How to turn on the GPS on Android

Question

I am developing an android app which needs to activate the GPS.

I read a lot of topics in a lot of forums and the answer I've found is:

it's not possible

But... the "Cerberus" APP turns my GPS on... so... it's possible!

Can anyone help me with this?

Answer 1

No, it's impossible, and inappropriate. You can't just manage the user's phone without their authority. The user must interact to enable GPS.

From Play Store:

"Cerberus automatically enables GPS if it is off when you try to localize your device (only on Android < 2.3.3) and you can protect it from unauthorized uninstalling - more info in the app configuration."

You can do something like this:

startActivity(new Intent(android.provider.Settings.ACTION_LOCATION_SOURCE_SETTINGS));

Answer 2

I think we have more better version to enable the location without opening the settings just like google map works.

It will looks like this -

Add Dependency in gradle - compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:10.0.1'

public class MapActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    protected static final String TAG = "LocationOnOff";

 
    private GoogleApiClient googleApiClient;
    final static int REQUEST_LOCATION = 199;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        this.setFinishOnTouchOutside(true);

        // Todo Location Already on  ... start
        final LocationManager manager = (LocationManager) MapActivity.this.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
        if (manager.isProviderEnabled(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER) && hasGPSDevice(MapActivity.this)) {
            Toast.makeText(MapActivity.this,"Gps already enabled",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
        // Todo Location Already on  ... end

        if(!hasGPSDevice(MapActivity.this)){
            Toast.makeText(MapActivity.this,"Gps not Supported",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }

        if (!manager.isProviderEnabled(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER) && hasGPSDevice(MapActivity.this)) {
            Log.e("TAG","Gps already enabled");
            Toast.makeText(MapActivity.this,"Gps not enabled",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            enableLoc();
        }else{
            Log.e("TAG","Gps already enabled");
            Toast.makeText(MapActivity.this,"Gps already enabled",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }


    private boolean hasGPSDevice(Context context) {
        final LocationManager mgr = (LocationManager) context
                .getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
        if (mgr == null)
            return false;
        final List<String> providers = mgr.getAllProviders();
        if (providers == null)
            return false;
        return providers.contains(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER);
    }

    private void enableLoc() {

        if (googleApiClient == null) {
            googleApiClient = new GoogleApiClient.Builder(MapActivity.this)
                    .addApi(LocationServices.API)
                    .addConnectionCallbacks(new GoogleApiClient.ConnectionCallbacks() {
                        @Override
                        public void onConnected(Bundle bundle) {

                        }

                        @Override
                        public void onConnectionSuspended(int i) {
                            googleApiClient.connect();
                        }
                    })
                    .addOnConnectionFailedListener(new GoogleApiClient.OnConnectionFailedListener() {
                        @Override
                        public void onConnectionFailed(ConnectionResult connectionResult) {

                            Log.d("Location error","Location error " + connectionResult.getErrorCode());
                        }
                    }).build();
            googleApiClient.connect();
         }

         LocationRequest locationRequest = LocationRequest.create();
            locationRequest.setPriority(LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY);
         locationRequest.setInterval(30 * 1000);
         locationRequest.setFastestInterval(5 * 1000);
         LocationSettingsRequest.Builder builder = new LocationSettingsRequest.Builder()
                    .addLocationRequest(locationRequest);

         builder.setAlwaysShow(true);

         PendingResult<LocationSettingsResult> result =
                    LocationServices.SettingsApi.checkLocationSettings(googleApiClient, builder.build());
         result.setResultCallback(new ResultCallback<LocationSettingsResult>() {
            @Override
            public void onResult(LocationSettingsResult result) {
                final Status status = result.getStatus();
                switch (status.getStatusCode()) {
                  case LocationSettingsStatusCodes.RESOLUTION_REQUIRED:
                       try {
                           // Show the dialog by calling startResolutionForResult(),
                           // and check the result in onActivityResult().
                                status.startResolutionForResult(MapActivity.this, REQUEST_LOCATION);
                       } catch (IntentSender.SendIntentException e) {
                           // Ignore the error.
                       }
                       break;
                 }
             }
         });
     }

}