Develop Reference

Android using LocationManager Get Provider is "Passive" in My Moto G Android Phone

I need a little help with some information about LocationManager in Android. I'm using this code to get user's specific information depending on his location,but in My Device Motorola G I get provider="Passive" and also Location return Null My Motorola G is running on Latest Android Kit Kat(4.4) Android Os.
I also try this code in Other Devices so Provider is either Network Or GPS also find Location properly.
locationManager = (LocationManager) getSherlockActivity().getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
Criteria criteria = new Criteria();
criteria.setAccuracy(Criteria.ACCURACY_FINE);
criteria.setAltitudeRequired(true);
criteria.setBearingRequired(true);
criteria.setCostAllowed(true);
criteria.setPowerRequirement(Criteria.POWER_LOW);
provider = locationManager.getBestProvider(criteria, true);
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(provider, 1000, 0, this);
Location location = locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(provider);
if (location != null) {
System.out.println("Provider " + provider + " has been selected.");
onLocationChanged(location);
} else {
Toast.makeText(getSherlockActivity(), "Location not available", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

I know that this is somehow an old question. But hope my answer will help others as well.
The issue is not related to the used device, actually the issue is how we use the provided API.
In the following code snippet, you pass true for the enabledOnly flag while you just need to pass it as false and it will work correctly at this time.
Instead of :
provider = locationManager.getBestProvider(criteria, true);
To be:
provider = locationManager.getBestProvider(criteria, false);
To clear this point:
If we set this flag "enabledOnly flag" to true, this means to return the requested best provider based on our criteria from the enabled only providers which will return the Passive provider.
While, if we set it to false, this will mean to return the requested best provider based on our criteria even if it is not enabled, which will return gps.
Btw, I am using Moto G too -but it's 2nd Gen- , and it worked with me this way :)
Hope this helps :)

READ THIS IF YOUR APP SUPPORTS kITKAT(4.4) VERSION OF ANDROID
I was having the same issue and my code was working perfectly in other devices not running kitkat,after a little bit of snooping around i found out that you have to explicitly turn on GPS to get location through wifi/gps. you can read about it here.
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/3467281

LocationManager sending null

I am using Google Map V2 and i trying to get the current location.But it is always returning null .
Code
locationManager = (LocationManager) getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
Criteria criteria = new Criteria();
provider = locationManager.getBestProvider(criteria, false);
Location location = locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(provider);
Every time i am getting location null .My GPS is working fine in my device what can the issue please help me.

Per the getLastKnownLocation documentation:
If the provider is currently disabled, null is returned.
as you are using getBestProvider(criteria, false) you are saying you allow providers that are not enabled (that's what false means) - switch it to true if you only want to look at enabled providers (which will assure that getLastKnownLocation does not return null).
Note that the getLastKnownLocation could be very out of date and you may still want to look for location updates if you need to get a recent location.

There are different approach. First of all be sure that you have all required permission in your manifest:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />
If you only want an approximate location you can get the lastlocation (GPS or NETWORK)
if(_locationManager != null)
{
if(_locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER) != null)
return new Location(_locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER),true);
else if(_locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER) != null)
return new Location(_locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER),true);
}

GPS doesn´t work in IntentService

I have the following code in my Service:
LocationManager locationManager =
(LocationManager) getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
String provider =
locationManager.getProvider(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER).getName();
Location location = locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(provider);
while(true)
{
if(...)//every 5 seconds it gets into
{
....//control if the location is not null
lat = location.getLatitude();
lon = location.getLongitude();
alt = location.getAltitude();
Log.i(TAG, "Latitude: "+lat+"\nLongitude: "+lon+"\nAltitude: "+alt);
}
else {
Log.i(TAG, "Error!");
}
}
This code kind of works in my emulator (GPS are inserted into the Log), but in my Mobile device, this code gets to the else branch. Could somebody tell me where is the problem? In my code or in my Mobile device? Thanks in advance.
P.S.: The GPS is turned on, in another apps it works.

getLastKnownLocation() will not fetch subsequent location from the GPS provider. It will return (as the name may suggest) the last known location requested by some code. I assume that you check location being not null in the condition, which is not shown in your code. The location is null if the device "decided" that the last known location is too old or unreliable by other means. You need to request location updates and provide a location listener to get locations repeatetly.
There are lots of tutorials available. Here ist one. of them.

getLastKnownLocations always returns null

I am unable to getLastKnownLocations on my Android device (Samsung Galaxy Note N7000) as it is always null, towers is detected as network so it is fine, anybody got any idea how to get my location?
d = getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.songs_gray);
//Placing pinpoint at location
lm = (LocationManager) getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
Criteria crit = new Criteria();
towers = lm.getBestProvider(crit, false);
Toast.makeText(LocationActivity.this, "Towers: " + towers, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
Location location = lm.getLastKnownLocation(towers);
Toast.makeText(LocationActivity.this, "Location: " + location, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
if(location !=null){
lat = (int) (location.getLatitude()*1E6);
longi = (int) (location.getLongitude()*1E6);
GeoPoint ourLocation = new GeoPoint(lat, longi);
OverlayItem overlayItem = new OverlayItem(ourLocation, "What's up", "2nd String");
CustomPinpoint custom = new CustomPinpoint(d, LocationActivity.this);
custom.insertPinPoint(overlayItem);
overlayList.add(custom);
}else{
Toast.makeText(LocationActivity.this, "Couldn't get provider", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
Manifest
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION" />

With getLastKnownLocation() you can only get a Location object when the specified location provider is active.
The documentation says:
Returns a Location indicating the data from the last known location
fix obtained from the given provider. This can be done without
starting the provider. Note that this location could be out-of-date,
for example if the device was turned off and moved to another
location.
If the provider is currently disabled, null is returned.
To detect the current position and not the last detected one you need to enable the location provider(s). This tutorial should help you to understand how to work with location providers as GPS and network.

the last known location is only available if the location has been determined by another app prior to your call. start maps or some other app and let it get a location lock. then run your app.
if you really need location in your app, you need to fall back to some other method, because you cannot depend on there being a last known location.
as a side note, ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION isn't required here. from the docs,
Allows an application to create mock location providers for testing

Nevermind found out my problem! Just needed to on Google's Location Services on my phone

why does this work on android 1.5 but not 1.6 (location manager)

I have this bit of code;
lm = (LocationManager)
getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
gpslocation = Double.toString(lm.getLastKnownLocation("gps").getLatitude()) +" "
+ Double.toString(lm.getLastKnownLocation("gps").getLongitude());
Which works fine on both the emulator and my hero running android 1.5, but it Force Closes on the emulator of 1.6 and also on my tattoo.
What changed from 1.5 to 1.6?
OK, using this instead;
lm = (LocationManager)
getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
Double latPoint = null;
Double lngPoint = null;
Location loc = lm.getLastKnownLocation("gps");
if(loc != null) {
latPoint = lm.getLastKnownLocation("gps").getLatitude();
lngPoint = lm.getLastKnownLocation("gps").getLongitude();
} else {
}
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),"test lat " + latPoint, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
I get null toast, and null toast if i fire a location at the emulator before running the app.

In general, use adb logcat, DDMS, or the DDMS perspective in Eclipse to look at the Java stack trace associated with the "force close" dialog, to see what the problem is.
In your case specifically, it will not work because you have not turned on GPS in the code snippet.
You cannot reliably call getLastKnownLocation() on a provider unless that provider has been up and running. In your case, GPS is probably not running, and getLastKnownLocation() will return null.
You will need to register for location updates or proximity alerts, to get the GPS radio powered on and seeking fixes, before getLastKnownLocation() will work. Also, with the emulator, you will need to submit a fix (e.g., via DDMS) after registering for location updates or something before getLastKnownLocation() will return a non-null value.