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GPS Relocking to Current Position

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fluidicice
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Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2023 11:28 pm

GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by fluidicice »

Hi,
When "Real-time position" is on and I'm looking at another part of a map (usually to add placemarks) then I swap to any other application and return to AQ after 20 seconds or more, it loses positioning for a second before acquiring a fix and jumping back to my current position. This most frequently happens when I'm adding remote placemarks or adding information to a placemark from a website which means I have to keep swapping between AQ and a browser. I then have to manually scroll back again and continue to add placemarks.

"Automatic GNSS relock" is disabled.

Potential fix: When swapping back to AQ from another application, let it establish the position again but don't jump the current view to the users position.
Psyberia-Support
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

Hi,
Thanks for the report, I'll try to reproduce and fix this asap.
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photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

I have a similar problem and feel it's not a thread hijack to chime in. I am using the very latest beta (2.3.4.R8166) though this started on the just-prior beta for me, which I believe ended in 18 -- sorry I don't recall now). If I'm navigating and tracking in AQ, then switch to my camera app and then back to AQ, at some point the switching seems to get the realtime position routine confused and my realtime position is not displayed.

When this occurs, I can still manually pan and zoom just fine (the app is not hung), but no current position is updated. Interestingly, because I am recording a track, when I see that the realtime position functionality has stopped, I can exit the app and restart it, and the track that I had been making as I hiked around, does display and I can continue creating a recorded track. I have not tried toggling Real-time position off and back on again. Perhaps next time I'll try that.
photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

After updating to 2.3.4 (version code aq340), the tracking discontinuity I reported above is not recurring. Did you make a stealth bugfix? :-) Thanks if you did!
photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

Got too excited... it still has this behavior. I have tested a few times and what seems to happen, is AQ seems to need to re-lock after I switch to another app (typically camera app). The camera app does incidentally use the GPS datafeed to write the EXIF for the images I captured. When I switch back to AQ, it re-acquires. That's nice, obviously, but it does seem to lose the handle on the GPS feed. The result inevitably is that for the time I am hiking and not looking at AQ, there's often no track, and when I re-click AQ, then the track does resume but it has a straight line between the last-known point and the new current GPS fix. Today, this shortened a 6-mile route to 4.16 miles due to several interruptions that appear not to be handled in the normal (non-beta) way.
Psyberia-Support
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

Hi and sorry for the delay.
@fluidicice, I've made some changes and the reported problem should not occurs anymore. Just note that when you turn on the location in the app (manually from a menu), the first location will always be locked. But it should not be the case when you resume the location from the background as you reported.
@photoleif, it may not be the same problem, as all apps can use together the GPS locations without problems. Check that you do not use any optimisation mode that will disable the GPS when the app using it is not displayed anymore.
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photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

Thanks for your reply. I reviewed all of the settings that seem relevant to this -- in AQ, in my app permissions, in developer options, and am not sure where an optimization mode would be. This seems peculiar to the beta version, as my wife's phone has the production version, and is an identical S21 Ultra at the same OS patch level, and the GPS track interruption does not occur. Perhaps could you steer me toward settings I might have missed? Here are what I've checked:
AQ:
Automatic GNSS relock: disabled (I don't like having it snap back)
Disable in background: disabled
App permission: Location ("Allow only while using the app", and "Use precise location" both enabled)
App permission: Music and audio, Notifications, Photos and videos - allowed; Not allowed: "No permissions denied"

Camera
Location tags: enabled

When I've switched to take a photo, then switch back to AQ, AQ makes an audible notification sound when it re-acquires GPS.
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

If you have disabled the setting "Disable in background", then the app should always keep the GPS on and running.
You can try to send the app in the background and see what happens with the app:
- if the location is stopped, you definitely have a system optimisation setting that turn off the GPS when no foreground app use it.
- if the location is not stopped, start your camera app and see what happens.

Concerning optimisation settings, you can find some information here but each brand usually have additional settings of their own: https://www.alpinequest.net/en/help/v2/ ... _recording

Note also that there is currently no beta version, the latest version is 2.3.4 for everyone.
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photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

That's interesting about the various optimization settings. It looks like the latest Samsung settings are slightly different than what's depicted in your otherwise great help. Would you like me to screenshot anything for you? One need to click AlpineQuest Off-Road Explorer in the Apps list, then scroll down slightly and click Battery. In that final menu is Unrestricted (and AQ was set that way).

I'm left thinking that a recent OS update may have recently enforced a screen-balnk pause on GPS, as your help docs indicate. This would be quite unfortunate if the manufacturer cannot provide a workaround. Thanks for your suggestions, and I think it will be relevant and useful to follow this to its conclusion and I'll re-post if I find info pertaining to this.
photoleif
Posts: 49
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

Followup: AQ's allowed permissions pertaining to location are: "Allow only while using the app", "Ask every time" and "Don't allow". Notably, "Allow all the time" is not presented in the list at all for me, unlike certain apps (not just system or Google apps). I believe that if this permission were to be in the list and I selected it, then this issue could well be resolved. Concerning battery optimization, disabling that had no effect on losing GPS lock when the screen blanks, and AQ is not in any of the "sleeping apps" or "deep sleeping apps" lists.
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

About the "Allow all the time" permission, I know it's a bit confusing but this is not needed by AlpineQuest. Your "problem" occurs when you are using the app (you have started the app, it didn't start by itself, so for the system you are currently using it, even if it's currenlty in the background).
I've updated the FAQ because I get this remark on a regular basis: https://www.alpinequest.net/en/help/faq ... to_the_app
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photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

Thank you for clarifying. Sorry for missing that in the FAQ. So it appears then that the culprit all along was the OS behavior. I have grave doubts that Google and Samsung will take pity on us and produce a system setting that is something like "Permit application to use GPS when screen lock is enabled" -- but this seems to be about the only way to deal with this aside from really odd or risky workarounds I've read about, such as never locking a phone, and having an app's widget run on the homescreen and have screen always-on enabled. These seem kludgey at best.

I ask humbly, if this were your device doing this to you, what would you do? This seems to lack any sort of resolution. Thanks
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

Sorry for missing that in the FAQ.
You didn't, I've just added it after your message ;)

If you turn off the device optimisation mode, apps can still use the GPS while the screen is locked or off.
The system (right now) only check how the app has been started: if it's by the user (like when you start AQ from a shortcut), it will need the location permission "While using the app". Even if you close the main AQ map, the track recorder is still part of the same process that you have initially started from the shortcut, and then is still allowed to use the GPS as long as it runs.
On the other end, an app that automatically wakes up by itself (like the Emails app that checks new emails on a regular basis) would need the new permission "Allow at all time" (which is more dangerous for user privacy).

Concerning your particular problem, I would check what I suggested previously. Start the track recorder, then close the main app (track recorder icon will remain in the top notification bar) and turn off your screen.
Check that the track recorder records your track completely. If yes, then your device is correctly setup. And if there is any problem while using the Camera app at the same time, then it looks like a system issue.
If your track is not correctly recorded, then you did miss on optimisation setting. Check online for your particular device brand and Android version, how to allow apps to run and use the GPS while screen is off. You should even find your answer on the support forum of your device brand, those questions are frequently asked.
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photoleif
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by photoleif »

What does "Unable to retrieve a task control multiple times" mean in this context? I was out on a hike yesterday and obviously something still isn't right with the settings or permissions. I was taking pictures and switching back to AQ, and had that error message pop up in AQ. I had to fully quit the app and restart it. Largely similar to my earlier experiences, the track had actually been recording, but the app display of the track had frozen. Upon restarting the app, the missing segments of my hike appeared -- this time with detail rather than a straight line to my current position.

So using your key to the issues in your most recent response, the recorder did record the track completely, thus there's some sort of correct setup. But that the AQ display of the track froze (but I could still use the app in every other way), seems to suggest something odd.

Thanks
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Re: GPS Relocking to Current Position

Post by Psyberia-Support »

This message is nothing good, it looks like the application has been started multiple times, which should not be done by the system.
Looks like a first instance of the app hung, then a second was started, etc. There is definitely strange things happening on your device when you have the Camera app running.
By the way, it happens when you take pictures from the app (for example when creating a picture waypoint), or when you start the Camera app using it's app icon?
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