[LiveBrianD]

Just a little question for you Android users out there - if you use a find my phone app, what is it? I installed Remote Droid, but the only thing is that it seems I can't enable the GPS (or rather, give apps permission to use it, since hardware-wise it doesn't change anything) remotely - I just get an error when sending the keyword via text with that setting. This is a bit of a problem because I like to normally keep it off. (no, I am not letting my tetris app waste battery using the GPS so it can give me targeted ads)

Edit: I just sent the keyword to myself (using textfree) with the GPS enabled, and it actually works quite nicely - it even managed to accurately give me my address, right down to the house number. I'm not sure what it means by "Speed: 9 MPH" though. (the phone was sitting on my desk the entire time)

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 01 November 2012 - 04:12 PM

[smax013]

I used Lookout when I had my Evo.

[LiveBrianD]

Does that have the ability to enable the GPS when I remotely try to get the location?

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 02 November 2012 - 08:34 AM, said:

Does that have the ability to enable the GPS when I remotely try to get the location?

I believe so. You log into the Lookout website using the account you make and then you can use the "locate your device" function. Worked just fine when I tested it with my Evo in the past. And I would generally keep GPS turned off to save battery life.

This post has been edited by smax013: 03 November 2012 - 12:19 PM

[LiveBrianD]

Shoot, according to their site: "Note: It is not possible for Lookout, or any other app, to enable GPS on most, newer Android devices."

I wonder if this is a security thing in newer versions of Android. As I recall, I read about the same issue with WMD. If I could restrict permissions to apps (I know you can if you root, but I don't really want to do that), I'd be willing to leave the GPS enabled (and deny access to everything except WMD and Google Maps).

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 03 November 2012 - 12:59 PM, said:

Shoot, according to their site: "Note: It is not possible for Lookout, or any other app, to enable GPS on most, newer Android devices."

I wonder if this is a security thing in newer versions of Android. As I recall, I read about the same issue with WMD. If I could restrict permissions to apps (I know you can if you root, but I don't really want to do that), I'd be willing to leave the GPS enabled (and deny access to everything except WMD and Google Maps).

That could explain it. My Evo was running Android 2.2 and then upgraded to 2.3 right before it bricked.

An iPhone can restrict access to GPS to specific apps...no jailbreaking/rooting necessary.

[LiveBrianD]

Yeah, I'm running 4.1 here - I think that's new enough for this to be an issue. I hope they add the ability to restrict permissions in 4.2, but I doubt it'll happen. I'm wondering if it's worth leaving the ability to use the GPS enabled just in case - sure, apps unnecessarily polling the GPS will reduce my battery life, but that's still better than potentially loosing the phone and having no idea where it is.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 03 November 2012 - 01:12 PM

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 03 November 2012 - 01:11 PM, said:

Yeah, I'm running 4.1 here - I think that's new enough for this to be an issue. I hope they add the ability to restrict permissions in 4.2, but I doubt it'll happen. I'm wondering if it's worth leaving the ability to use the GPS enabled just in case - sure, apps unnecessarily polling the GPS will reduce my battery life, but that's still better than potentially loosing the phone and having no idea where it is.

You can always try leaving GPS on for a while and see how it impacts battery life.

[LiveBrianD]

Technically, I think the only thing the setting does is allow apps to poll the GPS - it's not changing anything, hardware-wise, when nothing's trying to use it. (and AFAIK, 911 calls are always allowed to use it) I quickly went through my apps, and it looks like most of them don't actually use the GPS. I'll leave the it enabled for a while and see how well it works out.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 03 November 2012 - 02:55 PM

[crazy4laptops]

LiveBrianD, on 01 November 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

Just a little question for you Android users out there - if you use a find my phone app, what is it? I installed Remote Droid, but the only thing is that it seems I can't enable the GPS (or rather, give apps permission to use it, since hardware-wise it doesn't change anything) remotely - I just get an error when sending the keyword via text with that setting. This is a bit of a problem because I like to normally keep it off. (no, I am not letting my tetris app waste battery using the GPS so it can give me targeted ads)

Edit: I just sent the keyword to myself (using textfree) with the GPS enabled, and it actually works quite nicely - it even managed to accurately give me my address, right down to the house number. I'm not sure what it means by "Speed: 9 MPH" though. (the phone was sitting on my desk the entire time)

The two PhoneFinders I recommend to my friends-

Lookout Mobile Security
Meraki (advanced management)

[LiveBrianD]

OK, I'll take a look at those. (Note: I'm running 4.2 now, and I'm not sure if older apps might have compatibility issues with something as deeply rooted in the phone as this.)