• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help Google maps gps really eats up battery

P

peterjmay

Well-Known Member
I had to use it to find the bar last night and for the 45 mins the gps took to find it it must have used at least 20% off battery..is this right??
 
peterjmay said:
I had to use it to find the bar last night and for the 45 mins the gps took to find it it must have used at least 20% off battery..is this right??
Click to expand...

I have a Tom Tom 4.3" GPS and on battery it last up to 4 hours, the phone would be no different or at least close to this. It does drain the battery.
 
It's not Googlemaps; it's the GPS it's self..... I use Facebook "Check in" once in a while and my battery dies a death soon after if Im on it for a while.
 
I don't suppose it's much consolation, but using the GPS in my DHD drains the battery far less than using GPS in my old Nokia N95 did.

One thing you can do, once Maps has done everything it needs with the GPS, is to use the Quick Settings on the DHD's main pull-down menu to turn the GPS off. Ok, it will no longer be able to track your location, but in built-up areas it's generally easy enough to navigate from a known starting point just using the map and street names. If you want to confirm that you're following the correct route, you can always turn the GPS back on again periodically.
 
Agreed its not Google maps its GPS, I have an old battery powered Garmin sat nav its battery life is terrible. I am happy to be corrected but I assume GPS is the biggest battery user on a phone
 
Interesting side thought... I've set up phone with Tasker to automatically turn on/off GPS when I open/close Google Maps.

Is this really necessary anymore, as I have recently used the new Google Maps feature to download map areas that I need. i.e. does it need GPS to recall that saved map data?
 
You don't need Tasker to turn the GPS on when required - I leave my GPS enabled at all times, but it only switches on when an app needs it.

Downloading map areas means that you won't need network access to use Google Maps within those areas, but the GPS is required if you want to get a position fix or to track your location.

Interestingly, I recently downloaded OS Atlas Lite so that I could use Ordnance Survey maps on my phone and that allows me to set the GPS to only switch on and update my position at specified time intervals. It also allows me to switch the GPS on when I've moved a specified distance, but I can't get my head around how that could work!
 
john_g said:
You don't need Tasker to turn the GPS on when required - I leave my GPS enabled at all times, but it only switches on when an app needs it.
Click to expand...

This is true, however it is a lot more often than you think. Google Latitude uses the GPS every hour to update your location, and you'll notice the GPS turn on when you take a photo, as its trying to location tag your image.

I keep GPS off so that Latitude and Camera don't keep trying to use it, but use Tasker to turn GPS on automatically when Google Maps is launched
 
The best thing about the phone is Google maps and the navigation software(SAT-NAV) Its easy to set up and FREE!!
The worst thing about the phone is what the GPS does to your battery when using the navigation software. Battery drains quickly when using GPS!!
The Easiest way around this is to get yourself an in-car charger just like your standard SAT-NAV's which are
 
Had same issue navigon/copilot/googlemaps despite using a 1A dc car charger would deplete the battery using my 2m data cable.looking at battery monitoring wizard it said it was usb charging.
Same charger but using my retractable usb charge cable (not data) it comes up with ac charging and shock horror it actually charges whilst navigating, happy days :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom