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Smart Lock stops working

M

Michael David

Newbie
I have a question about the Smart Lock functionality on my new S10 Plus. I know how to set it, and I know how to add a location to it, but the functionality only seems to last for the day that I set it, and sometimes not even for that long.

That is, I open the Smart Lock link, add my home location and exit from it. The phone works, not locking my phone while I am home, usually for the day. The next day it no longer works and I have to add another Smart Lock link. The old one is still there, but adding a new one gives me a slightly different location, and then that one only lasts for one day, sometimes less.

Sometimes if I move to a different room in the house the lock stops working. Often moving 15 feet is enough for the functionality to stop working and it does not start again when I return to the original location.

Can anyone tell me what is going on?
 
Maybe there is problem with locating your device. If you switch from GPS to other mode of tracking the accuracy might be off by hundreds of metters.
 
lvt said:
Maybe there is problem with locating your device. If you switch from GPS to other mode of tracking the accuracy might be off by hundreds of metters.
Click to expand...

Location is ON on my phone. Is there some other setting that should be on to make sure that the gps functionality is working?
 
Michael David said:
Location is ON on my phone. Is there some other setting that should be on to make sure that the gps functionality is working?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for your specific device but generally speaking, from version 6 Android takes battery consumption very seriously. Many background services like GPS could be killed when the device's screen is turned off.

You should try to explicitly use GPS for location in the settings menu.
 
For example on my phone I need to select GPS only to keep it running, despite it sometimes I found that the GPS turns off itself when battery is low.

Screenshot_20190721_003141.jpg
 
Also keep in mind that GPS needs good signal to be fully functional. There are many locations in a house or a building where the signals are so weak that it becomes almost useless.
 
I have been looking for the Location Settings you mentioned on my Android 9 phone, but can not find any GPS Only setting. The closest thing I could find were some settings under Location -> Improve Accuracy and I unset the wifi and bluetooth scanning. Perhaps that is the equivalent of GPS Only on this phone. I will see if that takes care of the issue, although presumably the wifi and bluetooth settings are supposed to improve accuracy.

I will post what results I have.

UPDATE:

Didn't help. In fact I lost the unlock setting before moving anywhere. I will put it back to the way it was, although that is not much help either.
 
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Smart Lock was working for me until about 5 days ago. I came across a fix online that is working for me so far. Under Trusted Location long press on the location you set up previously and at the bottom of the next screen press Edit. The next screen will show you a little map. Double tap on the map and then with your finger move around on the map slightly. What you are looking to see is longitude/latitude instead of your address. Took me a few times to get it. You have to move ever so slightly. Once you get the longitude/latitude, click Save or Apply (forget which one it is) and reboot your phone. Hope it helps you!
 
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nymetzfan05 said:
Smart Lock was working for me until about 5 days ago. I came across a fix online that is working for me so far) Under Trusted Location long press on the location you set up previously and at the bottom of the next screen press Edit. The next screen will show you a little map. Double tap on the map and then with your finger move around on the map slightly. What you are looking to see is longitude/latitude instead of your address. Took me a few times to get it. You have to move ever so slightly. Once you get the longitude/latitude, click Save or Apply (forget which one it is) and reboot your phone. Hope it helps you!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the help. I have done this on my phone and will report back on whether or not it fixed my issue.
 
lvt said:
Developer's fault, not the phone :p
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure. The idea is that the phone is supposed to stay unlocked within the circle that is shown around the "trusted" area. That area is my home on my phone and the area displayed in the circle is large enough to include perhaps 3 additional homes around me, but when I take the phone to the next room in my house the Smart Lock stops working. Sometimes it again works when I move back to the original location, so that sounds like it means that the circle may be too small or the center of the circle may not actually be in the center of the display location. That could be programming or it could be the location hardware in the phone.

Just guessing, of course.
 
It seems to work a bit better with the latest OS install, and I have added several "Trusted Places" by walking to other rooms in the house and adding them. That should not be necessary because the area included is supposed to be large, but I now have (I think) 4 trusted places, all for my house and it has been working much better lately.
 
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