glod glodson

Q: location based reminders don't work in ios7 ?

after upgrading to ios7 on my iphone 4s the location based reminders don't work if the reminder-app is not open in multitasking.

 

on ios6 the location based reminders work fine even if the reminders-app is not open and not in background.

 

is this a bug? the background update option for reminders is activated in the options.

 

any ideas?

iPhone 4S, iOS 7

Posted on Sep 19, 2013 11:08 AM

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Q: location based reminders don't work in ios7 ?

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  • by umparrothead,

    umparrothead umparrothead Sep 26, 2013 8:38 AM in response to vanillathesloth
    Level 3 (541 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 26, 2013 8:38 AM in response to vanillathesloth

    @vanillathesloth: Background App Refresh allows you to configure which apps can continue working when they're not front and center.  Think Google Maps giving navigation assistance while you're in Mail.  That would be Background App Refresh.  However, and this is the issue, it completely ignores apps which are closed from the multitasking area.  Those cannot refresh whatsoever, at all, no matter what the settings are.  This is why location-based reminders don't work unless you also remember to open Reminders and leave it in the background.

     

    @vitico: Agreed.  But I never had an issue with battery life on iOS 6, so it's really puzzling why they changed it as they did.  Surely it's not more intuitive.

  • by dpj912,

    dpj912 dpj912 Sep 26, 2013 9:53 AM in response to umparrothead
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 9:53 AM in response to umparrothead

    Yes, Like I mentioned before it is definitely some sort of bug.  Creating a reminder in Siri for arrival/departure from a location should create the reminder, you should not have to go back in and open the reminders app manually, it defeats the purpose of Siri.  Also, if you receive a phone call and choose the option to remind you when you leave that location, this will also not work. 

    On a side note, one of my co-workers, also with an iPhone 5 running ios7, has his reminders working without having to have the app running in the background.  His app "Find Friends" also displays his location even if it is closed, where my location vanishes as soon as I close my app.  So it seems to be a somewhat random issue with ios7. 

  • by umparrothead,

    umparrothead umparrothead Sep 26, 2013 10:31 AM in response to dpj912
    Level 3 (541 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 26, 2013 10:31 AM in response to dpj912

    Interesting.  I was researching in the iOS Developer Center, and, unless they forgot to update this section of their resources since the launch of iOS 7, what we want to do should still work unchanged.  See: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOS ProgrammingGuide/ManagingYourApplicationsFlow/ManagingYourApplicationsFlow.html# //apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH4

     

    Notice the area about "Tracking the User's Location": This is a quote from it, emphasis mine.

     

    The significant-change location service is highly recommended for apps that do not need high-precision location data. With this service, location updates are generated only when the user’s location changes significantly; thus, it is ideal for social apps or apps that provide the user with noncritical, location-relevant information. If the app is suspended when an update occurs, the system wakes it up in the background to handle the update. If the app starts this service and is then terminated, the system relaunches the app automatically when a new location becomes available. This service is available in iOS 4 and later, and it is available only on devices that contain a cellular radio.

    Basically, it is saying that if an app asks for location information, then we (or iOS) closes the app, the operating system will relaunch the app to give it a location update.

     

    Sounds to me like the current behavior is a bug, not "working as designed".  I will update my bug report with this information as well.

  • by JdRule,

    JdRule JdRule Sep 26, 2013 4:11 PM in response to glod glodson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 4:11 PM in response to glod glodson

    OK, SOLUTION!  Chances are, you have an Outlook (Exchange) mail service synced to your iphone.  Mine was my work email.  This is what's causing the problem.

     

    If you go to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars>select the Exchange/Outlook email you have set up> turn Reminders OFF for that email account.

     

    I did this and my location reminders work perfectly again.  I tested it leaving work and arriving home.  Both worked again!

  • by Klahane,

    Klahane Klahane Sep 26, 2013 4:56 PM in response to JdRule
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 4:56 PM in response to JdRule

    I too found that my one location-based reminder stopped ringing after updating to iOS 7.

    Outlook is not an issue as the only e-mail account I have is .mac (iCloud).

     

    I have checked all settings, but have not deleted and recreated the reminder yet. So unless there's an issue with legacy location-based reminders going haywire, while newly created ones work, this is an iOs bug.

     

    As to the multitasking bar issue, I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding. The list shown when you double click the Home button is not a list of apps running in the background. It's a list of recently used apps.

    iOS dynamically quits apps that aren't in current use when it needs the memory. There's no way for a user to know if Reminders is "in the background" as opposed to quit. (Except, of course, if you force quit it.)

    Furthermore, it makes no sense to quit apps from the multitasking list unless they're failing in some way. (Or eating battery or data usage when not in use, which I would call a failure.) iOS is designed to take care of that for you.

  • by dpj912,

    dpj912 dpj912 Sep 26, 2013 5:09 PM in response to JdRule
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 5:09 PM in response to JdRule

    Ok, I do have an exchange account, but when I turned off the reminders for that account there was no change, the location based reminders still do not work.  I togged them all off and back on, leaving exchange off and created a new locaiton based reminder, still no luck. 

  • by JdRule,

    JdRule JdRule Sep 26, 2013 7:40 PM in response to dpj912
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 7:40 PM in response to dpj912

    Maybe another email accounts reminders are still interfering with your iCloud reminders. Try turning off all reminders on all accounts except iCloud. That's the only one I have on at the moment and location based reminders are working.

    Good luck.

  • by JdRule,

    JdRule JdRule Sep 26, 2013 7:41 PM in response to dpj912
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 7:41 PM in response to dpj912

    Maybe you already tried that.

  • by dpj912,

    dpj912 dpj912 Sep 26, 2013 7:45 PM in response to JdRule
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2013 7:45 PM in response to JdRule

    Yes, I did try that and just went back and double checked.  It's not just reminders that aren't working for me, Find my Friends is also not working unless I have it open. 

  • by VITICO,

    VITICO VITICO Sep 27, 2013 3:02 AM in response to dpj912
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 3:02 AM in response to dpj912

    I have this same problem..

  • by JdRule,

    JdRule JdRule Sep 27, 2013 7:59 AM in response to dpj912
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 7:59 AM in response to dpj912

    Dpj912, Find my Friends wasn't working for me either. I had to log out and log in again.

    My wife couldn't find me on Friend my Friends either. I removed her and re-invited her again and now it's working.

  • by umparrothead,

    umparrothead umparrothead Sep 27, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Klahane
    Level 3 (541 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 27, 2013 8:18 AM in response to Klahane

    @Klahane: You are right about how iOS handles backgrounded apps.  If it needs the resources, they will be terminated gracefully.  So the multitasking list doesn't necessarily mean they are all running at that moment.  However, if they are enabled in Background App Refresh, and request continuous information on location, streaming, uploading, or similar, then they actually are running in some fashion.

     

    Examples: Google Maps doing navigation stays running in the background if still in the list.  Dropbox monitors camera roll for auto-uploading (which used to work whether it was in the multitasking list or not in iOS 6).  Pandora stays running for streaming music.

     

    All of these actions are dictated by whether they are in the multitasking list or not.  Reminders seems to now act the same way; without it "running" in the background, it does not monitor the geo-fence for location-based reminders.

     

    To extend off what you said: The multitasking list is not a list of running apps (which is absolutely correct); it is a list of apps which might/can be running in the background.

  • by Klahane,

    Klahane Klahane Sep 28, 2013 4:27 PM in response to glod glodson
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 28, 2013 4:27 PM in response to glod glodson

    Location-based reminders are working for me now, but I can't nail down the exact fix.

     

    I updated to 7.0.2.

    I deleted and recreated the location-based reminder that was not working. I also created a new location-based reminder. Both worked perfectly today.

     

    But oddly, my wife's iPhone 4s's old location-based reminder also worked today. She has not updated to 7.0.2, and didn't replace her reminder.

     

    So, three possibilities come to mind: 1. a temporary glitch in Apple's location servers, 2. an unadvertised fix in 7.0.2, 3. only location-based reminders (or some of them) set before iOS 7 are/were problemati

  • by dpj912,

    dpj912 dpj912 Sep 28, 2013 7:24 PM in response to Klahane
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2013 7:24 PM in response to Klahane

    Still no luck here, I have updated to 7.0.2 also. 

  • by mbaekhoej,

    mbaekhoej mbaekhoej Sep 29, 2013 10:49 AM in response to Klahane
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 29, 2013 10:49 AM in response to Klahane

    Mine is still not working.

     

    Updated to 7.0.2 and tried to delete my Exchange account. Still no luck!

     

    It really *****. I'm using Philips Hue and it should trigger to turn the lights off or on when I leave or get home, but 8 out of 10 times I forget to keep the Hue app running in the background. This worked perfect with iOS 6.x.x

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