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iPhone 4 constantly tracking my location

N

NikolasMason

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 16, 2008
61
0
For the past week, my iPhone 4 has constantly been tracking my location, or at least it says it has been. It's been causing a dramatic drain increase in my battery also. I can't figure out what is causing it! I've closed every single app and restarted my phone several times. No matter what I do, I can't get the little GPS icon in the corner to go away.

Has this happened to anyone else? If so, what'd you do to stop it?

I know I could try turning off location services, but I use them a LOT, so that'd just be more inconvenient than the battery drain.
 
What location aware apps are you using?
Have thought about turning each one off (in the settings menu to each app) one at a time and seeing when the icon goes away?
 
I saw a thread started about exactly the same issue just the other day. I can't remember whether the OP found a fix for it. Check all your location services settings, if not, maybe reinstall?
 
marksman said:
This would be an awesome premise for a horror movie.
Click to expand...

Haha tell me about it, I'm beginning to get mildly paranoid.

As for apps I use regularly with location services, I have an alarm clock that tells me the current weather, the camera, Facebook, foursquare, and Shazam.

I turned those all off and on, but it didn't do anything. However, now the little icon just went away randomly. Maybe it was some sort of glitch.
 
are you really sure you are running the GPS constantly. Just because you see the little arrow o the top right next to the battery it does NOT mean that it's actually running constantly the GPS, it just means an open app/backgrounded that uses it is running on the phone, depending on the app you have then it will only use the GPS to actually record the location. For example latitudie and placetracker use the GPS everytime you move a certain significant distance from your previous location to save battery (basically move an X distance then the app wakes and sends a gps tag to google latitude) both are always running in the background but using almost no battery until you actually move the X distance, and if you are static in a place they won't use the gps nor drain the battery but since they need the GPS the icon for it is always on the top part of the phone, but is not really running (is just telling you that an app that might use GPS is opened not that is actually running). Or maybe it could be this: I have the location thing of facebook turn off, but maybe you have it on, so I would assume the fb would be running in the background to take a gps coordinate when you move to another location or something...
 
The thing is though, every single app was closed. And yet my phone was getting hot and the battery was draining quickly, like i was using the GPS. Normally my iPhone's battery lasts for quite a while and never gets warm.
 
I have had the same issue on several occasions. On one instance I only noticed after a couple hours with the screen locked that my battery had drained 50%. It's something in the software because I have close all running apps in multitasking and it still shows the GPS symbol. I have to completely turn off my phone in order for it to stop. Turning the location services off hasn't always worked.
 
Toadjeep said:
I have had the same issue on several occasions. On one instance I only noticed after a couple hours with the screen locked that my battery had drained 50%. It's something in the software because I have close all running apps in multitasking and it still shows the GPS symbol. I have to completely turn off my phone in order for it to stop. Turning the location services off hasn't always worked.
Click to expand...

Pretty much exactly my case. The little compass icon is always there no matter what.

However, it has randomly gone away and my battery life seems to have stabilized. Very strange little glitch in the software. And rather creepy.
 
Are u sure u closed every app in the multitasking pan?!
Would u happen to have an app called trapster
 
NikolasMason said:
The thing is though, every single app was closed. And yet my phone was getting hot and the battery was draining quickly, like i was using the GPS. Normally my iPhone's battery lasts for quite a while and never gets warm.
Click to expand...

ok, if it was only a week ago then something that you recently installed that uses the GPS is not working properly (maybe unistall, reboot, reinstall the app)... what are your GPS enabled apps? are you jb? if you use apps like placetracker (jb app) are always on even after closing the app as a security measure if someone were to steal the phone (I don't know if latitudie does it too or another app from the appstore that uses location services similarly)... are you in another place than normal?
 
saving107 said:
Your GPS shouldn't be active unless this icon is activated.

Click to expand...

the icon just means that an app that is running/background on the phone MAY BE using the GPS NOT that is actually running the GPS. It just means that an app that may use the GPS is open/backgrounded and could at a specific moment request the use of the GPS on the phone...
 
Carlanga said:
ok, if it was only a week ago then something that you recently installed that uses the GPS is not working properly (maybe unistall, reboot, reinstall the app)... what are your GPS enabled apps? are you jb? if you use apps like placetracker (jb app) are always on even after closing the app as a security measure if someone were to steal the phone (I don't know if latitudie does it too or another app from the appstore that uses location services similarly)... are you in another place than normal?
Click to expand...

My phone is not jail-broken, nor has it ever been. I jail-broke all my older phones, but decided not to with my iPhone 4. And I haven't installed any new apps recently that would have had a location service, and even then, the only new apps I can think of I installed after the problem began. And no, I haven't gone to any new places.
 
NikolasMason said:
My phone is not jail-broken, nor has it ever been. I jail-broke all my older phones, but decided not to with my iPhone 4. And I haven't installed any new apps recently that would have had a location service, and even then, the only new apps I can think of I installed after the problem began. And no, I haven't gone to any new places.
Click to expand...

I really think is an app gone awry... The easiest thing you could try is this:
go to: settings>general> reset> reset location services (only press this one or you might just erase your whole phone by mistake)

This will hard reset all the gps services that you have given access to use the GPS. When you open again an app that uses the GPS it will ask you like the very first time (madonna reference) since you cannot activate the services until you open an app that uses the GPS. This will enable you to cross-reference the app that's giving you the trouble!
 
I don't know if this helps but here's an article to help you identify what is/has been utilizing location services. You would have to be running an app that supports background location services in order for a persistent connection like that. Do you use TomTom by any chance?
 
Carlanga said:
the icon just means that an app that is running/background on the phone MAY BE using the GPS NOT that is actually running the GPS. It just means that an app that may use the GPS is open/backgrounded and could at a specific moment request the use of the GPS on the phone...
Click to expand...

Are you sure of that, because that's not how it seems to work for me. That icon comes up briefly when an app needs to get the location, and then it disappears. If I background an app that uses gps, that icon goes away as soon as it drops the gps signal. I can't think of ever seeing that icon when gps wasn't actively in use.
 
Under Settings > LOCATIONS SERVICES you will see every App that utilizes GPS. The same purple arrow will appear next to any App actively using the GPS. Delete that App and reinstall.
 
ntrigue said:
Under Settings > LOCATIONS SERVICES you will see every App that utilizes GPS. The same purple arrow will appear next to any App actively using the GPS. Delete that App and reinstall.
Click to expand...

That icons there for any app that has requested your location in the last 24 hours, not those actively using it. Good tip though.
 
zhenya said:
Are you sure of that, because that's not how it seems to work for me. That icon comes up briefly when an app needs to get the location, and then it disappears. If I background an app that uses gps, that icon goes away as soon as it drops the gps signal. I can't think of ever seeing that icon when gps wasn't actively in use.
Click to expand...

yeap, pretty sure it should always be on IF the app has the GPS backgrounding API! if the app you use doesn't use that api but another one of the other 6 API's then it would turn off since you are really not running the gps backgrounding API but instead you are just running in the background voip, screensave, etc w/out the GPS BG API...
The GPS BG API running does not equal it being used all the time just when the app that is backgrounded would needed when in background or open mode...
 
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