How to get the current Location mode of an android phone?

Question

I've taken a look at this page: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.Secure.html#LOCATION_MODE , but I'm still lost.

I know that the Location mode should return an integer. Battery Saving would be 2, High Accuracy would be 3 and if GPS is off then it should return 0.

I have no problem grabbing the current location...

LocationManager manager = (LocationManager) getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
//Location location = manager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER);
Location location = manager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER);

double longitude = location.getLongitude();
double latitude = location.getLatitude();
String stlongitude = Double.toString(longitude);
String stlatitude = Double.toString(latitude);

But when the phone's location mode is set to Device Only then I have to use LocationManager's GPS_PROVIDER. Which is not as accurate as the NETWORK_PROVIDER. I would like to do an if, else or a case statement that allows me to get the current location mode and if it's set to High Accuracy or Battery saving, use the NETWORK_PROVIDER but if it's set to Device Only use GPS_PROVIDER.

Answer 1

What you are trying to do with Settings.Secure and LOCATION_MODE is the right way to get the enabled providers if you are only interested in targeting devices that are KitKat or above (API 19). But, more than likely, you actually want your app to work with devices that have earlier versions of Android.

Here's code that gets the last location using the least power-hungry provider that the user has enabled:

LocationManager manager = (LocationManager)context.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
boolean isGpsEnabled = manager.isProviderEnabled(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER);
boolean isNetworkEnabled = manager.isProviderEnabled(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER);
if (isGpsEnabled && !isNetworkEnabled) {    
    Location location = manager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER);
} else {
    Location location = manager.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER);
}

Answer 2

NETWORK_PROVIDER is not as accurate as GPS,

The first thing to note is that NETWORK_PROVIDER is not as accurate as GPS, according to the developer docs, network prodiver uses

NETWORK_PROVIDER
This provider determines location based on availability of cell tower and WiFi access points. Results are retrieved by means of a network lookup.

The most accurate provider you can use when retrieving the users, location is the GPS, which is defined by the Andorid Developer docs as:

GPS_PROVIDER
This provider determines location using satellites. Depending on conditions, this provider may take a while to return a location fix. Requires the permission ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION.

Manipulating the provider

With that in mind, the following hints will enable you to manoeuvre the logic any way you wish:

1) To set the location manager to recieve updates using best provider the device is capable of using, you can call

/* Getting the name of the BEST provider available */
provider = locationManager.getBestProvider(criteria, true);

/* Getting Current Location using the best provider available */
location = locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(provider);
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(provider, 300000, 0, this);

2) If you which to force network provider, set your location manager to ask for network provider update like this:

locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 60000, 0, this);

3) Similarly, if you which to force GPS use:

locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, 60000, 0, this);

Answer 3

I think if you are looking for LOCATION_MODE, not a provider, you should check out this question and response: Change Location Mode to High Accuracy Programmatically Android

Because even if all your providers are enabled, the location mode could mean that it would fail to get a good location if you are in a building and the mode is LOCATION_MODE_SENSORS_ONLY.