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Geolocation without a GPS
(codeberg.org)
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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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Yeah of course you can, but why?
Power consumption is way lower and satellite acquisition takes time (or you keep your GPS running and warm/hot-start, but that draws even more power)
You have that backwards. Power consumption is way lower using WiFi and cell.
it would help investigators if you get murdered
Cops won't even get off their asses for stolen property with an airtag, location history, and even clear video footage.
...how?
I think it's more of "isn't this really cool" than "this is pratical to use". It's a proof of concept of a really cool idea.
It's not though. Its how things used to work. Its how it still works when those other data points are not available.
I'm not sure why anyone thinks receiving GPS data is "bad".
If you're somewhere where GPS is frequently jammed (such as a warzone, etc.) then it could be useful.
Enegy use comes to mind.
GPS is a passive receiver.
There's processing going on, but you dramatically decrease energy use by just updating less often.
It's not like you're sending a signal to space.
what are you talking about? GPS is far from a "passive receiver" in any sense of that vague term. It's running an oscillator at the carrier frequency.
GPS is probably the most power hungry sensor on your device.
I am aware of that but somehow expected that it still took more energy to receive until there are enough SATs available than to do a BLE scan. Just a gut feeling though and only receiving should have a bigger impact than I thought. Makes sense!
It can help with location when you're on a device that doesn't have a GPS receiver. Like a laptop.
It might also help with initial positioning since it can take several seconds or minutes to get a GPS lock.
Edit: For anyone who want to contribute to BeaconDB there is NeoStumbler on F-Droid
Ok but this is Android...? Not a laptop.
How does removing WiFi and cell data improve initial positioning?