[Q] Can anyone recommend a GPS tracker for Android? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Looking for a GPS tracker to track one of the kids haha. I know it is a little unethical but I got over that.
It would be cool to be able to track her on my phone, but I could do with a web interface need be (these things access the internet as well, right?)
It would probably need to lock or hide itself in the app drawer (I rather have it hidden.) She would probably throw a fit otherwise. I don't mind paying for the right app.

Don't lie. You're trying to sneak it onto your woman's phone. LOL. I'm interested in this too.

lillee3377 said:
Don't lie. You're trying to sneak it onto your woman's phone. LOL. I'm interested in this too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could just try a bunch, but that seems like a lot of work

Doesn't sprint already have GPS tracking for anyone on their family plan?

MrDSL said:
Doesn't sprint already have GPS tracking for anyone on their family plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. It's their Family Locator service. $5 a month.
https://sfl.sprintpcs.com/finder-sprint-family/welcome.htm

I think any app that acts as a constant "tracker" will kill the battery in no time.
A few options come to mind; Lookout Mobile Security (extremely accurate the few times i've tested it) or Google Latitude - less accurate but can be configured using wifi+gps....

MrDSL said:
Doesn't sprint already have GPS tracking for anyone on their family plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_MetalHead_ said:
Yup. It's their Family Locator service. $5 a month.
https://sfl.sprintpcs.com/finder-sprint-family/welcome.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah....I just hate to pay extra when there are all these awesome apps that are potentially free.
I think I have found what I am looking for though.
Family GPS Tracker
Simple interface, not really a tracker but will be fine for what I need to use it for. Best of all you can change the update frequency so the app isn't phoning home constantly and destroying the battery.
Now I just need to find a way to hide the app haha.

jaypeezee said:
I think any app that acts as a constant "tracker" will kill the battery in no time.
A few options come to mind; Lookout Mobile Security (extremely accurate the few times i've tested it) or Google Latitude - less accurate but can be configured using wifi+gps....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, tracker might be a bit of an overstatement. I don't really need tracking more so just location updating every now and then.

lookout mobile was free but i guess they have a premiuim version. 29.99 for a year. it has GPS tracking but it has to be used by logging on to their website to track, like family locator. i luckily have been using it since windows mobile days so i get the premiuim features for free

The best one I think is mobile defense and it hides itself the only thing is it sends a text when it connects so to get around that you'll need handcent sms and just blacklist the number it texts from that's how I track my girl lmao
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

i use google latitude, its very good and its free. it even shows a picture of where the phone's @ with the address.

djcro said:
i use google latitude, its very good and its free. it even shows a picture of where the phone's @ with the address.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
latitude would be a good option if the person never opened it, lol. as soon as they do, they could turn it off, hide themselves, or just set it to a hard location ("i'm going to jessica's, dad", set's latitude for jessica's house, then is over to brad's tra la la la la)
if she had a custom ROM on her phone, you could make launcher pro the default home, then hide latitude from the app drawer. unless she's savvy, she wouldn't think about it. latitude should update.
of course, if you're going to go that way, you could use any one of several things and just hide them from the app drawer.

Safety
I would like to suggest this kind of innovative idea with regards to android phone application, in which you are able to monitor your love ones wherever they go. In addition you can use this app for your safety and protection of your family and it is the only application that has a direct access to the emergency response center. For more information please try to check their website: safekidzone.com or SafeTREC.com

Ninja Tracker
michaelvibe said:
Looking for a GPS tracker to track one of the kids haha. I know it is a little unethical but I got over that.
It would be cool to be able to track her on my phone, but I could do with a web interface need be (these things access the internet as well, right?)
It would probably need to lock or hide itself in the app drawer (I rather have it hidden.) She would probably throw a fit otherwise. I don't mind paying for the right app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend the Ninja Tracker - when my son passed his driving test I was always worrying about him so we now have one of these in his car (he knows it is there) and I often use it to check he has arrived safely at his destination etc... Also popped one in my daughters bag when we went to a music festival last year - just for peace of mind really - meant that she could have more freedom to wander off with her friends but at such a packed venue we could find her easily by logging into our interface via my iphone. Fab bit of kit at a reasonable price - company I bought it from was called Ninja Tracking Systems I think... Google them.

http://wheresmydroid.com/
I use this. It also allows me to erase the contents should the enemy get my phone.

I can suggest Fameelee - Family Locator. It's a free app avaiable on Google Play and recently launched on Appstore. It allows to track realtime location of the family members as well as to check location history for the past 30 days. Within premium version you may track sms and call logs of the loved ones. It works in background so mostly end user you going to track will even didn't notice it. Hope features of this app will meet your needs

I'd like to recommend you Fameelee app, it's a free app that was recenly founded by myself on Google Play Market. Allows to track real time location of the family members, friends or whoever you wish
You can also check gps location histor for the last 30 days, get gps notification once your app member reach some specific places (you can match it on the map) and a lot of other useful features.

Related

lost evo. anyway of finding it?

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.

[NEWS] Errant Data usage [Link]

Reading stories like this makes me glad mine is off.
Errant Data Usage
glad i have a 1.5GB plan. though i never see it chew up much. but aye, it's a good course to make MS do another update if they don't fix it with the feb patch.
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well
randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of people report high battery consumption with WP7 devices. This could be the reason.
randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS has acknowledged the fact and looking into the resolution, so I don't think it is some mumbo-jumbo.
The Gate Keeper said:
well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.
lqaddict said:
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i agree. but i'm just saying that MS could propose it as a temporary work around if it is indeed the cause of the issue, until they fix it in an update.
I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.
CreepinJesus said:
I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most people have limited cap on 3G data, so it's not that difficult to realize whether your phone is abusing your monthly plan or not.
Actually, from the comments at engadget and other blogs, it does seem that the vast majority of users are not affected by the issue. And I've never heard a single one in Italy affected as well. So it maybe a carrier-specific problem, or a 3rd party app available on certain markets/networks.
Or there might not be an issue at all, the high data consumption being just caused by applications running under the lockscreen in standby (so that wifi goes off and 3g kicks in).
MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... I know I'm ok because I have checked my online statement thing and I've only used a couple of MB so far this month.
Feedback Function? i dont think so.......
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........
SPVlover said:
...
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends how often it's sending location info, and whether it's using AGPS. I don't know the details... Mine is turned off anyway.
SPVlover said:
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Location is switched on on my phone and I haven't noticed any large data usage.
I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?
alan1467 said:
I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.
I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.
I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading a couple of games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.
bmazloum said:
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I have it in desktop view do you think that could be it?

Smart Device Manager

Last night I noticed Play asking me to update an app called Smart Device Manager. Having no idea what the app was, or why it was on my phone, I read the description:
OVERVIEW
Smart Device Manager is an app that runs on the “child” phone in order to power two family safety services on the Sprint Network, Drive First and Mobile Controls. These services allow parents to automatically lock a phone when driving or to prevent phone usage during school hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a bit more searching, it looks like it's a background utility that comes preinstalled on our phones. It's a helper for parental controls to manage what your children (or employees, I suppose) are doing, as well as lock your phone when you're driving to discourage talking or texting while driving. Accomplishing this requires some pretty nasty permissions. Granted, it's obviously not CIQ, and it shouldn't be doing anything at all unless you activate and pay for the appropriate services, but I still don't want it on my phone, if for no other reason than it may be using up some juice.
It appears there was some sort of bug with the change to Google Play that prompted many (everyone?) with the app to update it, even though you have no reason to update it unless you're actually using the service(s) (Source). As it's a system app, you can uninstall it with Titanium if you are rooted. I've done so and it hasn't hurt anything thus far.
Just figured I'd let a few people know what was up, in case they get the notification as well. And if it's already common knowledge, *shrug* I guess I wasted a few minutes of my life
interesting...
Just read about this.
http://phandroid.com/2012/03/28/spr...are-to-android-devices-heres-how-to-avoid-it/
Thank goodness for custom roms and their bloatware removal.
What's weird is that I'm running Blazer Rom, have never installed this service and google play is reminding me every day that I need to "upgrade it."
Somehow must have been left in Blazer.....
wotan2525 said:
What's weird is that I'm running Blazer Rom, have never installed this service and google play is reminding me every day that I need to "upgrade it."
Somehow must have been left in Blazer.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's a Sprint/Google agreement that is going to show up in our market suggestions no matter what ROM we run, the key is just ignore the suggestion and don't install.
Thanks for the info. I missed this one when I was getting rid of the bloatware. Even if it's not activated on my end, I'd rather not give them one more route of easy access to controlling my device. I suppose it's a good feature for parents/employers, but can you imagine if service providers started shutting down your phone (essentially airplane mode) if your were traveling over a certain speed?
You can delete this from system/app and it will stop alerting you in the market. Its actually labelled smartdevicemamager.apk in system/app.
Edit: Pointless post. Sorry.
When i had this app on it would give me slow data then i disable it and now i have full speeds
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Sycobob said:
Last night I noticed Play asking me to update an app called Smart Device Manager. Having no idea what the app was, or why it was on my phone, I read the description:
With a bit more searching, it looks like it's a background utility that comes preinstalled on our phones. It's a helper for parental controls to manage what your children (or employees, I suppose) are doing, as well as lock your phone when you're driving to discourage talking or texting while driving. Accomplishing this requires some pretty nasty permissions. Granted, it's obviously not CIQ, and it shouldn't be doing anything at all unless you activate and pay for the appropriate services, but I still don't want it on my phone, if for no other reason than it may be using up some juice.
It appears there was some sort of bug with the change to Google Play that prompted many (everyone?) with the app to update it, even though you have no reason to update it unless you're actually using the service(s) (Source). As it's a system app, you can uninstall it with Titanium if you are rooted. I've done so and it hasn't hurt anything thus far.
Just figured I'd let a few people know what was up, in case they get the notification as well. And if it's already common knowledge, *shrug* I guess I wasted a few minutes of my life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
updated it last night as well running blazer 4.0, didn't know what it was just don't like "updates available" popping up on boot
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
I just deleted it through titanium backup
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Codename havent ever seen it lol
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
More info here:
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/87271?start=0&tstart=0
Sprint reps said the service has always been on the phone but the recent Google Play Store update caused the update to show up. Supposedly Location Labs (the company created the software) is looking into why it is showing up as an update....
Link is already in the OP

Google Now.. Worthless?

I'm not trying to start an argument but I just like to know exactly what the point of Google Now is.
I've had my GNex for around 4 weeks now and despite me setting up Now correctly (defining home, work etc), it never shows me anything useful. Occasionally it shows me a route to work and a route home but they are totally the worst route that I could take. It never seems to learn any route and if I dare to look at Location History in Google maps, all I see are a bunch of crazy lines that in no way represent where I've actually travelled! It's like someone strapped my Nexus on a bird's back and started shooting at it!
For example, I took a day off yesterday and stayed at home, but late in the day I took my daughter to the shops 3 miles away. Location History says that I travelled 40miles with a bunch of random lines all over the map!
The weather has only ever popped up once in the last few weeks and vanished a couple of minutes later.
It never shows anything of any interest anywhere I go (ok, this may be where I live )
Is this a UK thing or is Google Now genuinely useless and a work-in-progress?
I'm using a nexus 7 and personally I love Google now, I have no trouble with it and weather is fine
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Seems like you might have your GPS off. That kind of erratic behavior as far as location goes make me think it's only going by cell towers/WiFi hotspots, which is not entirely accurate.
I will admit though, it's not as informational as I thought it would be, but it will improve with time. I do have a schedule on my phone for work, and every single instance is named "Work". Because of this, it calculates how long of a commute I should expect, and let's me know what time I need to leave by.
It also displays my favorite NFL team's next game about 2 days in advanced, and displays the score for the rest of the day the day of the game.
It also always displays restaurants near me, but I've never really used that feature.
95% agree. I'm in UK too and cannot see the value yet.
The weather does pop up pretty often, say twice a day?
The travel reports are ok. When my alarm goes off for work Now shows my route and time which is helpful for me, but could live without.
I searched for a restaurant recently and Now popped up with a travel card, directions and time. That was cool.
But the question is; where is Google going with Now? Can we expect more great development in the near future?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
i think outside us google now is crap. hope they introduce more services with android 4.2.
Mine is pretty useful, even if just for the traffic info between home and work. The weather info isn't as useful as I typically have weather on my homescreen as a widget. But I have Google Now display the local Baseball and Football team scores. I don't follow sports much but I do like the information.
Honestly I don't use mine as much either. I can't seem to make it talk anymore. Most results are just google results. Seems like when I had it setup from the original leaked JB rom, every response was spoken.
Granted I still use the search feature like I always have to find local restaurants and phone numbers, etc.
danielsaenz said:
Seems like you might have your GPS off. That kind of erratic behavior as far as location goes make me think it's only going by cell towers/WiFi hotspots, which is not entirely accurate.
I will admit though, it's not as informational as I thought it would be, but it will improve with time. I do have a schedule on my phone for work, and every single instance is named "Work". Because of this, it calculates how long of a commute I should expect, and let's me know what time I need to leave by.
It also displays my favorite NFL team's next game about 2 days in advanced, and displays the score for the rest of the day the day of the game.
It also always displays restaurants near me, but I've never really used that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, my GPS is on all the time!
For weather, try checking the settings? Mine is set to show in the morning and evening and they always show up fine. It is not that useful for me since I already have weather widgets on my home screen but oh well.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
You sure your not using apple maps?
Maybe it is a regional/country-specific thing? I'm located in the US near Boston and it works pretty well for me.
I use it often because it'll show me my commute to work when I'm home, my commute to home a few hours before I leave work, movies on Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays, places I've searched for and how long it'll take to get there (restaurants, shops, etc.), weather warnings for my area, flight information (I don't fly often but experienced this recently, very cool), restaurant recommendations, score updates for the teams I follow, and my next calendar event and how long it'll take to get there if there's an address attached. Public transit directions (subway, bus) will also show up when I'm walking around Boston.
I noticed over the last month or so that Google Now became "better" than it was before. I'm not sure if it's because I've been checking into places I eat at or visit but now it's giving me 4-6 recommendations on average. Maybe try checking into more places? I only share my checkins with close family on Latitude if you're not comfortable with doing that.
If you want to get a feel for a really in-your-face Google Now experience, I recently went on a trip to New York City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and my Google Now exploded. I attached some screenshots to show you!
Google Now doesn't even recognize what I'm saying, its useless for me
Google Now always recognizes my voice and has relevant information for weather and traffic for me, it only took about a month to learn my travel habits. The only thing I am unhappy with GN is it doesn't know SEC scores/games/teams, Siri does.
Now works for me in the UK, but only when it feels like it. Cards randomly disappear and the GPS drain, for me, is not a decent tradeoff. I do use it for routing to recently searched addresses so that all well and good, nut constantly polling for weather and other travel alerts is a no go for me. It needs IMO to be opened up to devs so BBC and sky news can be sent to it, then it would be worthwhile. Apart from that I use seperate widgets for everything.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Google now is cool, but I found it, in combination with location services to be a huge battery hog.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I am in the US and find it basically useless. However, I think part of that has a lot to do with what you want to get out if it.
The maps usually showed me the worst way to get to work or not up-to-date weather info.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
only use it for weather and set the alarm, its basically a lazy way to do things on your phone/tablet. it does work alot faster than the one on the iphone(siri)
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app
I don't use Google Now, just not worth the battery drain of location always being on.
Google Now is OK, but I'm having the same issue with location history
Generally, I find Google Now to be fine, but when I look at location history, I see the same symptoms as you. It seems to me that at times, it thinks that it is at home while I'm out. The location history map online really shows what's happening.
I do disable WiFi when I'm not near a known hotspot that I use (Tasker, using Cell Near to enable and when WiFi connected to populate the list), and I'm wondering if that might be related. I'll try leaving WiFi on to see what happens.
Does anyone know how to tell where the location data is coming from? I'm thinking of rerolling my own with Tasker, based on Cell ID when not charging if this doesn't get fixed soon.
Rick
Homey said:
I'm not trying to start an argument but I just like to know exactly what the point of Google Now is.
I've had my GNex for around 4 weeks now and despite me setting up Now correctly (defining home, work etc), it never shows me anything useful. Occasionally it shows me a route to work and a route home but they are totally the worst route that I could take. It never seems to learn any route and if I dare to look at Location History in Google maps, all I see are a bunch of crazy lines that in no way represent where I've actually travelled! It's like someone strapped my Nexus on a bird's back and started shooting at it!
For example, I took a day off yesterday and stayed at home, but late in the day I took my daughter to the shops 3 miles away. Location History says that I travelled 40miles with a bunch of random lines all over the map!
The weather has only ever popped up once in the last few weeks and vanished a couple of minutes later.
It never shows anything of any interest anywhere I go (ok, this may be where I live )
Is this a UK thing or is Google Now genuinely useless and a work-in-progress?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------
I forgot to mention - this is on a Galaxy Note II. I know I'm in the wrong forum, but thought it was interesting that the issue was the same.
rickafterburner said:
Generally, I find Google Now to be fine, but when I look at location history, I see the same symptoms as you. It seems to me that at times, it thinks that it is at home while I'm out. The location history map online really shows what's happening.
I do disable WiFi when I'm not near a known hotspot that I use (Tasker, using Cell Near to enable and when WiFi connected to populate the list), and I'm wondering if that might be related. I'll try leaving WiFi on to see what happens.
Does anyone know how to tell where the location data is coming from? I'm thinking of rerolling my own with Tasker, based on Cell ID when not charging if this doesn't get fixed soon.
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iTzLOLtrain said:
You sure your not using apple maps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehahahahahahah...
holy ****.. what a blow..:laugh:

Why can't I have it all?

Today is one of the days per year that I have a full Saturday without my family around to bug me. As I sit here wasting my day trying to figure out how to "have it all", I have to "vent". I don't understand why this is so difficult. It's not about the money, I would write a check with several zeros if someone could find a solution for me. All I want, is a phone that Google and Apple can't track, but is still functional for my needs.
LineageOS with Micro is ALMOST that solution. But, every day something doesn't work like it should. I need to be able to schedule texts and send MMS messages that don't sacrafice quality. What do you user for that? Google Messages. Well, I don't want to sign into Google so none of those features work. In fact, even if I do sign in, none of those features work. Ok, I'll try Textra. Nope. Won't work with MicroG because it "needs google service". I have tried around a dozen messaging apps, but either they don't schedule texts or they don't send MMS.
I drive 1,000s of miles for work in different vehicles in unfamiliar areas. I listen to many podcasts and take lots of phone calls on the road. So, given the amount of travel and variation of vehicles I drive, having a physcial GPS or using a phone mount isn't practical. Using my phone as a handheld GPS isn't smart. What's left? Android Auto. Ok, I've tried using a separate phone for Android Auto, but then phone calls don't come through. I've almost crashed trying to juggle those.
What am I working on today? I've been using Brave Browser, but I also use 1password. 1password functionality is broken on 90% of the sites I visit on Brave, so I downloaded Firefox. 1password works great, but my corporate security app routes everything from Firefox through itself, and breaks everything. It doesn't happen with Brave and I can't delete my work app. So Brave wins that battle.
So I thought -- why don't I just install LinesageOS with gapps, create a brand new google account to login with, and never use that google ID anywhere else. But after some research and asking on different message boards, THAT doesn't work either.
At this point, how does someone in my shoes not just say f#*k it, you win Google/Apple, and go back to a stock OS?
faknit said:
have to "vent"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda know this feeling.
faknit said:
want, is a phone that Google and Apple can't track
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about Librem? Or at least iodeOS?
faknit said:
Google Messages
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why in the 1st place?
faknit said:
What's left? Android Auto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, other than that, perhaps Osmand?
faknit said:
you win Google/Apple, and go back to a stock OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO WAY, over my dad's cat!
I do understand and share your frustration but giving up is not a good choice here.
Sometimes less is more, I don't use MicroG at all and people keep pestering me since years to get Whatsapp, Signal, Threema, Telegram, Slack, Discord and all that ****. Nah, stop being stupid and just keep using email, SMS or jabber.
Unless another Noah posts free tickets for Ark 2 on whatsapp, I am perfectly fine, I guess
A little late on my reply! Figured I'd still throw this out there.
I can't use Librem & iodeOS because of work requirements. I have to use their applications for email/messaging etc. Unfortunately the apps also detect/block Custom ROMs so I have no choice but to root so I can use magisk.
Literally the only reason I want Google Messages (which, for what I want requires chat features enabled) is to schedule messages without losing other functionality. QKSMS works great, but you can't share videos. Several others that are recommended won't work without Google services. There was one that worked really well but crashed every couple hours and would only work after uninstalling.
Android Auto, I could care less which application I use TBH, but nothing else will do what I need. I need the map to display on the cars screen so I'm not staring at my phone. A second phone isn't an option because 1. I'd lose it 2. Work won't pay for a phone because they suck and I can't afford 2 plans. Same excuses for a dedicated GPS. A phone mount is difficult because of the sheer variety of vehicles I drive, and I usually don't know what I'll be driving. So I'd have to take several styles of mount on every trip.
All that said --- I vented and I feel better. I'm just dealing with the problems.
faknit said:
Work won't pay for a phone because they suck and I can't afford 2 plans
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds familiar. A previous company insisted on iphone which I despised but I tried anyway for a month, ever since I hate everything crapple even more
But wait, can't solve issue 1... issue 2: Hotspot on company phone? Muahahahaaa

Categories

Resources