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Android GPS service died. Corrected by rebooting phone. Has this happened to anyone else?

Taras D shared this question 6 years ago
Answered

Yesterday I went for a long hike and had the strangest thing happen. About 7 hours into the hike, the Android GPS service died. Purely by chance, I had looked at the map and noticed the track stopped about 1/2 kilometer from my current position.

  1. Locus Map showed 0/22 satellites available.
  2. I stopped/started GPS acquisition in Locus Map but it didn't fix it.
  3. I stopped/started the GPS service from Android's control panel but that did not fix it either.
  4. I started another GPS app and it also failed to acquire a GPS fix.

I saved my track then rebooted the phone. That fixed the problem which I assume was due to the Android GPS service failing (since both GPS apps failed to acquire GPS fix).

I have recorded longer hikes (than 7 hours) and never experienced this problem. This is the first time this has happened.

Has this happened to anyone else? Did you need to reboot the phone or is there another way to restart the Android GPS service?

Replies (3)

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Good day Taras,

this is really interesting problem. I remember there were already many similar problems with GPS during years, so cannot say if exactly this one or not.

Locus Map, as well as all other applications in Android, use GPS in device only as so called "listener". Locus Map just say system ... "hey I'm ready, just send me locations updates till I tell you stop". And system start sending locations. That's all, no big magic. In case, there is any problem with GPS, it's in 99% on system level and applications has low ( close to zero ) chance to affect it.

So I'm sorry, but I cannot help here. Only what I may offer is to analyze log that you may take in moment you notice this problem. Just take ( as soon as possible ) and send me a log and tell me expected time when this happen. Anyway I hope, this never happen again to you.

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could this be a 1 time glitch, where your gps just died?


I have had apps get 'stuck' before and the only way I could get them to restart was to reboot the phone.

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@menion

Yes, it became clear to me, when the second GPS app experienced the same problem (zero satellites), that Locus Map was just patiently waiting for information from the Android GPS service (Location Services). It was at this point I realized the only thing to do was restart the phone and hope for the best.

I thought there might be a way to force Location Services to restart but I can't find any information on how to do it. Restarting the phone worked but I (obviously) had to save the track first and then start recording a new track after the reboot.

@dave welsh

I also hope it's just a one-time glitch. The phone is running Android V6.0.1 for over a year. The last software security updates was in January. I'm not sure what could have caused this glitch but, at the very least, a reboot made it go away.

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Hmm maybe there should be some method how to restart this system's location service, but I'm worried it will need a root access. Anyway in case, this issue occur to you more often, I think it should be some software issue in system itself.

Fortunately you may always merge more recorded tracks into one ;).

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Sony Xperia M má přesně stejné výpadky. Pomáhám tento krok.

1) vypnout GPS v Locus (klikněte na mapě satelitním pohledu). Locus nepotřebuje ukončit nebo přerušit nahrávání)

2) Zapněte telefon do režimu Letadlo

3) Zapněte telefon zpět

4) Zapněte GPS v Locus

doporučuji používat nastavení Locus pro aktivaci zřetelný zvukový signál k výpadku GPS.


CZ:

Úplně stejné výpadky mívá Sony Xperia M. Pomáhá mi tento postup.

1) vypnout GPS v Locus (klik na mapu se zobrazením satelitů). Locus není třeba ukončovat ani přerušovat záznam)

2) přepnout telefon do módu letadlo

3) přepnout telefon zpět

4) zapnutí GPS v Locus

Doporučuji si v nastavení Locusu aktivovat výrazný zvukový signál pro výpadek GPS.

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Thank you for your help but I don't believe my phone would benefit from your instructions.

Google Translate says step 2 is "Turn your phone into Airplane mode".

When hiking, my phone is normally set to Airplane mode (cellphone and Wi-Fi disabled). The Location Services failed while the phone was already in Airplane Mode.

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It does not cost you anything. If you have a phone in the Letado mode, just move point 2 to point 3.

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Maybe I have not understood your instructions but Airplane Mode (on or off) is not part of the solution (for my phone).

Yesterday, the problem happened again and Airplane Mode was off. I was about to record a track when I noticed Locus Map failed to connect to GPS satellites. It indicated 0/13 satellites. I waited for a minute, watching the "13" change to "14" or "15" but it never connected. I turned on Airplane Mode. Nothing improved. I started another GPS app and it also failed to connect to GPS satellites. I rebooted the phone and then Locus Map established a GPS connection.

I don't know if it is related (maybe not) but I have had Locus Map report a failure after saving the track. I submitted the crash report. This is the third time this has happened. The track always gets saved. I assume Menion receives the crash reports.

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Možná je to úplně jiný problém, jako Xperia. V mém případě je to o přerušení procesu, který přijímací bloky GPS z vašeho telefonu. Přepnutí do režimu letadla a zpět (nebo naopak) způsobí, že přerušení. Podmínkou však je, že je třeba nejprve vypnout aktivně vyhledávání satelitů. V opačném případě to nefunguje. Ale to je Android 4.3, takže to nepomůže vůbec. Byl to jen pokus, aby vám pomohl.


CZ:Možná je to úplně jiný problém jako u Xperie. V mém případě jde asi o přerušení nějakého procesu, který blokuje v telefonu příjem GPS. Změnou do režimu letadlo a zpět (nebo obráceně) dochází k jeho přerušení. Podmínkou ovšem je, že se musí napřed vypnout v Locusu hledání satelitů. Jinak to nefunguje. Tohle je ovšem v Androidu 4.3, takže u vás to vůbec nemusí pomoci. Byl to jen takový pokus vám pomoct.

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Thank you Josef, I appreciate your help. My phone is a Moto X Play with Android V6.0.1 and toggling Airplane Mode does not revive the GPS service. I wish it did but, unfortunately, it does not.

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