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    Call for testing: background location updates

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      • C Offline
        cliffcoggin
        last edited by

        I too am interested in such an application. What advantage does it have over preventing suspension with UT Tweak Tool?

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        • mardyM Offline
          mardy @AppLee
          last edited by

          @applee said in Call for testing: background location updates:

          Can you tell us more about how to test and how it works ?
          Simply because and app is using the location it won't go to sleep after timeout or shutting down the screen, is that it ?

          Yes. Replying to both:

          @cliffcoggin said in Call for testing: background location updates:

          I too am interested in such an application. What advantage does it have over preventing suspension with UT Tweak Tool?

          This is not an application, but a set of changes to the OS itself. It mainly consists of two parts:

          1. The location service exposes a list of the application ID which are currently receiving location updates
          2. Lomiri (new name for unity8) monitors that list, and sets the LifecycleExemption flag on those applications; the flag is removed when the application requests to stop receiving location updates.

          So, it is similar to what the UT Tweak tool does, except that this is automatic, and lasts only for as long as the application is using the GPS.

          This is just the first iteration: in the future, we would like to have it so that when an app requests access to the GPS, the user is given the choice between granting the permission to receive such updates in the background, or only when in the foreground.

          C AppLeeA 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
          • C Offline
            cliffcoggin @mardy
            last edited by

            @mardy Thanks for the explanation, but it throws up other questions. Being a change to the OS:
            [a] How will it be affected by OTA updates?
            [b] How do I revert to normal OS if the change creates problems?
            Pardon my caution, but I have little understanding of the matter or how to overcome problems.

            AppLeeA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • AppLeeA Offline
              AppLee @cliffcoggin
              last edited by

              Hi @cliffcoggin

              I think I'm not mistaken if I say that the goal is to test it out for it to be integrated in the OS for the upcoming OTAs.

              I see at least two easy ways to go back :

              • Switching channels
              • Using the UBports installer
              C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • AppLeeA Offline
                AppLee @mardy
                last edited by

                @mardy
                Thanks for your answer, I'll install it and will try to test it out, but I'm mostly at home for the moment so not many opportunities to test the GPS.

                Thanks again for your work.

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                • K Online
                  kugiigi
                  last edited by

                  I think one of the best app to test this is Activity Tracker. I won't be able to help with the test so I just suggested something 😄

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • C Offline
                    cliffcoggin @AppLee
                    last edited by

                    @applee If switching channels is an easy way to restore a current OTA that is fine and I am happy to test this modification. Re-installation however is not an option for me as I have never been able to get the installer to work.

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                    • C Offline
                      cliffcoggin
                      last edited by

                      I tested this today after a long struggle to copy the code from here to the terminal of my Nexus 5.

                      The test is in two parts using OSM Scout Server (with suspension enabled), Pure Maps, and Activity Tracker (with suspension enabled).

                      In the first part of the test I found that the lockscreen was prevented, consequently the display was continually on and the battery level dropped rapidly. That is something I would want to see fixed. Nevertheless the three applications mentioned all worked. I also tested that phone calls, text messages, and internet also worked. (I don't recall if the latter was using SIM or Wi-Fi.)

                      For the second part of the test I manually engaged the lockscreen with the power button. Every ten minutes I checked that the mapping continued to work, and battery levels were dropping at a more acceptable rate though I did not note any specific figures for power drop.

                      The one oddity was Activity Tracker which showed many data points while it was active, but when it was stopped and saved, only 4 data points were recorded instead of the expected 13. I don't know if that is an effect of the new software or something In Activity Tracker. It is not an application I use regularly.

                      Does this report help?

                      Cliff.

                      mardyM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • mardyM Offline
                        mardy @cliffcoggin
                        last edited by

                        Thanks @cliffcoggin ! I realized just now that not all the packages made it to the PPA: the lomiri changes are not there, and they are essential to get this functionality working fine. I'm still trying to understand what is the correct branch to use for lomiri, and then I'll rebuild the package. I'll keep you guys posted!

                        For the time being, better not use this PPA, as it's incomplete.

                        C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • C Offline
                          cliffcoggin @mardy
                          last edited by

                          @mardy OK. I will await developments.

                          To get back to stable channel I changed to RC which appeared to go well. I then tried changing back to stable channel, and it told me it was switching channels, but it remained on RC. Is that because RC is essentially the same as stable at the moment? Do I need to do anything more?

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                          • mardyM Offline
                            mardy
                            last edited by

                            OK, now the PPA seems ready 🙂

                            Please test it again, and sorry for the previous glitch!

                            C H 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • C Offline
                              cliffcoggin @mardy
                              last edited by

                              @mardy Initial indications are good. Lockscreen engages as normal, Sensor Status and Pure Maps show the correct location.

                              I'll perform a longer test next time I go out and let you know the outcome.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • C Offline
                                cliffcoggin @mardy
                                last edited by

                                @mardy Further information: the battery level dropped from 65% to 5% in less than three hours. (I don't know the precise time as the phone turned itself off while I was away from it.) That's probably similar to what it would have been before the modification.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • K Online
                                  kugiigi
                                  last edited by

                                  If i remember correctly, the main issue before is that location stops working when you lock the screen even if you disable suspension. I had to stop automatic locking whenever I use Activity tracker. I was lucky Bq E5's battertly is great so I was able to use it for many hours.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • TotalRandoT Offline
                                    TotalRando
                                    last edited by

                                    Hey this just turned my GPS on! Thanks!


                                    Nerd with UT on a OnePlus One. OnePlus 6T waiting in the wings for VoLTE.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • magdesignM Offline
                                      magdesign @mardy
                                      last edited by

                                      @mardy
                                      Thanks!
                                      After doing

                                      sudo ubports-qa install xenial_-_locationbg
                                      

                                      and rebooting my oneplus6 several times the GPS is finally working!

                                      Oneplus 6 (A6003)
                                      UBports 16.04 RC 2021-W32

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • H Offline
                                        hsce1 @mardy
                                        last edited by hsce1

                                        Hey @mardy, do you know if your background location service implementation has survived the transfer to focal?

                                        Edit: I guess I found the relevant MR: https://gitlab.com/ubports/development/core/lomiri/-/merge_requests/70

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                                        • A Offline
                                          aimar
                                          last edited by

                                          Wow! How did I miss this feature? I have seen the last post and realize that it was available two years ago.
                                          Well, BQ E4.5 OTA 25. I have just installed it, but I am not very confident it will work. I get some errors that make me suspect:

                                          ubuntu-location-service-bin#####]
                                          W: No sandbox user '_apt' on the system, can not drop privileges
                                          E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
                                          ERROR:ubports-qa:Failed to run 'apt full-upgrade'. See the output above for details.
                                          mount: / is busy
                                          WARNING:ubports-qa:Failed to remount root filesystem read-only.
                                          WARNING:ubports-qa:Please consider rebooting your device.
                                          

                                          I have rebooted the phone. This weelend I will test the background data adquisition.

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                                          • A Offline
                                            aimar
                                            last edited by aimar

                                            I think ubuntu-location-service-bin is not properly installed.

                                            Just some questions. I see the following packages upgraded:

                                            biometryd-bin
                                            libbiometry1
                                            qml-module-biometryd
                                            

                                            Why do we need biometry stuff?

                                            This ones were downgraded:

                                            libubuntu-location-service3
                                            qtubuntu-sensors
                                            ubuntu-location-service-bin
                                            unity8 unity8-common
                                            unity8-private unity8-schemas
                                            

                                            @mardy you mentioned Lorimi, but I still see unity. Is it all right? I understood this change was for xenial devices.
                                            I hope I do not miss anything with the downgrade.

                                            A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • A Offline
                                              aimar @aimar
                                              last edited by

                                              It works.
                                              I tried it with Activity Tracker and records my position with the phone locked.
                                              During the first try, the location switch turned off automatically whenever I turned it on. But now the switch and me seem to have achieved an understanding.
                                              Thank you very much for such a useful feature.

                                              A A 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
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