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Help GPS on/off icon in notification bar

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strat1227

Well-Known Member
Hey, sorry if there's a thread already, if so I missed it somehow

Anyway, does anyone else despise that gps on/off icon at the top?? Not only is it almost always wrong (I use tasker profiles to turn on/off GPS depending on certain conditions, and apparently that bar doesn't update when tasker changes GPS settings), but it also takes up room for nothing, do i really need to be notified that I'm NOT using GPS??

Without rooting, is there ANY way to get rid of this thing? Or at least make it accurate if it's going to be there?
 
as i said, i have tasker running in the background which turns it on/off during the day and it doesn't reflect these changes ever

I can take a picture to show you if it'd help?
 
Actually, I don't think that's a GPS indicator per se. I think that indicates whether precise location information is being made available to applications. Rather, it's the little satellite dish icon that indicates whether GPS is running.
 
I just opened up Maps and the dish thing turns on but the compass symbol still stays "off" (a line through it)

So then what on earth exactly is that symbol?? Right now my info in the notification bar goes more than halfway across my screen ... it bugs me to no end as a minimalist ...
 
The bullseye looking icon is your location service being turned on. If it is off that icon will display a slash through it but still remain.

As was described by OP's, the GPS icon is a dish looking icon, and turns on and off automatically based on it being used.

There should not be any battery drain with your GPS being turned on full time, because it is only using battery juice when the Dish Icon is showing.



strat1227 said:
Hey, sorry if there's a thread already, if so I missed it somehow

Anyway, does anyone else despise that gps on/off icon at the top?? Not only is it almost always wrong (I use tasker profiles to turn on/off GPS depending on certain conditions, and apparently that bar doesn't update when tasker changes GPS settings), but it also takes up room for nothing, do i really need to be notified that I'm NOT using GPS??

Without rooting, is there ANY way to get rid of this thing? Or at least make it accurate if it's going to be there?
Click to expand...
 
To answer your question...without rooting, no. There isn't anyway of getting rid of that location icon. Not that I've been able to find anyway.
 
My belief (not knowledge) is that the location icon can be triggered when your phone has figured out your location by talking to a wifi connection, for instance. I've routinely had it appear when GPS was off, and had been off for hours or even days.
 
yes the location feature will grab your position from anything.. cellular, GPS, wifi.. thats part of the Google Experience.. :D
 
Do you have to turn this setting on? (Menu->Settings->Location->Location Setting)

When I open google maps gps symbol turns on but the compass stays off
 
I half-way agree with the OP here and half-way agree with other posters. The "gps icon" that the OP user seems to think is the location icon, however it does tie into the GPS function and it IS buggy.

For example: Enable (or confirm) that the GPS toggle switch is ON. Now turn OFF the GPS toggle switch. You "should" notice that the line going through the circle is apparent. This indicates that the 'location finder' and the 'gps' are directly related. SOMETIMES when disabling or enabling the GPS toggle switch you will notice that the 'location finder' will not update accordingly. BUG. The work around for this is simply by activating/deactivating the GPS toggle switch one more time. You will notice now that the 'gps location symbol' updates accordingly.

What I don't quite follow is when you toggle the GPS switch to OFF, why does your phone know where you are located? It doesn't seem to truly turn off your GPS.
 
HTC completely fails at naming features correctly. "GPS" should actually be called "Location" because it does not mean that the GPS receiver is being accessed, like mentioned in this thread. "Mobile Networks" should be renamed to "3G", because you can have "Mobile Networks" off and still use 4G. And I don't see any widget that denies the phone the option of using the GPS receiver (except to 911, of course) but allows location to stay active. Basically, it's GPS and aGPS, or nothing. I don't like that.
 
the phone uses wifi and cellular data to give a coarse/rough setting as to where the handset is. you do not need GPS to assist in location info. GPS is used when making 911 as it provides more precise info so it overrides the GPS setting.
 
Either way I just want it gone lol. I guess my original question has been answered that it's not possible atm, which is absurd

whatever, more things to look forward to for rooting :D
 
The one in between my Wifi and the location icon, I've never seen it before and I can't find anything online to explain what it is. The icon just started showing up and my battery drains drastically faster now. I'm assuming an app is requesting something requiring it? How do I turn it off?

2011-10-20_13-44-33.jpg
 
It's your GPS icon. It means your phone is actively looking for satellites. This uses quite a bit of battery if left on for too long.

To turn it off, you can shut off location. Or find the app that is doing it. Most likely Google Maps or some weather service.

A reboot would also be likely to fix it.
 
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