rragan Posted October 22, 2017 Report Share Posted October 22, 2017 After a few weeks of using Cachly in offline maps no data mode, it feels like the battery lasts longer than comparable usage with Geosphere. Nothing quantitive but just a gut feel. Nic Hubbard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raucous Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 I was struck by this as well when I recently tried out Cachly after years of using Geosphere. I wish I had a way to collect real data on this but those bits are history. Does the Groundspeak app fully support offline use now and, if so, does anyone know how they compare here? I'm not feeling compelled to use it (I was a long-time devotee of Geosphere for a reason), but I'm curious about how the app landscape changed during the break that I took from caching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGigabyte Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 My experience is the the exact opposite. I only use offline mode and have toggled many settings on and off to try to improve battery life. I get a couple of hours of casual use only. I am sure it is the GPS as there is no way to turn it off, as there was in Geosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Hubbard Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 4 hours ago, MrGigabyte said: I am sure it is the GPS as there is no way to turn it off, as there was in Geosphere GPS and location services are turned off when you are using non-map screens. I realize this isn't a manual way to do it, but it is a battery conserving measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolling Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Nic Hubbard said: GPS and location services are turned off when you are using non-map screens. I realize this isn't a manual way to do it, but it is a battery conserving measure. Non-map and Compass screens would be more correct phrasing I assume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Hubbard Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 53 minutes ago, Bolling said: Non-map and Compass screens would be more correct phrasing I assume. Yeah, the compass screen is still a map view, just with the map hidden and compass shown when you tap that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 I presume letting the phone sleep or switching it off also suspends GPS use. I notice my current position scooting along to catch up when I turn it on. I see current location on the Compass screen so I guess it needs the GPS for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Hubbard Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 4 minutes ago, rragan said: I presume letting the phone sleep or switching it off also suspends GPS use. I notice my current position scooting along to catch up when I turn it on. I see current location on the Compass screen so I guess it needs the GPS for that. Yes. Leaving Cachly shuts GPS off. Compass screen is a map screen also, so it uses GPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGigabyte Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 If we had an option to toggle on/off off the GPS completely, then that would verify why my battery drains so quickly while using the app. I only use the App for information on caches. Only rarely do I use it to navigate to them. But as I have to use the map screen to find them, the GPS is used all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 Try the Battery section under Settings App. It gives you %used by each app in last 24 hours. If you tap the clock icon, you can see how much time was on screen time versus background time. It's worth checking this because I have found apps chewing my battery that I didn't even know we're running in background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolling Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 5 hours ago, rragan said: Try the Battery section under Settings App. It gives you %used by each app in last 24 hours. If you tap the clock icon, you can see how much time was on screen time versus background time. It's worth checking this because I have found apps chewing my battery that I didn't even know we're running in background. Google Maps can be a huge offender. That said I'm often surprised at what has chewed up battery life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2017 I turned on Strava the other day and it chewed through 30% of my battery in 5 minutes. Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGigabyte Posted December 10, 2017 Report Share Posted December 10, 2017 It's Cachly unfortunately. I have been monitoring this for over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2017 So when would you turn off the GPS if you could? Maybe our usage is different. I'm in a high density LTE coverage often even when out in the woods. I've noticed in other areas where cell service is marginal that the phone sucks a lot more battery in 1 bar 3G and 1X land. Turning off celllular, when I happen to notice helps some. The recent good experiences with Cachly were all along a linear trail with caches along the trail. When I found one, I would put the phone away until I got near the next one and then wake it up. I did not look at the screen much while walking to the next cache. As I understand it, this is equivalent to turning the GPS off. I was operating on offline list with offline maps, no sat views. I could probably have pulled up sat views but they wouldn't help as it was wooded. i can't rule out that I religiously plug the phone back in when I'm in the car - car voice nav sucks power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2017 Link on battery conservation. http://solutionowl.com/ultimate-guide-iphone-battery-drain/ Also looking for Wifi networks can use power. I have noticed that my habit of voice dictating logs in the field uses more power than I like so I've turned to a brief typed note and write the full log later. That has helped. And I tote an external battery for when it all runs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootguru Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 On 10/12/2017 at 4:57 AM, MrGigabyte said: If we had an option to toggle on/off off the GPS completely, then that would verify why my battery drains so quickly while using the app. I only use the App for information on caches. Only rarely do I use it to navigate to them. But as I have to use the map screen to find them, the GPS is used all the time. Not using Cachly to navigate seems a pretty niche use of it. You could turn off Cachly’s GPS access in iOS’s privacy settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 On 12/9/2017 at 7:57 AM, MrGigabyte said: If we had an option to toggle on/off off the GPS completely, then that would verify why my battery drains so quickly while using the app. I only use the App for information on caches. Only rarely do I use it to navigate to them. But as I have to use the map screen to find them, the GPS is used all the time. Ah, I maybe failed to understand. Are you navigating and finding with a GPSr and Cachly is just a DB of info to consult as needed? I'm confused on your usage pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGigabyte Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 7 hours ago, rragan said: Are you navigating and finding with a GPSr and Cachly is just a DB of info to consult as needed? Correct. Plus logging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2017 New data point. Caching in downtown San Francisco. Running only Cachly 70% of my battery was used in 2.5 hours. I quit voice dictating my logs and that seemed to help. Glad I brought external battery. FWIW this a >2 years old 6s with a lot of battery charge cycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGigabyte Posted December 22, 2017 Report Share Posted December 22, 2017 That is typical usage that I get as well. 100% to 10% in an afternoon (and I am not using the compass/navigation in the app). I have a new iPhone 6 so the battery is only 6 months old. (Apple replaced my previous 6 with a new one after they botched the screen replacement). But also as mentioned, I use the app to read the data on the cache and to log my notes (typed not dictated), and they are short. But, as I have to use the map to see where they are, I am using the GPS when in fact all I needed was to see the map and cache pins, not my location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rragan Posted December 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2017 It's odd that I get different behavior in the woods vs the city. There is a lot more to keep the phone busy in the city -- lots if wifi networks to check, gain/lose cell towers down in the urban canyons. I should try each with airplane mode sometime. Try the Battery Life - check runtimes app. It shows you the capacity of your battery and how much you can use of that even when 100% is shown. My old 6s reports only 70% of original capacity can be used. Also ambient temperature affects batteries. Your battery will die faster on a cold day than a warm one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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