Location polling needs zero setting

Product feedback & support
1

something that has always made the app only OK for part time usage for is the background location polling. even when I am not using location features the app polls location services every max ten mins.

I was surprised to see this still can’t be disabled in version 5, or I can’t figure out how. it cranks battery and I don’t need location until I send one. (also I have apps that light up when location is pulled so it’s just annoying)

can this be fixed? I understand you set the ISM band per location but surely that flow can be handled as part of setup? (location can be spoofed anyway so this isn’t to fulfill a regulatory requirement I hope? i.e. it’s best effort ISM band select anyway.)

2

What phone/OS do you have paired with your goTenna? I recall some discussion about this or something similar with Android and it was a matter of settings on the phone. I use iPhone hand me downs and don’t see where this is, so pointing toward the issue more specifically would be helpful if it is a Mac issue.

The GTM changes power levels according to location, so yes, this is driven by regs. People travel, so having it done only in setup is actually something that would contribute to spoofing.

3

I use a pixel. abcdef

4

OK, it is Android then. You might look into the threads that discuss this issue. I’ll try to look back and find one (or more) and will add them here if I do.

IIRC one of the issues is the way to stop it is to shut down this on Android, but then other apps that need that location sharing are similarly affected so this could be an issue depending on how much you use/need them.

EDIT: Ah, yes, here’s the most recent one, but I think there are some other refs to it in earlier threads. This should give you enough search terms to find them: https://community.gotennamesh.com/t/android-battery-drain-how-to-properly-close-app-after-use/2333

5

I know how to shut down the entire app. I want it to run but not hit LS, ever, until I send a location.

6

The only way to do it right now is to deny the location permissions to the app. It would be nice to have a permanent off option but in any case if you just refresh every 10 minutes the battery drain should be negligible. I run for 1/2 hour with podcasts playing and the RunKeeper app and my pixel 2 XL only drains like 5%. And I believe the RunKeeper app polls GPS every second or at least every few seconds.

2 Likes
7

The other problem with disabling location access is Bluetooth-LE needs location to connect. Why it’s like that I’ll never understand, but I couldn’t get my goTennas to connect with location disabled.

I, too, second an option to turn off polling. Have it check location for regulatory needs each time the goTenna connects instead, but it shouldn’t need to poll every ten minutes or more (can’t realistically change FCC zones that quickly)

1 Like
8

Ah, you’re right, location can’t be disabled for the app. I’m not a developer but if I had to guess is cause BTLE devices like these use the Nearby API? Could be completely wrong though.