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Connect as a Mock Location/ GPS Provider

smashed
9 months ago

There are times when I want to use my phone to navigate (or supplement the Garmin device navigation), but GPS service sucks the battery life out of most all phones.

Since I've already got $$$$ worth of Garmin GPS on my wrist and my handlebars, and those devices are (almost) constantly sharing location data to the Garmin Connect app on my phone… Why can't the Connect app be configured to be used as a “Mock Location” source? Then I could enjoy the features of navigating by phone *and* the battery life and/or activity recording of the $$$$ Garmin hardware.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to smashed

    Garmin Connect is used by the device to get the data to Garmin servers. It is a sync service.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to e7andy

    It's syncing what data…?

    I'll spell it out…

    Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the Connect app is serving as a conduit to pass real-time location data from the device to the cloud.

    If that's not the case, how does it (eg group-ride) work?

    If that is the case, then the Connect app already has the capability to receive real-time location data from a device.

    Passing that real-time location data to the phone via Mock Location would be a fairly trivial programming task.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to smashed

    Garmin Connect is just moving the data sent by the device. It provides a channel for data upload. It doesn't care or look at the data so it got no idea about location data. It works like the wifi connection sync. It is just a dumb data connection.
    The work for the Group-ride function is done on the devices and Garmin servers. Same here. Garmin Connect is providing a way for data to flow. It doesn't look at the data.

    It is pointless discussing this with me. Neither I or you really know how everything actually is working or how hard it is to make it work like you want. Send your idea to Garmin.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to e7andy

    Neither I or you really know how everything actually is working or how hard it is to make it work like you want.

    One of us doesn't know more than the other. Yet here you are, arguing about things you don't understand. smh.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to smashed

    Look at your maps App. Concerned about battery? Take a € powerbank. 
    Share your idea with Garmin, none of us can implement it.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to smashed

    As  wrote, you can suggest it to Garmin at Share Ideas | Garmin, thought that usually requires a lot of similar requests to get the idea a chance for the implementation.

    If you need the feature urgently, you have much bigger chance asking 3rd party CIQ developers at https://forums.garmin.com/developer/connect-iq/f/app-ideas, or hiring a developer, or learning the CIQ coding yourself. Although, you will need to learn writing Android apps too, since for accomplishing the task you will need to code apps on both ends - Garmin Connect IQ app for transmitting the data to a companion phone app that will then inject the GPS coordinates into Android. 

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to trux

    I forgot, there is/was an app for that - https://apps.garmin.com/apps/f4c2b0e2-3b21-4163-9378-4cfbc4a94e41

    But the IQ app hasn't been updated in 5 years, and the Android app is no longer available.

    So clearly it can be done.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to smashed
    smashed said:
    But the IQ app hasn't been updated in 5 years, and the Android app is no longer available.

    Use the link "Contact Developer" on that page