nework location

network-location

Author(s): sven

Ranking: n/a

Speaking Name: Network Location

Rationale: The network location service is responsible for providing coarse grained location information to requesting applications.

The frequency of updates (and of wakelocks) is related to the precision requested by the application (max. time between updates, precision in meters).

Examples of app requesting coarse grained location: weather widgets, latitude, most social tools, google+

Know actions: Actions to reduce wakelocks:

• Find the responsible app: look for all network-location wakelocks and check for the responsible apps on the second line of the list
• Check the settings of the app to see if the precision can be changed
• Use the benefits of Wifi based location (stable location minimizing the update frequencies)
• Look for alternative apps with a better design

Known conditions of occurence: Poorly designed apps with too high requirements on precision will drive the Network Location Service up.

Unstable network conditions (frequent handovers between towers) may trigger location updates.

In some cases updating the radio/modem has effect on the network location: the location is based on the tower information delivered by the RIL.

Related wakelocks: LocationManagerService, NetworkLocationLocator, WifiService, GpsLocationProvider, network-location-cell-update

References:

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/location/obtaining-user-location.html

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/LocationManager.html