protocol knows where to route calls to you? If there is a keepalive signal how frequently is it transmitted? What if you turn off all broadcast but not the radio itself, will the tower still try to route calls to your last known location and if you are there you would be able to take them?
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If you turn the radio off it wont connect to a tower but you also cant use your phone.
Theres maybe a little misunderstanding when it comes to how mobile networks work. There no different from computer networks, and just like computer networks mobile networks track where devices are located on the network. It isn't miserableness for malicious reasons, keeping track of where devices are located on the network helps maintain the networks performance and fix problems. The side effect of mobile devices is there are almost always attached to a body and inadvertently allow the potential for a person to be tracked within a margin of error.
When the radio is on (and im not an expert on this) the phone will periodically contact the mobile tower as far as i know, and does this to make sure your connected to the right tower for it to route traffic to your phone or move you to a tower with a better signal.
If your really bothered by it, put it in air plane mode and use wifi only with encrypted calls. But wifi can still be used to approximate a location just like any other means of communication.
It would be good to know your goal? If it is simply to not be tracked your _only_ option is to not use a mobile phone. People do that, for that exact reason.

Dubhar said:
If you turn the radio off it wont connect to a tower but you also cant use your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By not use it do you mean it won't even boot properly or I simply won't be able to place or receive calls?
If the latter, I would still like to know how. Is there an app for that?

Dinger558 said:
By not use it do you mean it won't even boot properly or I simply won't be able to place or receive calls?
If the former, I would still like to know how. Is there an app for that?
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Put it in airplane mode. By not use I mean no phone calls or internet.

Dubhar said:
Put it in airplane mode. By not use I mean no phone calls or internet.
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Click to collapse
Airplane mode disables WiFi as well, this won't do.
Surely there is a root app that can toggle the cellular RF radio?

Dinger558 said:
Airplane mode disables WiFi as well, this won't do.
Surely there is a root app that can toggle the cellular RF radio?
Click to expand...
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You can turn on wifi after you put airplane mode on, but it defeats the purpose. You can be tracked via wifi.
Non of this also considers if the phone is compromised or if it collects data and sends it once it is connected.

Dubhar said:
You can turn on wifi after you put airplane mode on, but it defeats the purpose. You can be tracked via wifi.
Non of this also considers if the phone is compromised or if it collects data and sends it once it is connected.
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WiFi tracking is impractical. I'm only interested in disabling the cellular network unless I want to place calls.

Dinger558 said:
WiFi tracking is impractical. I'm only interested in disabling the cellular network unless I want to place calls.
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Actually WiFi can be even more beneficial. It's not dependant on the phone network meaning the tracking information can be sent anywhere in the world, you can send more information than just mobile tower beacons, tracking data can be recorded and sent later when a connection is made either though WiFi or mobile data. Its not dependant on your phone either, your phone sends out a WiFi beacon periodically looking for wireless networks, any WiFi AP within range will pick up this broadcast from your phone and potentially record it ( it is identifiable), additionally your phone broadcasts all WiFi APs you've connected to to see if it can reconnect to them, these can be recorded and used to predict and track movements as well.
You still haven't said what the purpose of this is and im starting to think your just trolling. Turning off the mobile radio is practically pointless if you're connected by any other means.

[req] [setting] auto wifi off

something ive been noticing is that i get alot of battery drain from wifi. most of it comes from searching for wifi and i leave it on because periodically throughout a day im in and out of my saved network's range. Id like it there was a setting or a system edit that would turn off the wifi after searching for 5 minutes and not finding one. i'm assuming the drainage is coming from the the MIMO technology or something. anyways, if you have something it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I am using Tasker for this, when I come home or office, mobile data switch off and wifi turns on

Do you need location on for this?

me myself and i said:
Do you need location on for this?
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either that, or something else like bluetooth. but location is preferred. I use MacroDroid, a Tasker alternative with a much better UI, and i can set the location update cycle to 10 mins or so to prevent battery drain

Or you can use the cell tower near you option in tasker.
Location/GPS uses battery as well so make use of what is already being used for calls & sms

chazarss said:
I am using Tasker for this, when I come home or office, mobile data switch off and wifi turns on
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How? Please explain?

ELoTRIX said:
How? Please explain?
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Search Tasker app for rooted phones, you can do unlimited settings with tasker. I have set my tasker to find cell tower near my home, when my phone receive signal from that tower then it make turn off mobile data and make turn on wifi and it knows that i reach home. same for work.
search in google `best tasker profiles` so you will see what i trying to explain

It's a feature of Android O
during the waiting, Tasker is the best app (and you don't need root to do this)
Envoyé de mon ONEPLUS A5000 en utilisant Tapatalk

Use lspeed in play store has built in setting for this to adjust different times

me myself and i said:
something ive been noticing is that i get alot of battery drain from wifi. most of it comes from searching for wifi and i leave it on because periodically throughout a day im in and out of my saved network's range. Id like it there was a setting or a system edit that would turn off the wifi after searching for 5 minutes and not finding one. i'm assuming the drainage is coming from the the MIMO technology or something. anyways, if you have something it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u can use this app and save your preferred time settings on startup and u r good to go . . iam using it from a very long time it saves more battery . and can set wifi off once when u lock the phone also . u can set wifi hotspot connectivity timings also. u have settings that can change network to 2g when using WiFi (this saves u much battery drain from frequent network change). please view the full settings from the options in app. it has both root (required for only toggling networks)and non -root capability . please turnoff battery optimization for this app otherwise it wont work.. this app wont consume that much battery considering excessive battery drain due to frequent wifi search.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sebouh00.smartwifitoggler&hl=en.
i think this would help u .