Google iOS app status bar icon constantly spinning?

[s2mike]

I've noticed that the status bar icon in the latest Google app update (version 13.0) constantly spins. I've uninstalled and re-downloaded the app several times, and I can't get the little status bar icon to stop spinning as if the app is constantly searching/downloading data.

Has anyone else noticed this? I don't believe this was happening after updating to iOS 9.3, so I believe the problem started with the latest Google 13.0 update.

 

[C DM]

Perhaps it's trying to load some account information and is getting stuck somewhere? Have you tried completely signing out of it (if you are signed in) and then signing back in, or perhaps not even signing in?

 

[s2mike]

Perhaps it's trying to load some account information and is getting stuck somewhere? Have you tried completely signing out of it (if you are signed in) and then signing back in, or perhaps not even signing in?

I've tried signing out and using the app without being logged in, but I still experience the problem.

 

[C DM]

I've tried signing out and using the app without being logged in, but I still experience the problem.

Odd, I have the latest version of the app, and also iOS 9.3 installed, and I'm not seeing that behavior. Perhaps try removing any of apps permissions, if there are any (like location services, or something else) to see if that might have some effect?

 

[s2mike]

Odd, I have the latest version of the app, and also iOS 9.3 installed, and I'm not seeing that behavior. Perhaps try removing any of apps permissions, if there are any (like location services, or something else) to see if that might have some effect?

Strange. I revoked all permissions, then slowly turned them back on to troubleshoot. It looked like background app refresh may have been the problem, since the issue was corrected while that was off.

Once I turned "background app refresh" back on, the problem returned. However, I turned it off again and the problem persists.

May just do a factory reset tonight since I'm also experiencing the "com.apple.springboard" issue in the location services menu.

 

[s2mike]

Wow.

I did a clean install of iOS and re-downloaded all of my apps and the Google app is still doing this.

I'm baffled. Am I really the only person experiencing this?

 

[s2mike]

Also, the volume on the Google app is super quiet.

Even with the iPhone volume at 100%, doing a voice search with the Google iOS app results in extremely low volume.

Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[s2mike]

Google app was updated to 14.0 today.

The volume of the Voice Search seems to have been fixed, but the Network Activity icon continues to spin endlessly.

This is really ticking me off. I've done a clean restore of my phone and reinstalled the Google app several times.

 

[electronicsguy]

This is really ticking me off. I've done a clean restore of my phone and reinstalled the Google app several times.

Lol Be prepared to do restores and reinstalls several 100 times a year then, for every small thing that ticks you off.

 

[s2mike]

Lol Be prepared to do restores and reinstalls several 100 times a year then, for every small thing that ticks you off.

I've been an iPhone user since 2008 and can almost always troubleshoot this stuff pretty easily. This is a head-scratcher, though. It's clearly a problem with the Google app, since I've seen other people with the same issue.

I just want to understand WHY this is happening.

 

[Shirasaki]

Google app was updated to 14.0 today.

The volume of the Voice Search seems to have been fixed, but the Network Activity icon continues to spin endlessly.

This is really ticking me off. I've done a clean restore of my phone and reinstalled the Google app several times.

To satisfy my curiosity I have downloaded and installed google app. And I don't see your constant spinning issue.
Of course here is Sydney Australia so things are likely different.

 

[s2mike]

To satisfy my curiosity I have downloaded and installed google app. And I don't see your constant spinning issue.
Of course here is Sydney Australia so things are likely different.

Which device and iOS are you running?

 

[electronicsguy]

I've been an iPhone user since 2008 and can almost always troubleshoot this stuff pretty easily. This is a head-scratcher, though. It's clearly a problem with the Google app, since I've seen other people with the same issue.

I just want to understand WHY this is happening.

ok. if you've been an ios user for so long, you should know by now that a single app problem doesn't get resolved by clean restore or reinstall of the app. the problem is likely somewhere else. you can keep reinstall all you want, it's not gonna change anything

 

[s2mike]

ok. if you've been an ios user for so long, you should know by now that a single app problem doesn't get resolved by clean restore or reinstall of the app. the problem is likely somewhere else. you can keep reinstall all you want, it's not gonna change anything

I did one restore because I was also troubleshooting another issue. Not a big deal.

 

[Shirasaki]

Which device and iOS are you running?

iPhone 6s plus. iOS 9.3.1.

 

[s2mike]

Update:

Despite installing different versions of iOS, as well as uninstalling and reinstalling the Google Search app, I'm still experiencing this issue.

I've even erased all settings on my iPhone to make sure every trace of the app is deleted. Yet, when I download the app on a clean iPhone, the issue returns. However, I've finally figured out what triggers the problem:

When typing at a slow or medium pace within the search bar, all seems well. However, as soon as the user begins quickly typing their search query, the network activity indicator begins to spin endlessly and the only way to stop it is to force quit the app and reopen it.

Again, this doesn't seem to create any problems other than a visual annoyance. But at this point I can safely say that "fast" typing in the search field will trigger this strange behavior every time.

 

[VolceOntra]

Google in that app is simply forgetting to stop the spinner somewhere in their logic. It's a bug. They basically need
[UIApplication sharedApplication].networkActivityIndicatorVisible = NO;

somewhere in their code.

It appears that they do have it but since the problem only happens when the user types fast, there must be a bug somewhere on how it gets called.

 

[C DM]

Google in that app is simply forgetting to stop the spinner somewhere in their logic. It's a bug. They basically need
[UIApplication sharedApplication].networkActivityIndicatorVisible = NO;

somewhere in their code.

It appears that they do have it but since the problem only happens when the user types fast, there must be a bug somewhere on how it gets called.

Shouldn't that be an OS function where if data activity is detected the spinner is displayed and vice versa? Basically not controllable by apps, especially on the level where they can enable or disable it arbitrarily not connected to anything at all.

 

[WordMasterRice]

Shouldn't that be an OS function where if data activity is detected the spinner is displayed and vice versa? Basically not controllable by apps, especially on the level where they can enable or disable it arbitrarily not connected to anything at all.

Should it be? Maybe, I would lean towards not though.

What VoiceOntra is saying is basically right, but the way that the network indicator works is painful in iOS. In the app you have to manually turn it on and then turn it off. Sounds easy enough right? Well what if you turn it on, and then while that process is being run then the user requests something that would start the indicator again? So you turn it on again, but then the first process finishes and you turn the indicator off, but then what about the second process that still isn't done? Now it's running but the indicator isn't.

The fix for this is relatively simple, but making sure that it is entirely consistent through all of your libraries and frameworks can be tricky from time to time.

 

[C DM]

Should it be? Maybe, I would lean towards not though.

What VoiceOntra is saying is basically right, but the way that the network indicator works is painful in iOS. In the app you have to manually turn it on and then turn it off. Sounds easy enough right? Well what if you turn it on, and then while that process is being run then the user requests something that would start the indicator again? So you turn it on again, but then the first process finishes and you turn the indicator off, but then what about the second process that still isn't done? Now it's running but the indicator isn't.

The fix for this is relatively simple, but making sure that it is entirely consistent through all of your libraries and frameworks can be tricky from time to time.

Kind of makes the indicator fairly useless or at least unreliable if it just randomly depends on apps enabling it or dosabling it rather than it corresponding automatically to any actual data transfer.

 

[WordMasterRice]

Kind of makes the indicator fairly useless or at least unreliable if it just randomly depends on apps enabling it or dosabling it rather than it corresponding automatically to any actual data transfer.

Personally, and as a developer, I think that the indicator is a bit antiquated anyway and I think they only still support it because it doesn't really cost anything to keep it there. Back in the day it was good for what it did, but now we 100% expect apps to handle activity in the background and if it is holding up the app the app itself needs some sort of indicator, you can't just depend on the network indicator. I think it's a relic from the Edge days where simple transfers could take a while.