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New 2.1 GPS LocationServices on/off is a HUGE battery drain! What were they thinking?

What I don't understand is all these people that believe that turning on location based services means the GPS hardware is powered at all times!

What makes you think this is the case? WHY would it be the case? It makes absolutely no sense.

Unless I see proof somewhere that someone let the phone sit in standby w/ LBS turned on and measured how long it took to die, then did the same w/ LBS turned off and there was a significant time difference, I call BS.
 
The problem is that these guys who say my battery life is crap after having locations services on probably don't close google maps or whatever when they are finished, and it keeps the gps running.
 
Geckotek said:
What I don't understand is all these people that believe that turning on location based services means the GPS hardware is powered at all times!

What makes you think this is the case? WHY would it be the case? It makes absolutely no sense.

Unless I see proof somewhere that someone let the phone sit in standby w/ LBS turned on and measured how long it took to die, then did the same w/ LBS turned off and there was a significant time difference, I call BS.
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hi there.
Excuse my ignorance but is it true that you can leave the LBS on all the time and it will have no detrimental effect on battery life? I ask because a while ago I read a post saying to extend battery life turn various things off (LBS BT etc) I honestlyhavent tested it myself but it is a pain to switch on and off when I do want to use it. It would be great to be able to leave it on all the time knowing it isnt going to suck my battery dry.

Has anyone done any tests on this?
 
Many people have stated on various forums that having Location Based Services on all the time does eat the battery faster.

Not sure if it is true or not and I don't have the patience or inclination to test it for my self. I just know that turning off 3G has DOUBLED the length of a charge for me it seems like. (Different subject for a different thread obviously.)

But the original poster has good point even if it is being made a harsh manner.

Apple should not have changed this.

I honestly feel like only a major Apple Fan Boy Homer is going to try to justify this change to anyone.

This change is somewhere between moronic and asinine.
 
xUKHCx said:
Adjusting the gps is no different really than texting or making a call.
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My Garmin has speach recognition. I can do everything on it simply by pressing a button on my steering wheel and then telling the GPS to find an adress, find fast food, find a gas station, turn up the volume, view map, cancel route. You name it, I can do it simply by telling it to do it.
 
Rat-Boy said:
Many people have stated on various forums that having Location Based Services on all the time does eat the battery faster.

Not sure if it is true or not and I don't have the patience or inclination to test it for my self. I just know that turning off 3G has DOUBLED the length of a charge for me it seems like. (Different subject for a different thread obviously.)

But the original poster has good point even if it is being made a harsh manner.

Apple should not have changed this.

I honestly feel like only a major Apple Fan Boy Homer is going to try to justify this change to anyone.

This change is somewhere between moronic and asinine.
Click to expand...

Battery drain has been my experience in two white phones as well. I've had the battery drain half way in 7 hours. Once I turned it off, the battery lasted an additinal day. My phones frequently go three days without having to ever recharge.
 
Brandon Heat said:
If the feature helps people maintain more concentration on the road then I'm all for it...
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The point here is that APPLE has made it less safe! They have now made dangerous what used to be safe! Regardless of philosophy on whether you should use GPS while driving or not, this latest move by Apple will ulimately result in deaths. I'm not sure what Apple is thinking, but this looks grim.
 
I think the glaring problem with Location Services is that it doesn't turn itself off. How hard could it be to program the phone to kill the service when you close an app that uses it? Then they could ditch the stupid dialog asking you to activate it in settings, and go back to letting you activate it on the spot.
 
gibbz said:
Why even bother with with leaving it on ALL day? If you know you will be out driving, then turn it on before you leave. When you arrive, then turn it off, thus mitigating the battery loss.
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My iPhone works for me; I don't work for my iPhone. That's not why I pay $75/month!

chimpboy74 said:
it is a pain to switch on and off when I do want to use it. It would be great to be able to leave it on all the time knowing it isnt going to suck my battery dry.
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Finally, someone understands the concern of the OP (original post).
 
Rybold said:
Finally, someone understands the concern of the OP (original post).
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You apparently can't have both. The solution, as mentioned above, is to automatically kill the service when you're done using it, and offer the old method of a one touch "Ok" button to turn it back on when opening an app that requests it.
 
Rat-Boy said:
But the original poster has good point even if it is being made a harsh manner.

Apple should not have changed this.

This change is somewhere between moronic and asinine.
Click to expand...

I am generally not harsh, but what Apple has done is now making driving more dangerous for millions of people. It was a completely irresponsible move by Apple. They should have foreseen the effect this will have. I appear to be the only foreward-looking person here. I'm not just talking about myself - there are MILLIONS of iPhone users, and of those millions, there are hundreds of thousands that will be trying to turn on their GPS while driving, and a certain percentage of those people will crash and possibly die. The results of a survey were released on the news yesterday, saying that 70% of drivers admitted to sending or receiving a text message at least once while driving. The California State Legislature passed a bill to ban text-messaging while driving, but the governor won't sign it. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bill-governor-law-2133792-state-texting
 
hexonxonx said:
Battery drain has been my experience in two white phones as well. I've had the battery drain half way in 7 hours. Once I turned it off, the battery lasted an additinal day. My phones frequently go three days without having to ever recharge.
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Exactly. That is why I posted the screen shot in the OP. Apparently, the other people that posted on this thread did not look at the screen shot. After one hour and thirty minutes, my battery life was 2/3 empty.
 
Rybold said:
I am generally not harsh, but what Apple has done is now making driving more dangerous for millions of people.
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Millions of people turn off their Location Services? Get real.

Rybold said:
Exactly. That is why I posted the screen shot in the OP. Apparently, the other people that posted on this thread did not look at the screen shot. After one hour and thirty minutes, my battery life was 2/3 empty.
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My Location Services is always on. I unplugged my phone at 7:30AM. It's about 1PM now and the battery indicator is still showing a full charge.

I've listened to about 30 minutes of iPod and did about 4 Shazam lookups at 5 Guys for lunch..

If simply leaving Location Services on drains the battery, why isn't mine drained any?
 
people complain way too much about battery life... soon, someone's gonna complain that running some 3rd party app is draining their battery dry...
 
Rybold said:
The other night, some dude was following my girlfriend in her car and she went down a street she wasn't familiar with and she clicked the GPS icon on Maps, and it said "Turn on Location Services ............"
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If some dude was following her, she should have used the iPhone to call 911 instead of checking her GPS coordinates.
 
Rybold said:
Last time I checked, auto manufacturers were selling vehicles with GPS screens pre-installed on the vehicle's dash. Also, all of the GPS devices sold at major electronics stores only come with a 12-Volt DC "cigarette lighter" plug. Apparently, the NHTSA feels it is safe. Besides, what's the point in having the little blue dot that moves if you are just going to be standing in one place when you use it?

(fyi: I never use my iPhone while driving, except for the GPS)
Click to expand...

I don't know about all auto manufacturers but I am pretty sure that Ford does not allow you to interact with their navigation system while the car is not in park.
 
Here's a screen shot from just now. Been at work today, low 3G signal, about 30 minutes of data usage with a short phone call also made.

3G, Bluetooth, Location Services and 15 minute fetch on Gmail all active since I unplugged my phone before I went to bed last night.

Sorry but the simple fact that Location Services is on is NOT the reason people batteries will drain....but if they put their phone to "sleep" without closing a program that is using GPS then yes, then it will drain since it's leaving GPS up and running I believe.
 

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Rybold said:
I am generally not harsh, but what Apple has done is now making driving more dangerous for millions of people. It was a completely irresponsible move by Apple. They should have foreseen the effect this will have. I appear to be the only foreward-looking person here. I'm not just talking about myself - there are MILLIONS of iPhone users, and of those millions, there are hundreds of thousands that will be trying to turn on their GPS while driving, and a certain percentage of those people will crash and possibly die. The results of a survey were released on the news yesterday, saying that 70% of drivers admitted to sending or receiving a text message at least once while driving. The California State Legislature passed a bill to ban text-messaging while driving, but the governor won't sign it. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bill-governor-law-2133792-state-texting
Click to expand...

How could you NOT receive a text message while driving. That's the most ridiculous thing. If you're driving and your phone happens to be on and someone else sends YOU a text message, then that should be banned too? I'll admit... I've received tons of text messages while driving... that doesn't mean I've responded to them.
 
Rat-Boy said:
Well yea.

But aren't most re-chargeable batteries not ever lasting and their life is inversely proportionate to the charge cycles?
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The lithium-ion batteries like to be topped off as much as possible... draining the battery and recharging it full again is 1 full cycle and will decrease the longevity of the battery lifespan. So it's better to only use a little bit of battery and charge again than to drain it all the way and recharge all the way.
 
You guys complain way too much about the battery! How many have upgraded to the 3G over the 1st gen? Did you upgrade for better features or because your 1st gen battery was dying? We are going to keep upgrading when there is a new iPhone so it won't matter what the previous battery life span is like.
 
The supposed update in 2.1 is a joke. What's the point to argue about. It sux period. It should work without going through a bunch of hoops.
 
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