CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidgoogle-mapsgeolocation
Di Wu
Di Wu

Reputation: 6448

Locating Without WiFi/Celluar API

I know it sounds weird. It happens that those Locating APIs regarding WiFi/celluar assistance are disabled in most Android handsets in China. That is, I could hear the callbacks of GPS_PROVIDER when I was out of the building. But if I was in the building, I would never hear the callbacks of NETWORK_PROVIDER. As a result, my app won't be able to locate if put indoor. (I did some experiments with handsets shipped from the states. My app located perfectly well with the NETWORK_PROVIDER if put indoor.)

My guess is that those Chinese Android handsets have sort of castrated the Android OS so that any API related to WiFi/celluar assistance locating has been removed.

But my app still needs to locate. A city-level accuracy will do.

So my question is, is there any possible solution for my situation. Right now I'm considering:

  1. IP address reverse-lookup. But the accuracy is far worse than city-level.
  2. Let my app collect any necessary information (such as router MAC address, celluar tower info) and send them to a third-party server. That server would locate and send back location info to me.
  3. Find (magically) a third-party SDK and hopefully that SDK would do the trick.

Thanks in advance!

Upvotes: 0

Views: 238

Answers (2)

lordhong
lordhong

Reputation: 1227

IP lookup is fine. You can also try skyhook wireless's location SDK: here

iOS in the early days are using them, and they are actually better/more accurate than Google's location service.

Upvotes: 1

Vinay
Vinay

Reputation: 2415

It is definetly possible. You look at the services of Imere's ULaP.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions