Using google maps, weather channel, etc, etc?

[PathfinderVN]

So, presently have a Samsung A53 5G. I NEVER use(turn on) wifi except to download updates for the phone. I use my phone a s a phone period. Talk and text.
Anyway, all of a sudden things like google maps, weather channel need wifi on to use. I never had to turn wifi on before for this.
Very basic I know, but trust me, unless it was switching on automatically and then turn off automatically when I used google maps or weather channel something has changed. I NEVER turned it on myself. Of course, If I now turn it on these things do work.
What changed? Just an old guy who does not understand what changed. Perhaps some setting on the phone?
Thanks folks
PathfinderVN

 

[ocnbrze]

why not leave wifi on? it provides very little change in battery life....unless you have bad and fluctuating wifi signal strength. i always leave wifi turned on.

 

[PathfinderVN]

why not leave wifi on? it provides very little change in battery life....unless you have bad and fluctuating wifi signal strength. i always leave wifi turned on.

Does it interfere with regular calls in any way? I am on xfinity mobile.
Thanks

 

[nickdalzell]

Only if you use WiFi calling. I had issues with people receiving my texts if I was on Wifi because they routed SMS to wifi calling and it broke.

I only turn everything off for privacy (Airplane Mode) and at work, because my signal there sucks and it eats battery searching for service.

 

[ocnbrze]

Does it interfere with regular calls in any way? I am on xfinity mobile.
Thanks

nope it does not. i dont use wifi calling as @nickdalzell mentioned and i never have any issues. they are two different types of signals, cellular and wifi......so....they should not interfere with each other.

 

[Hadron]

However I don't understand why you have this problem. Maps works just fine with WiFi off, at least for me (weather channel isn't something I have installed).

I'm wondering whether this is a location mode issue. Modern phones have 2 location options: "device only", which just uses satellite location (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc), and what's sometimes misleadingly called "high accuracy", aka Google Location Accuracy, which uses wireless networks in addition to satellite systems. I don't know what happens if you have that mode turned on (which Google try very hard to get you to do) but WiFi turned off, so wonder whether that's what lies behind whatever you are seeing?

The reason I don't know is that I use device only mode (which Maps will occasionally try to trick me into changing with a message that looks to the unwary like it's trying to turn location on rather than change location mode).

 

[Dannydet]

Having wifi on does not interfere with calls, both incoming and outgoing....
Unless you use the wifi calling option, which needs to be available on your device and your carrier.
You must be under the notion that wifi hinders calls?

 

[PathfinderVN]

Thanks to all you folks. Believe it or not, this old vet was computer tech for decades. Stopped around 2003. But android is a different animal, to me anyways.
BTW, I have wifi calling turned off.

 

[PathfinderVN]

However I don't understand why you have this problem. Maps works just fine with WiFi off, at least for me (weather channel isn't something I have installed).

I'm wondering whether this is a location mode issue. Modern phones have 2 location options: "device only", which just uses satellite location (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, etc), and what's sometimes misleadingly called "high accuracy", aka Google Location Accuracy, which uses wireless networks in addition to satellite systems. I don't know what happens if you have that mode turned on (which Google try very hard to get you to do) but WiFi turned off, so wonder whether that's what lies behind whatever you are seeing?

The reason I don't know is that I use device only mode (which Maps will occasionally try to trick me into changing with a message that looks to the unwary like it's trying to turn location on rather than change location mode).

Yes the issue is new. So something changed. Guess I can just leave wifi on, but it still bugs me that something changed and I have no idea what. I'll check the things you mentioned.
Thanks

 

[PathfinderVN]

So when I tap on google maps it says, looks like your offline? like I said, never mattered before. Just don't get it. In location google maps and weather channel and Chrome are all set to use wifi for better accuracy even if it's off???

 

[PathfinderVN]

Having wifi on does not interfere with calls, both incoming and outgoing....
Unless you use the wifi calling option, which needs to be available on your device and your carrier.
You must be under the notion that wifi hinders calls?

Just don't know phones,

 

[nickdalzell]

Doesn't Google Maps require an internet/data connection to work though? I don't recall any version be it from the Gingerbread era to a modren Android 12 working offline unless you downloaded the map beforehand, and then it only worked for a certain radius and for only 30 days.

 

[ocnbrze]

Doesn't Google Maps require an internet/data connection to work though? I don't recall any version be it from the Gingerbread era to a modren Android 12 working offline unless you downloaded the map beforehand, and then it only worked for a certain radius and for only 30 days.

Data connection, yes. Wifi, no.

 

[Hadron]

So when I tap on google maps it says, looks like your offline? like I said, never mattered before. Just don't get it. In location google maps and weather channel and Chrome are all set to use wifi for better accuracy even if it's off???

Is your mobile data working? Because "looks like you're offline" sounds like "no internet connection".

 

[nickdalzell]

in my experience, a lot of 'modern' apps or versions of apps don't want to work for location in 'GPS-Only' or 'device only' location mode because they prefer to use Google Play Services for location which prefers cellular+WiFi for the location in addition to GPS assistance. With just GPS they refuse to work. For example, a device (biometric headset) called the 'Vi Personal Trainer' wouldn't be able to detect that you were running without location set to 'high accuracy' mode at all.

A workaround for Weather Channel and many weather apps is to just manually add the city and disable within the app settings location permission or in the app itself, find where they hid the settings portion and turn off 'follow me' or whatever their location mode is.

I think the OP is attempting to use Google Maps in either Airplane Mode or without an internet connection (or having cellular on but data and wifi off, they said they use it as a phone only). In my experience, even back since Android Cupcake, Maps/Navigation required internet to function at all.

Later versions of Maps can save a certain portion of map data offline for 30 days, but you have to be online in order to download the data, of course. After 30 days, they force you to 'update' the map. They really hate their apps running offline, don't they?

For staunch privacy advocates, there are offline alternatives such as Navmii and Genius Maps. You will need at least wifi to download the maps but afterwards, they work offline forever.

 

[Deleted member 2157292]

I have been getting ' no connection" or similar on my Android 12 phone for several months, while all other apps work perfectly in the same place at 5G speeds.

. This included Weather (Google), Maps & Maps Timeline, the Google app and several other services, plus the Google account Avatar changed to my default first name initial rather than the pseudonym thingy I changed to for YT comments etc.

More than likely not connected to your issue, but it is a phenomenon!