WiFi scanning (near and connected) seems to be pretty inaccurate after 8.1

[Tony B.]

After updating to 8.1 on my Pixel 2 XL, WiFi scanning is really really bad.

Seems to show my phone as disconnected from WiFi even though it is connected. This can be nailed down to a Tasker only issue, not Tasker version specific either. I really didn't want to upgrade to 5.x and was using 4.9u, upgrading didn't help.

WiFi near and WiFi connected all show disconnected or not near, then comes back, seconds later.

Don't know what's up here but it really screws with my phone and home security system pretty bad.

[Brian Bostwick]

I can confirm, same problem. I just posted my issue. I have the original Pixel and was using Tasker on 8.0.0 fine, but after the 8.1.0 it isn't working as described above. I noticed that the SSID and MAC go from the named connected to connection unknown with a bad MAC address. I don't know what is causing this. :(

[Alexander Graetz]

Can confirm. Additionally "Test Net" actions randomly just return an error while working as intended on a few occasions.

[Pent]

Am waiting for the update.

Pent

[Pent]

Is it just 4.9 or also on 5.0+ ?

Pent

[Pent]

And display off or also when on ?

Pent

[Pent]

Maybe it's related to this:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/10/25/android-8-1-feature-spotlight-keep-wi-fi-sleep-option-removed-pixel-2/

Could someone maybe try the adb fiddle with different values of Keep Wifi On During sleep setting ?

http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/10/24/google-inexplicably-removed-keep-wifi-sleep-toggle-pixel-2/#1

Pent

[Brian Bostwick]

Occurs with the display on.

[Tony B.]

Both

On Dec 11, 2017 4:06 AM, "Pent" <crafty...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is it just 4.9 or also on 5.0+ ?

Pent

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[Tony B.]

I can confirm this happens while the screen is off and while the screen is on. Also, happens in 4.9 and 5.x

Pent, I actually was the one that helped find that solution on Android Police, but it has nothing to do with Tasker because that sleep mode is defaulted to staying connected while asleep. You can see the solution was posted from "Tony B."

I could take a million stabs of a guess why it's only happening in 8.1, but it would be wouldn't be helpful.

I also uninstalled Tasker, got the default values for WiFi scanning, and restored my configuration, that didn't work either.

I will be more than glad to help you find a solution to this very odd issue.

[Pent]

I don't understand why I don't have the OTA for the family Pixel C yet, maybe
very long-term staggered release or not Europe yet.

Pent

[Tony B.]

You can always get the OTA from the factory image site and update with adb, can't you?

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[Alexander Graetz]

@Pent if you've got the update, could you also check:

Reliable alarms - seems to be always on even if set to "when off" (at least in kid app)

App icon of kid apps isn't displayed in launcher

This was reported by a customer but he's... special? I can't confirm any of this but those are rather just assumptions based on what he's trying to tell me xD

[Fernando Viñan-Cano]

I was having this issue with my Nexus 6P on Android 8.0 since around October, and now also 8.1

I bit the bullet and did a network reset and it seemed to cure it, but the next day when I had added back some networks it started doing it again. Have had to disable Tasker to get a stable connection again.

[Tony B.]

Pent,

Did you get the update?

[John Doe]

The problem is not limited to Wifi Near actually. Even a Wifi state doesn't work correctly for me. Whit screen off Tasker thinks wifi is no more connected. I thought something related to the keep wifi on policy, but the setting is correct. In addition, even when I turn on the screen again, the profile is still not active.

[Pent]

Did you get the update?

No, I'll try manual install if it's not there soon.

Pent

[John Doe]

I need to perform other tests but it seems to work now. I removed any info from Wifi state (SSID and so on). As Brian said, I suspect there's something related with mac randomization.

[John Doe]

Another great news :(

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/68360808

[Tony B.]

F**k!

I really hope that doesn't effect us

On Dec 15, 2017 10:46 AM, "John Doe" <playappa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Another great news :(

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/68360808

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[John Doe]

It means it's not more possible to use any info for wifi state condition. I don't use wifi near but I think it's the same. According to Google only foreground apps can retrieve this information, however there's another bug because if the app has a foreground notification it must be considered in foreground but as we saw it's not the case for Tasker, it means the app must be in foreground from UI point of view but it's a bug for me. However definitely not something Pent can fix :(

[Tony B.]

If that is the case, why is it spotty? 

It should work or it doesn't. In your defense, it makes it look like it should not work at all.

On Dec 15, 2017 10:53 AM, "John Doe" <playappa...@gmail.com> wrote:

It means it's not more possible to use any info for wifi state condition. I don't use wifi near but I think it's the same. According to Google only foreground apps can retrieve this information, however there's another bug because if the app has a foreground notification it must be considered in foreground but as we saw it's not the case for Tasker, it means the app must be in foreground from UI point of view but it's a bug for me. However definitely not something Pent can fix :(

--

[John Doe]

You are right. From issue tracker it's quite hard to understand what they changed. The concept of "background" could be related with screen off, really no idea.
Looking at the docs, it says now:

Return dynamic information about the current Wi-Fi connection, if any is active.

In the connected state, access to the SSID and BSSID requires the same permissions as getScanResults(). If such access is not allowed, getSSID() will return "<unknown ssid>" and getBSSID() will return "02:00:00:00:00:00".

So maybe turning on location services Tasker is still able to get the right information, but I should test it. I repeat however that it's not a Tasker bug.

[Tony B.]

I would hate to have to resort to Geofences. They are horribly inaccurate when the phone is off.

--

[Alexander Graetz]

That's just fn great. Is Google intentionally trying to break things?

[Alexander Graetz]

@John my App has "coarse location" permission but it doesn't work. Somebody in the issue track group found the same.

[John Doe]

Permissions are not enough. Location services must be on.

[Alexander Graetz]

If this is true we can now at least determine if location services are enabled or not. We can still get the WiFi state (%WIFI on/off) and if it's on and SSID returns <unknown ssid> this means location services are disabled and you can post a warning.

[Tony B.]

Pent,

Any luck getting to the bottom of this?

[Fernando Viñan-Cano]

Thought I should add that disabling Tasker made no difference in the end and I've had to uninstall the app in order to maintain any kind of WiFi connection on my Nexus 6p. Almost a week and WiFi is back to normal, I just miss all my connection management.

Now I totally understand the root cause is Google not Tasker, but this is the only thing I can do and wanted it documented. I can only conclude that it somehow triggers some kind of bug in Android on the 6p that causes the WiFi to drop randomly.

[Pent]

Any luck getting to the bottom of this?

I can't test it myself yet. Google havn't given me the update and

would have to wiipe my kid's Pixel C to install it manually.

Have you tried enabling location services (rough and/or accurate)

as suggested on this thread ?

Pent

[ikau...@gmail.com]

On a pixel 2 with 8.1, I was having the issue where for instance, my "Home Wifi Connected" state was not working properly.

 

It would not activate unless I went into tasker and tapped on it, then clicked the check mark to save settings.  Then it would activate.

However, if I turned the screen off, it would stay connected until the moment I unlocked the phone again.  As soon as it unlocked, the exit task for "Home Wifi Connected" would fire, and the state wouldn't become active again until I went into the tasker app and re-saved.

But I finally noticed today that it works as it used to before all of this if location services are turned on.  I usually keep it off, but I was using maps and all of a sudden my Wifi state tasks were back in action.

Hope that helps.  

[Tony B.]

Pent,

The issue isn't solved with location modes (phone only, battery saving, full blast). None solve it.

Can't you just put your tablet in recovery mode and sideload it? You don't need to unlock the bootloader to put an OTA on.

I don't think the problem notated earlier encompassed this issue. If that was the case, it wouldn't be spotty. It would just stop working altogether.

[John Doe]

For me it worked. It's possible that there are multiple problems and some wifi problems have a different root cause.

[Tony B.]

So, you are saying that I should leave location on constantly and that will fix WiFi Near and WiFi Connected?

Just want to get that right. I typically leave location off if I'm sitting home.

Tony

On Dec 19, 2017 11:29 PM, "John Doe" <playappa...@gmail.com> wrote:

For me it worked. It's possible that there are multiple problems and some wifi problems have a different root cause.

[John Doe]

yes, exactly. With location on, it works for me.

[Rich B]

Is that any of the location options (e.g., battery saving vs high accuracy)? Or do you need high accuracy on all the time?

[John Doe]

I used power saving but it should work with any setting.

[Tony B.]

Looks like they may have fixed it.

http://piunikaweb.com/2017/12/21/google-fixes-android-8-1-wifivpn-issue/

[John Doe]

They are two completely different problems.

[Tony B.]

Oh. Well, hopefully it will solve my Chromecast disconnecting every time my screen goes off.

[Tony B.]

Just found that WiFi Connected doesn't really function any more but WiFi Near is fine with location to battery saving.

[Doug Graham]

Is there any more update on this issue? I am having this same problem and have tried using WiFi near and wifi connected. Seems like whenever I unlock my phone my wifi tasks all disconnect.

[Doug Graham]

I should also add that I have location services always on on the phone. 

Google Pixel on 8.1.0 (Jan 2018 Patch)

[Nuno Guerreiro]

I almost thought that I was crazy!!!

Some months ago everything was running fine. I had a couple of profiles that were SSID dependent. After a while, think around 8.1 devs for my nexus, no more those tasks would run again. Only if I take SSID specific name, the profile it will work again. This is my solution for now, until a fix is released!! In order to my profile run again I have to remove the SSID from the wifi profile, but now I only have one profile for home and work which is bad.

[Eduardo Rodrigues]

Same here with Nexus 5X and 8.1

Tks

On Friday, December 8, 2017 at 7:49:55 AM UTC+11, Tony B. wrote:

After updating to 8.1 on my Pixel 2 XL, WiFi scanning is really really bad.

Seems to show my phone as disconnected from WiFi even though it is connected. This can be nailed down to a Tasker only issue, not Tasker version specific either. I really didn't want to upgrade to 5.x and was using 4.9u, upgrading didn't help.

WiFi near and WiFi connected all show disconnected or not near, then comes back, seconds later.

Don't know what's up here but it really screws with my phone and home security system pretty bad.

[J]

The cell near has the same issue as well.

[Johnathan Wee]

Are there any updates to this? experienced this with Oreo 8.1 on oneplus 5. It was fine on Oreo 8.0

[João Dias]

Sorry, not yet!

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[MarkH]

Any updates on this?

I have a new Pixel 2 XL and the wifi connected/near are unable to get SSID info.  If open tasker and run a task, it works, but background processing always returns "<< unknown ssid >>" - I've tried adding delays, chaining tasks together with variable-based events - nothing seems to work.  I had it working on a Pixel 1 a month or so ago, but not on this new phone.  At least, I think it was working... kinda wondering now...

[João Dias]

Does it help if you enable location on your phone?

[MarkH]

I've had location on, as well as the various wifi scanning options.

However... over the last couple days, it seems to be working better.  I don't remember doing anything different or changing any settings, which is odd - maybe I did change something in my earlier trials.  It does seem to only kick in if I turn the screen on, though that could just be from Tasker's background monitoring delays.

I'm going to try to do some testing and get back in touch...

[MarkH]

Well, it seems to be working ok.

Not sure what changed, though.  But I can go into the Wifi Near/Connected and it's able to display the list of nearby wifi SSIDs (which it couldn't originally).

So, I think I'm good now....

[Aaron Stepanik]

So is this why my "connect to wifi" profile no longer executes when I get home and my phone pairs to the wifi? (note 9)

[Luis Ribeiro]

I am having problems with WiFi near as the profile is indicated as working but the wifi isn't triggered. I don't know if it's some kind of incompatibility with any other installed app. However I was checking the settings on Tasker and changed WiFi scanning interval and WiFi timeout and when returning to profile it got triggered. Just an observation, don't know exactly what this may mean

[Stephen Gunn]

My Wifi Near status keeps getting lost. I have location permanently on. It was like this on 8.1, and the same problem continues since my update to 9.0. Is there a solution out there?

[Marta Hintz]

Have you after the update, checked again all the preferences in Tasker in regards to wifi, wifi near,   also checked that the ROM is not putting tasker to sleep....ect.,   all these have to be re-checked after an update.  Unfortunately there are so many places to look now and every android phone tends to have some flavor of their own of memory management.   It seems likely that this is the number 1 cause of problems like these.  at least in my opinion.  :-}

[Stephen Gunn]

Yes, all those settings are checked and look fine to me. I'd love to know how to make this work reliably.

[Robert Ryan]

See attached. Are these settings also enabled? 

[Stephen Gunn]

Yes, they are already enabled.

[lar...@gmail.com]

Perhaps there is something in the log file that may assist in this ? What phone? what Tasker version? did you update it to the non beta now that the latest is out?

On Monday, March 4, 2019 at 2:38:46 PM UTC-6, Stephen Gunn wrote:

Yes, they are already enabled.

[Judah Richardson]

Not sure if it's related, but Google started throttling app Wi-Fi scanning and recently doubled down on the policy: https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/05/29/android-started-heavily-throttling-wi-fi-scanning-in-pie-google-confirms-its-here-to-stay/

[Robert Ryan]

On May 29, 2019 5:40:48 PM Judah Richardson <judahri...@gmail.com> wrote:

Not sure if it's related, but Google started throttling app Wi-Fi scanning 

Running as a foreground app, Tasker is completely unaffected by this new policy. 

Foreground apps are limited to one scan every 30 seconds, but this is four times the rate that Tasker initiates scans (with default settings). 

On Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 2:49:55 PM UTC-6, Tony B. wrote:

After updating to 8.1 on my Pixel 2 XL, WiFi scanning is really really bad.

Could you post the exported description of the profile?