Messages

Thanks c.s.g.

Can't find any details about the new 'energy' variable in the fantastic audio coach.

Is this kcal burned and if so where is it getting its calculations from?

Thanks tommi & menion.
From from you've said menion I won't purchase one.
Cheers,

Hope I've got this in the right forum folks.

Looking to buy a heart rate monitor and would love it to feedback to locus.

Does anyone know if the mi band works as I can't find it on the compatibility test list.

Thinking of getting it from eBay:
Look at this on eBay  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162438119469

Any help appreciated, thank you so much.

Thanks Menion.
Google Maps works completely fine - but then again the screen is always on when I use it.
I've never heard of GPS Status but I'll look into it although I do use GPS Test and that seems fine too.

I have to agree thanks menion.
I am running android 5.0 on a Hauwei P8 Lite.

So far I've had no Locus crashes so its not a memory issue and the P8 Lite has 2gb RAM anyway.

Locus doesn't reload or come up with dialogs when I unlock the screen but instead simply beeps to tell me it has a GPS fix because I've got that notification sound turned on in Locus settings.

Unfortunately there are no extra or detailed setting in the android 5.0 to tell it to keep acquiring GPS fix, just the usual 3 options of battery saving, high accuracy and GPS only.  I had considered testing using just the GPS only setting in android but this makes initial fixes difficult as it ignores A-GPS.

I use Locus to navigate in the car and all is superb (as usual so it seems to be something linked into when the screen is asleep.

Now....
My phone does a crazy thing I'm not keen on.  It seems to (by default) cancel and terminate apps as soon as the phone locks.  This means that (for example) reminder apps don't remind me etc etc but there is a section in the settings called 'protected apps'.  I select apps in there and that means the phone wont touch them and certainly wont kill them.  I have Locus selected as a protected app and as I said eariler, Locus is still running fine when the screen is locked... its just this GPS logging that seems to be the problem. 

There is no problem with GPS fixes because as soon as I unlock the phone it has an instant fix so please don't think its just a case that I can't get a GPS fix.

I'm really really confused by all this and its making my favourite app of all time unusable for me at the moment and I'll try anything to figure out whats going wrong.

Thanks everyone

Thanks for much michaelbechtold and KaHeMu

Locus is already running as a service but I don't want to set Locus to prevent screen lock as when out and about the screen lock pin is an important security issue.
When you mention system tools outside of Locus michaelbechtold I'm a little confused sorry.

Hey KaHeMu, the disable when hidden is already unticked.  I'm presuming this is the correct option as I dont want the GPS to disable at all, only when I terminate it manually myself.  So yes, I have the 'disable when hidden' unticked.

Any other ideas please although I'm gonna go out for a walk later and test it all again.

Thanks so much.

Sorry if I'm missing something simple,  but I walked and recorded my track today but was gutted to discover that Locus stopped logging and acquiring a GPS lock when the screen was off / sleeping / locked.
This meant turning on the screen got a new lock which drew a straight line between that and the previous lock which was obviously incredibly inaccurate to what I'd  walked.
I'm using the presets walking profile to log but just can't figure out why this is happening.

I'd appreciate anyone giving some advice please as I feel I've overlooked something.
Thanks in  advance

[November 03, 2015, 22:26:53]

Running 3.12.2

I had to factory reset my phone, so re-installed Locus and restored my settings etc.

The only problem I've had for weeks though is a very annoying one... the route won't recalculate.  It won't do it automaticly when I'm out of my safe zone, and it won't do it by pressing the recalculate button either.

Its really frustrating and annoying whilst driving but I'm guessing this isnt an actual app issue as I can't see anyone else reporting this.

Would really appreciate some help please.
Thanks in advance.

November 03, 2015, 22:26:53
Hang fire...
I've just found a new setting that lets the route recalculate in 2 different ways.  I've set that up now as it wasnt in the previous version so when the setting were restored it didn't select it.
I'll test it again tomorrow and feedback. 

November 06, 2015, 10:10:16
Yep, it was the new setting in the new version that went unnoticed by me.
I've now used the new setting and recalculation works fine.

Long discussion in our team due to such tiny feature. I was completely against it, anyway result was 2 for this improvement, one again and one don't know . So in next version will be distances more precise for one extra decimal number.

Yaaaaaaaaaay!
I'd love this!!!!
When tracking a walk and getting back to the car at the end only to see Locus says 9.9miles, its really frustrating as I'd prefer to know the extra decimal so I know if I have to walk more or less than an additional tenth of a mile.
Really hoping this does happen as its top of me list for improvements to this amazing app.
Thank you Menion.

I'm using the Vector map of a nearby city centre but it contains hundreds and hundreds of bus stop icons that simply clog up the screen. Its the same with alot of the icons.  For example... if I zoom out I get lots and lots of 'church' icons and if I zoom in a little to see the roads better I get around 30 bus stops icons messing up the screen as I'm trying to see the roads.

I know the POI new beta feature exists but I havent got anything as viewable - it just seems all the POIs of the Vector are getting shown by default.

If I zoom out of a map to see the local area with roads etc etc and my route of walking, well, I cant see anything really as the map is awash with road numbers and other icons.

Is there any way of turning all these things off please as I'm confused and my eyes feel like they are having to work overtime just to see the map beneath all the icons.

Thanks in advance everyone.   

Does anyone know if there is any way to get the dashboard and final tracked distance to read as (for example) 3.74 instead of 3.7

Sometimes when I'm hiking and lets say the distance is 7.9 miles.... I am always unsure how far I need to walk to push the logged distance to 8 miles.  If the readout was (for example) 7.91 then I'd have a better idea how many more steps to take to reach my 8 miles target.

Thanks in advance 

thanks john_percy

Hi Menion,
Thanks for the kudos.
yeah, I agree RAM seems to be handled much better in 4.0 but it is supposed to clear down RAM from dormant apps when new apps need to use it, but I don't think it works that well on a day to day basis.
I did used to use CatLog to report to your good self but I believe that is now for rooted devices only.
Just looked at .Logcat though and so will install it try and replicate a crash to see if it is down to a RAM issue.
Thanks Menion.

[What crashes?]

What crashes?
Over the past few weeks I've had Locus crash a few times whilst I have been tracking recording, and unlike previously Locus is not restarting itself (as a service or not as a service) and so if remained unchecked I lose a huge amount of tracked walking - much to my anger.

Well your device must be rubbish then
Not so, I don't have the best Android phone but the Moto G has enough free storage space on it and with 1 GB of RAM that should be fine too.

You say unlike previous Locus versions, what do you mean?
I have a beep set in Locus that happens when it obtains a GPS signal.  Now, what used to happen on this and other phones was that Locus would crash but would then instantly restart with the track recording paused.  But because it restarted itself and would immediately find a GPS signal it would beep and I'd suddenly know it had crashed and restarted at which point I would unpause the track recording and all would be fine without missing any of the track recording.  But... it doesnt do that anymore.

Surely you have RAM heavy apps running that shouldnt be?
Yes and No.
When out walking/hiking I have been listening to Google Music app on Android and every so often check the internet for a moment using Cheetah Browser.  Apart from that I only have Locus running although the way the Android system works - there is alot of RAM constantly being taken up at the same time

So you are running out of RAM then?
Quite possibly.
So I have been monitoring things very carefully.
On my phone, the background services and everything else use about 75% of the RAM leaving about 210mb free it seems (approx).
The 3 main culprits of high RAM use are Locus Pro, Nova Launcher and Cheetah Browser.
I obviously cant help that Locus Pro is using alot of RAM and despite Nova using about 50mb I use that launcher as it is a vast improvement over stock.  But as for Cheetah browser, well I simply don't use it whilst Locus is open as that too gobbles up about 50mb and for a lightweight simple browser is quite heavy on RAM use.

So how do you actually minimize your chances of Locus crashing?  Tell me.
I've now downloaded a new music app which is easier on the RAM and have a widget called Free Memory Plus on my homescreen all the time so I can constantly see what RAM is free.  I don't use other apps whilst logging tracks and I certainly don't browse the internet.  The main thing I have found however is to swipe closed all the apps in your recent apps listing.

The recent apps listing wont help though surely?
It certainly does.
I have tested alot of things and one thing is for certain, using a task or app killer is pointless as alot of apps just restart even without being used.  It is like fighting a losing battle using task killers that are automatic or manual and hasnt helped me at all.
Also, its not worth going into the setting and apps to manually 'stop' the apps as that doesnt seem to help much either as apps still restart and some cant be stopped at all.
Now, I just thought that swiping away the recent apps was simply that.... swiping them away.  But although how this function works is open to much interpretation, I have done some reading and tested it a few times.
For example, I've just used some regular apps like camera, phone dailer, photos etc etc and my free memory widget is reading: 21% 187mb free.
I've just swipe closed all those few recent apps and the widget for free RAM instantly changed to: 25% 214mb free.
Thats not a huge different but its a very quick and safe way of rescuing some RAM and giving as much as possible to Locus Pro to use.

Thats helps I suppose, but have you anymore tips?
Yes.
Apps that run in the background like Facebook, Whatsapp, BBC Weather etc etc all use RAM and reduce what you have to play with.  You can go into SETTINGS > APPS and then swipe to the 'running' list to see what apps are using.  For example, I have just noticed that Chess With Friends app is constantly running and is taking up 18mb of RAM.  Dont get this confused with space it takes up on your phone memory as that is 37.62mb. It is actually constantly using 18mb of RAM and I hardly use that app these days so I've just uninstalled it along with another app and with then swiping shut the 'setting' app from the recently used listing my RAM widget is now reporting 30% 261mb free.  Great!
Its also a good idea to reboot your phone around once a week I find too so that anything that is stuck or being problematic behind the scenes that you don't know about can be terminated.  And not in a hasta la vista baby way. ha ha ha

So, has Locus stopped crashing for you?
I think so.
I've recently been keeping a close eye on what is running and I'm swiping closed all the things I use whilst Locus is running  so they dont appear in the recently used listing.  I can honestly say that will a little thought and consideration - I havent had a crash in Locus since acting on all of the above.   That said however, if you have a 2 GB RAM phone you might think that is the answer to all things and it may well be, but unfortunately although I have one of the best phones released in 2013 - it isnt excessively powerful.  But hey, even if you have a 2 GB RAM phone... if you have tons of apps you dont use that keep starting up and running background services it is still going to eat into your RAM and you could be in the same position as me.

These are my experiences and tests and I hope it gives a little insight into what I've discovered as running/walking/biking/hiking and putting a great deal of effort into those hobbies can be disastrous if you think you've got it all logged but your app crashed an hour ago.  Locus is the greatest app ever made for any device and so this is why I have taken to the time to write this piece.