Location services on/off in relation to battery life

[galleje]

Hi
is leaving the location services setting to on use up significant battery life compared to keeping location services on off.

Your expirience pls.

Thanks,
Gerard

[psylichon]

I wouldn't say significant, but it does use a little bit more power. I couldn't tell you how much in actual usage. I turn it off just so I don't get the annoying location popup every time I go to take a picture.

[Mojorisen]

I tested mine a few times; one day turning Location off, next day turning it on. I didn't notice much of a difference, maybe 5% more usage or so over the course of the day (about 15 hours)... But I'm sure it could depend more if you use a lot of apps that use the location services as well. Just my experience with it...

[Tinman]

Yea if I had to put a number on it I'd say from my experience it would be around 3%-5%. Not that much.

I leave it on most of the time, as I don't like having to exit an app that needs it in order to turn it on and use it. Even though I use SBSettings to turn it on and off if I am in an app that needs it, turning it on with SBSettings doesn't make it work for that app till I exit the app and then restart it. Not a biggie, but it annoys me.

Now if I am in "power save" mode, such as when traveling, say, at an airport sans sync cable (ugh) I will then have all non-essential stuff turned off. That would include location services, Bluetooth if I'm not using it, WiFi if I'm not using it, Push (iffy on that one), and 3G if I'm not using it. I even turn my brightness down a notch too. The combined effect of all of that is usually quite noticeable.



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Mike

[juls1585]

i keep mine off. i also keep wifi, bluetooth, and 3g off a majority of the time.

[hinky]

I wouldn't say significant, but it does use a little bit more power. I couldn't tell you how much in actual usage. I turn it off just so I don't get the annoying location popup every time I go to take a picture.
I can tell you - locations services on will eat up the battery far quicker than any other feature on the iPhone. All phones are like this but the iPhone is the most punishing. If you're not using it, if you don't turn it off then chances are you'll get easily less than a day's normal usage.

[Europa]

i keep mine off. i also keep wifi, bluetooth, and 3g off a majority of the time.
I like to live a little and keep mine on. I also keep WiFi, Bluetooth (it's only connected when I'm driving) , 3G, and Push on 24/7.

[juls1585]

I like to live a little and keep mine on. I also keep WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, and Push on 24/7.

i turn it on when needed, i keep push on but really everything else isnt that big of a deal. when im home ill use my computer, so wifi isnt that big of a deal until im out. the only time i really need all those things are when im on the road. because im not on the road as much anymore i dont use em nearly as much.

[Tinman]

I can tell you - locations services on will eat up the battery far quicker than any other feature on the iPhone. All phones are like this but the iPhone is the most punishing. If you're not using it, if you don't turn it off then chances are you'll get easily less than a day's normal usage.

Again, it's only around 3%-5% in an entire day... not really that much of a drain all things considered.

I'd rather have it on so if the last thing I can do in an emergency is dial 9-1-1the phone will have my location readily available for the PSAP--right away. If, of course, the PSAP has updated e911 equipment. In the USA at least, location services helps identify your location in the event of an emergency. Granted, the GPS will be used for 911 even if location services have been turned off, but there is a delay involved in getting a precise fix (and less-than-precise fix may get sent in the interest of timeliness).

Now if you have a MobileMe account I'd go as far as saying it is foolish to leave location services off. A great benefit to MobileMe is the Find My iPhone service: it shows you where your lost iPhone is located. Turning location services off disables this feature. Losing your iPhone is one thing. But imagine losing it without knowing where, and you have a MobileMe account, BUT you had location services turned off? Insult to injury, methinks.

Like Europa, I generally leave most iPhone stuff ON during everyday use. I see no point in owning an advanced smartphone if I am only going to use it like a circa-1996 StarTac.



--
Mike

[psylichon]

I would be happy to leave it on if it didn't interfere so much with taking a fast picture. The battery life difference is negligible.

[hinky]

Again, it's only around 3%-5% in an entire day... not really that much of a drain all things considered.
There is NO way that leaving location services / GPS on all day that it will only drain the battery 3-5%. It's much more.

[psylichon]

No, I think Tinman's guesstimate is about right. At least in my experience.

[Tinman]

I would be happy to leave it on if it didn't interfere so much with taking a fast picture. The battery life difference is negligible.

Well, of course it only does this if you repeatedly tell it Don't Allow. If you tap OK the message should go away (might take several times). Then of course your photos are tagged with GPS data.

Apple's policy, as I understand it, on this is that apps should ask "several" times if they are allowed to use your location. If you say yes, they should then stop asking (though I have seen it take as many as ten times for that to occur).

Conversely, again as I understand it, Apple does not want location-aware apps to stop asking if you repeatedly tell them Don't Allow. I find this policy stupid, but oh well (and some apps seem to get the hint).

Now if you don't care about GPS info in your photos, and have allowed it numerous times in the camera app, and it STILL keeps asking you... you should reset your location warnings in order to "nudge" the camera app into saving your preference. (You will reset all location apps though, so you will have to "nudge" them all again.)

Now if you DON'T want to save GPS data in your photos you have one or possibly two options. One, you can just turn off location services before taking a photo (ugh). Two, you can modify the com.apple.locationd.plist file to force the camera app to not use it, nor ask you again. I haven't been able to confirm the second option, but I do know that when changing the setting for com.apple.mobileslideshow (the camera app) within com.apple.locationd.plist nothing chokes or barks at me (a good sign).



--
Mike

[psylichon]

Thanks, Mike. I tried ages ago to get it to stop giving me the warning by selecting "ok" over and over again but it never stuck. I guess they sorted that out in a firmware release somehwere since I last tried. Just gave it a go again and no more warning!

[Tinman]

There is NO way that leaving location services / GPS on all day that it will only drain the battery 3-5%. It's much more.

I'm not going to debate this as I have tested it several times. Something else was likely going on in your case.

I will state it again for the masses: there are several good reasons to leave location services on. And, again, battery drain is really not much of an issue. Only if you are trying to eek every last minute out of battery life would I be concerned.

The privacy angle, if that should bother you, is of course another issue entirely.



--
Mike

[Tinman]

One more thing about location services...

I really think it could be utilized much--MUCH--more on an advanced smartphone like the iPhone.

How about auto-setting your ringer to vibrate when arriving at work, church, your local movie theater, etc.?

Or how about reminding you, when you get within 10 miles of Mom's house, to pay her a visit? (Or conversely, tell you to get further away if it's an old bf/gf you'd rather not run into again. ;) )

Lots of potential here. I for one can't wait till it arrives. (For the iPhone, naturally!)



--
Mike

[hinky]

I'm not going to debate this as I have tested it several times. Something else was likely going on in your case.

I will state it again for the masses: there are several good reasons to leave location services on. And, again, battery drain is really not much of an issue. Only if you are trying to eek every last minute out of battery life would I be concerned.

I can honestly state that on my iPhone and on my Blackberry and brother's blackberry, there is no question that leaving GPS or location services on, the battery life is cut short by a factor of at least 15%.

[psylichon]

Are you actively using the GPS during that time? If so, of course that will wear heavily on the battery. If the GPS is just on and not actively being used, however, a 15% drop would indicate a problem with your phone that would justify an exchange with Apple.

[Tinman]

I can honestly state that on my iPhone and on my Blackberry and brother's blackberry, there is no question that leaving GPS or location services on, the battery life is cut short by a factor of at least 15%.

I can honestly state 15% is not what came to mind when reading your first post in this thread. ;)

Seriously, you stated that "if you don't turn it off then chances are you'll get easily less than a day's normal usage." Even if it were 15%, with which I don't agree, I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that most people end the day with less than 15% of battery life remaining.

But it's all good... we all have to do what we need to do. So if you feel location services isn't worth it to you, far be it for me to suggest otherwise.



--
Mike

[hinky]

I can honestly state 15% is not what came to mind when reading your first post in this thread. ;)

Seriously, you stated that "if you don't turn it off then chances are you'll get easily less than a day's normal usage." Even if it were 15%, with which I don't agree, I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that most people end the day with less than 15% of battery life remaining.
If you use 3G with GPS (or else much is very slow) and use email and the web a couple of times a day as you would normally for business, your battery life will drop significantly. If your applications will use GPS - most of which will do so if it is on for one reason or another - you'll get even more drain.

[psylichon]

The only time I notice significant drain with the GPS is when it's actively tracking me in Google Maps or xGPS. During those times, however, I'm in the car and charging. But yes, actively using the GPS is a big battery drain. Merely leaving it on when not using it, however, should not be.

[Tinman]

If you use 3G with GPS (or else much is very slow) and use email and the web a couple of times a day as you would normally for business, your battery life will drop significantly. If your applications will use GPS - most of which will do so if it is on for one reason or another - you'll get even more drain.

I'm not sure what you are claiming here, but of course everything you do during the day adds up.

Now if you are claiming that location services causes 3G, email, or Web to use more battery power than they would otherwise use then, no, that is of course not the case.

As Dave has said, the only time location services really drains the battery is when using it with an app that uses the GPS continuously, such as Maps or any of the turn-by-turn nav apps. This is to be expected--though in my case that only happens in my car where the iPhone is plugged in anyway.

But the photo app, Twitter apps, etc., don't use any more power due to them using LS: they merely read the current coordinates that the GPS already has due to LS being on.

I have tested my iPhone during days I knew I wouldn't need to use it (at all!) and found that with everything turned on, including push, it used roughly 15%-18% of its battery by the end of the day. That included taking calls (which went to voicemail). receiving SMS, push notifications, and of course WiFi and cellular being on all day. And location services on also. By "day" I mean a typical waking day, since I don't think many of us are up 24/7. Regardless, there is no way that location services used nearly all of that 15%-18%--way too many other things going on.



--
Mike

[Mojorisen]

And just to add my $.02 again, I generally go about 17 hours between charges, sometimes longer. Leaving LS off for a day versus leaving LS on is barely a noticeable difference, using my phone like I always do.

[hinky]

And just to add my $.02 again, I generally go about 17 hours between charges, sometimes longer. Leaving LS off for a day versus leaving LS on is barely a noticeable difference, using my phone like I always do.
How often do you use your phone? As I said, if you're using apps in a decent sized city several times a day, those apps will use GPS and drain your battery like a siphon. If you let your phone sit idle most of the day and don't pull in emails, launch apps, etc. then many things aren't an issue.

[hinky]

As Dave has said, the only time location services really drains the battery is when using it with an app that uses the GPS continuously, such as Maps or any of the turn-by-turn nav apps. This is to be expected--though in my case that only happens in my car where the iPhone is plugged in anyway.

But the photo app, Twitter apps, etc., don't use any more power due to them using LS: they merely read the current coordinates that the GPS already has due to LS being on.
IF the apps are using the location to ensure they are in a location then they are using the services. It's everything from marking your photos and media, using location based apps like Yelp or even numerous other apps that seem to ask me about location services even though I'm not sure what it's using them for. If you use apps on your phone like Twitter, even some of those will store location and you won't realize it. Perhaps myself and about 5 other people with iphones in a big city like mine may all have defective iPhones but it's a fact of life. It can also be reception issues, in conjunction with 3G, etc. No question that Location Services is a big drain if you use your phone and apps several times a day. Maybe more with some than others but it's noticeable. Experiment and see what happens.

[Mojorisen]

If you let your phone sit idle most of the day and don't pull in emails, launch apps, etc. then many things aren't an issue.

Having Push notifications on will drain your battery much quicker than anything, since information is constantly being sent to the mail/application server drains it, even if the phone is idle. I use my phone for the majority of the day; various apps, constant sms, and phone calls. I generally have about 40 - 60% of my battery left when by the time I charge my phone again.

[psylichon]

Lot of misinformation going on in this thread. At work right now... No time to comment. Later on...

[Tinman]

Lot of misinformation going on in this thread. At work right now... No time to comment. Later on...

Good luck. ;)

It's probably them thar' "big city" electrons dontcha know. Them things are more active than country electrons. lol



--
Mike

[iksn]

I love this thread and hope it keeps on going. I just keep reading through it, and absorb the facts that I agree with and notice the things I believe are dead wrong. I used to ask opinions on location services every time someone had a battery issue thread, and always got different answers, and couldn't understand why there were such differences in opinions.
I have come to the conclusion that locations services being on all the time flat out don't make much of a difference, therefore should always be left on. I have found the biggest battery drainers to be email trying to download emails that are two large or just have a weak connection. I have my yahoo, which is my main Iphone email on push as it should be, and my pop3 on fetch, which it does whenever I check my push mail anyway.
The other biggest drainer is your phone looking for a wi-fi signal when there isn't one, or changing from one wi-fi signal to another because your wi-fi is one when it shouldn't be. I use wi-fi on always in my house or at work, other wise, always off.
There is my 2 1/2 cents.

[psylichon]

IF the apps are using the location to ensure they are in a location then they are using the services. It's everything from marking your photos and media, using location based apps like Yelp or even numerous other apps that seem to ask me about location services even though I'm not sure what it's using them for. If you use apps on your phone like Twitter, even some of those will store location and you won't realize it. Perhaps myself and about 5 other people with iphones in a big city like mine may all have defective iPhones but it's a fact of life. It can also be reception issues, in conjunction with 3G, etc. No question that Location Services is a big drain if you use your phone and apps several times a day. Maybe more with some than others but it's noticeable. Experiment and see what happens.

Ok, you're going a bit all over the place here between location services and cell reception and defective phones which all have nothing to do with one another.

Simply put, using the GPS chip actively will wear down your battery. Most apps that use location services merely poll your location once when needed. A few, like Maps, actively poll the GPS to track you in realtime. This is much more draining than geotagging a photo or tweet, for example, because it uses your GPS for a much longer period. Bottom line: just leaving location services on should not make a huge difference in battery life unless you use constant-GPS-type apps a lot.

Having Push notifications on will drain your battery much quicker than anything, since information is constantly being sent to the mail/application server drains it, even if the phone is idle.

I can't agree with this. A push notification is basically a text message. It only comes through when it's ready for you... there is nothing "constantly being sent." And in fact, switching from fetch email to push email can actually save battery because the email app only retrieves mail when it gets the push signal. So if you get 1 email in an hour, it's checking only once that hour instead of every 15 minutes or what have you.

There are dozens of variables involved when it comes to calculating battery drain. It just pains me to see people taking personal experience out of context and applying it to the whole iPhone world as though it were fact.

[Mojorisen]

A push notification is basically a text message. It only comes through when it's ready for you... there is nothing "constantly being sent." And in fact, switching from fetch email to push email can actually save battery because the email app only retrieves mail when it gets the push signal.

You are correct here. I had my thinking backwards, thank you for realigning that for me. :ok:ok

[hinky]

I can't agree with this. A push notification is basically a text message. It only comes through when it's ready for you... there is nothing "constantly being sent." And in fact, switching from fetch email to push email can actually save battery because the email app only retrieves mail when it gets the push signal. So if you get 1 email in an hour, it's checking only once that hour instead of every 15 minutes or what have you..
But wouldn't the "pull" happen more often if your notification tells you that there are emails waiting for you on the average of, e.g. twice every five minutes?

[Picazzo]

How do you measure these usage of the battery? I mean, not 2 days are the same! Personally I dont care - I bought this great (i)phone to use it, not to turn everything off...just to save 3-5% of battery time!

[iksn]

How do you measure these usage of the battery? I mean, not 2 days are the same! Personally I dont care - I bought this great (i)phone to use it, not to turn everything off...just to save 3-5% of battery time!

I really couldn't agree with you more. If I thought anything was a MAjor drain, that would be different. I use everything this phone has to offer and have no complaints.

[Picazzo]

If we're talking about 25% more battery usage - then I would try to save some by turn some off. I never use Bluetooth, 3G (bad signal in my area!) so I always turn these off. But my WiFi is always on and the same is PUSH.

[iksn]

If we're talking about 25% more battery usage - then I would try to save some by turn some off. I never use Bluetooth, 3G (bad signal in my area!) so I always turn these off. But my WiFi is always on and the same is PUSH.

This is where we partially disagree. Leaving wifi on all the time is a somewhat major drain. The use of wifi isn't the problem, but when you leave the area where you are using a good signal, your phone will continually look for another signal. This is the time where it is a major drain. Even if it finds new signals, it will continually drop one and find another, or just keep looking for a nonexistant signal. This is the time where all it is doing is draining the battery.
Just my 2 cents worth times 100. :)