nrf connect location services

RE: nrf connect location services

Roshan Rajaratnam — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 14:44:55 GMT

@AF Android 6.0 introduced some changes with a requirement to have location permissions enabled, if not scanning for ble devices will not return any scan results, read BLE permissions section here. Also Android introduced run-time permissions where the user has to grant these permissions (permissions categorized as dangerous) during run-time where as older versions of android could simply declare these types of permissions that developers thought was necessary. That being said there are two types of permissions ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION & ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION. The first permission is for an approximate location and the latter is for a very precise location which is user sensitive. This is up to the developer to decide, but in all Nordic Applications we use ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permission as there is no need for us to obtain any user sensitive data. In addition to this location permissions, there is location services in android settings which also has to be enabled in order for the device to return the scan results and this is the intended behavior from an Android OS 6.0 point of view for all apps. However when enabling this location services, its up to the user to select High Accuracy, Battery saving or Device only modes as this is not important to Nordic Apps i.e. nRF Connect only redirects the users to the settings screen to enable location services and from there on-wards selecting the location services mode is simply a user preference. So in a nutshell there are two things needed ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION/ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION (we request for only the minimalistic ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permission) and Location services to be enabled in order to return BLE scan results. Hope this helps.

RE: nrf connect location services

endnode — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 23:17:50 GMT

Nope, nothing like "Precise location" permission listed on Play store for nRF Connect app, I'm afraid it's some misunderstanding or malfunctioning. I'm sure Nordic support team will look at it tomorrow morning Europe time. Actually adding some screenshots with app permissions as visible in App manager on your phone might help (they claim Samsung Galaxy S6 being among their test devices so they might be able to reproduce it) as well as precise HW and OS identifications.

RE: nrf connect location services

AF — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 23:07:15 GMT

The location service it requires is not approximate location, it asks you to turn your GPS ON, and the location method is 'High Accuracy' (verified on a S6 running Nougat). Also if you do not allow access to the location services the app wont function.

The TI simple link starter app does not asks for my location services.

RE: nrf connect location services

endnode — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 22:28:37 GMT

Firstly Nordic nRF Connect app for Android doesn't turn the location service itself (at least not on my Android 5.0.x phone) it only has "approximate location" privilege to be able to scan for BLE devices. Secondly if you are talking about Texas Instruments Simplelink SensorTag application for Android it requires exactly the same privilege.

RE: nrf connect location services

AF — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 22:17:53 GMT

What I want to know is why is the app tied up to the location service?? I have used the TI app and it does not ask me to enable my location service to work.

Is nordic tracking my location??

RE: nrf connect location services

endnode — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 22:14:20 GMT

Because both Android and iOS tight Bluetooth Low Energy API access with Location service access privilege. However confusing it is for end-users...