VanguardLH wrote:
>> Wish they would repeat this analysis on newer iPhones.
>
> Even on my Android smartphone, I've had to reset GPS by deleting and
> re-downloading the A-GPS database.
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GNSS
I admit, up front, I don't know a lot about GNSS and A-GPS, where folks
like nospam and Alan Browne know more than I ever will know about it
(mostly because, for me, it just works, so I don't need to do anything).
But to your specific point of manually re-loading the A-GPS database,
may I ask you "why"... or... more specifically... how do you know you need
to reload it?
What "evidence" or "telltale observation" tells you that you need to
reload the A-GPS database for a phone you've been using every day on GPS?
To be perfectly clear, I've _never_ "felt" the need to do that in all my
years with Android (and prior to that I used plenty of Garmin devices).
Even with the crappy iPads (which truly suck at radio hardware), I don't
feel the need to re-load the A-GPS database - so I wonder how you know
when you need to load it.
What observation do you use to determine you need to reload the A-GPS data?
NOTE: I repeat I know next to nothing about the A-GPS, so if the answer to
how you know you need to reload it is obvious, just state what it is for me.
> I use the GPS Status app by MobiWIA Kft at:
>
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2
> I paid $2.14 USD for the Pro version to get rid of the ads and get some
> additional features. Alas, when I try to go to the Google Play Store's
> page for the Pro version, it's not there anymore.
We've discussed this app at length Vanguard, and it's fine that you love it
but I would rather use the FOSS app that I have no evidence your developer
copied, except his app looks "suspiciously" similar in very many ways.
I have an _excellent_ memory Vanguard, so I remember EVERY claim you made
that I have no proof that your developer copied from the FOSS app.
But it's similar enough for me to recommend the FOSS SatStat app to others.
<
https://gitlab.com/mvglasow/satstat>
<
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.vonglasow.michael.satstat/>
Please don't argue (as you did long ago and I didn't forget anything)
unless you have something _new_ to bring to the table we didn't cover.
>
https://mobiwia.com/gpsstatus/getpro/ has a Play Store link to
>
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpstoolbox.pro
> but that reports "requested URL was not found". No idea what happened
> to the Pro version.
Agree this URL I just tested is "not found" in the Google Play Store repo.
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpstoolbox.pro>
Since it's Android, and not iOS, the functionality to find and install old
apps is almost infinite (whereas iOS is crippled), so here's just one link
that purports to be the old app (best to pull it off an old phone though).
<
https://www.rottlegacy.com/en/com-eclipsim-gpstoolbox-pro/>
<
https://apkcombo.com/gps-status-pro-legacy-key/com.eclipsim.gpstoolbox.pro/>
<
https://hola.org/access/apk/com.eclipsim.gpstoolbox.pro>
etc.
> I've not found GPS in smartphones to be very accurate. Yes, a guided
> missile wouldn't care about being off 2 to 4 meters (unless it's trying
> to fly through a window in a building) when it impacts and explodes,
My experience is different than yours, where I use GPS all the time for
backcountry hiking (e.g., Avenza Maps + USGS topographic maps) over here.
These free apps work on both my iPads and my Android phones for any map
that is a geoPDF map (which is most downloaded PDF maps nowadays).
*Avenza Maps* Offline Mapping by Avenza Systems Inc., In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.6 star, 72.6K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Avenza>
<
https://www.avenza.com/avenza-maps/>
<
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id388424049>
*Paper Maps* by Abbro Inc, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 5K+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.abbro.androidmap>
<
https://www.paper-maps.com/>
<
https://apps.apple.com/app/nextmap/id1147385120>
What's nice for all the 256 US Parks is this app which works offline,
but it requires you to plan ahead & download tiles to use it offline.
*OuterSpatial* by OuterSpatial
free, ad free, requires gsf, rated 3.4 out of 113 reviews @ 10K+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trailheadlabs.outerspatial>
<
https://www.outerspatial.com/>
<
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/outerspatial/id1254161962>
> but
> being off 12 meters when you return to a huge parking lot (e.g., Disney
> theme parks) makes it tough to find your car,
> and everyone else leaving
> the park at the same time using their key fobs to make their cars beep
> means a lot full of beeping cars.
Most people are dumb and stupid so what they would do is use Google Maps
on the Internet to find their car (it has a find-my-car feature built in).
Others are smarter and can figure out how to use the built-in find-my
parked car feature of FOSS offline maps such as the free OSMAnd~ app.
<
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/>
<
https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd>
It's free on F-Droid but not if you get the same app on Google Play Store.
*OsmAnd& Maps & GPS Offline by OsmAnd, In-app purchases
Free, ad free, 4.5 star, 153K reviews, 10M+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plus>
The Google Play Store repo does have a free version; but I've never used it.
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand>
The find-my-car feature is surprisingly useful, as it gives you
an offline map to your car and verbal directions using pathways.
For finding my car without needing maps, I've recently started using:
*GPS Waypoint Finder* by keuwlsoft
free, ad free, gsf free, 3.9 star, 1.35K reviews, 100K+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keuwl.gpswaypoints>
Which will point to your car and tell you what the distance to it is
(and it even autocorrects for how you hold the phone & declination).
> I've tried several "find your car" apps, and settled on ParKing
> (
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=il.talent.parking.premium)
> which uses GPS to record where you parked, and where you are to lead you
> back to your car. Sometimes it shows my car within about 4 meters of
> where it is, but sometimes I'm off by a row, or two, in the parking lot
> using the app to find my car. I have it configured to use a Bluetooth
> disconnect to know when I parked (my BT goes off when the ignition is
> turned off). It's better than walking out the wrong side of the Mall of
> America to an entirely wrong lot, and then wondering where the hell is
> your car.
There are plenty of free find-my-parked-car apps on both platforms,
some of which (as I recall) use bluetooth to figure out when
you are parked so that you only need to use the app when looking for it.
*Parked Car* by Myroslav Kolodii
Free, ad free, requires GSF, 4.4 star, 179 reviews, 10K+Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unagit.parkedcar>
*Car Location* by DigitalBox Studios
Free, ad free, requires GSF, not rated, not reviewed, 500+Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carparking.location>
*Find my parked car* by Aurum App
Free, has ads, requires GSF, 4.6 star, 32.7K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.carfind>
The problem I have with _all_ those apps is the sneaky move they perform.
*Do you know if there is a way to permanently disable precise location?*
<
https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/ggawmi_4tAc>
In essence, any location app that employs Google GSF spyware can (& does)
make sneaky non-Android-native calls to turn on your GPS radios such as:
Google Location Accuracy = assisted_gps_enabled
Wi-Fi scanning = wifi_scan_always_enabled
Bluetooth scanning = ble_scan_always_enabled
Because they all (if they have GSF spyware linked in) seem to ask for:
android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_COURSE_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
It would take someoen more intelligent than I am to figure out how to
automatically turn all those off, although adb should be able to do it.
C:\> adb shell pm grant <
sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>
C:\> adb shell pm revoke <
sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>
The problem isn't removing the permissions; the problem is figuring out
how to make the app work _after_ the permissions have been removed.
If anyone on this newsgroup is smart enough to do that, please say how.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to expound on the many aspects of Vanguard's post.
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