Protect and RFA (what's going on)

Is there any particular reason why blackberry protect refuses to locate my device? Protect is "on" under settings. Location Services are "on"

I dropped my car off for service, took my rental car to work, and, ... no Z10 anywhere to be found. No problem, I thought. It's either at home, in my car at the shop, or maybe somewhere in between. Go to blackberry protect, and, "stale" location. Just to be safe, prompted protect via web to "lock device with password the next time it's located". So, at lunch, run back to the dealership, find the phone in my car, so, no problem. Phone is "on", connected to the network, dozens of new e-mails, etc.. Yet, no password lock as requested.... (???)

Why isn't protect locating my device? I have tried this morning again, with the device on my lap, and, no love. Tried with WiFi on AND off, no love. Tried hard reset, no love. Everything else appears to be working fine. BB world is updating my apps. E-Mail is fine. Workspace is fine.

Just, decides not to work.

Had a similiar issue last week with RFA. (Yes, we all know that RFA has its issues. For me, it works about 50% of the time with no rhyme or reason as to when or why). The one time I really needed it to get a file I left on my machine at home, and, no love.

Frustrating.

Features are all well and good, assuming they are reliable and robust. I would rather not have it, then have it advertised and not work, or work when it decides to.

UPDATE: After a THIRD hard reset, protect is now finding my device. For how long? WHo knows. What am I doing to cause this?

Could just be a shotty connection with the network maybe it's somewhere cramped in your car.

?

In squircle we trust.

Wouldn't this be more of a GPS situation? Maybe your networks were fine, but the GPS couldn't penetrate the roof of the shop to provide an updated location?
Though I guess it should have locked still. . .

Well, I just tried Protect for the first time in a while. Hmmm. Could not get it to SOUND. Bing found it where it was last week in Page, Arizona about a 1,000 miles away! Could not get it to lock either.

I get the message: "waiting for device to respond...." (Protect is ON, on the phone)

I don't know what process Protect uses to LOCATE a device. If gps, if it is inside a building it might not work if it can't "see" satellites. If cell tower location, that would be different.

Although protect does turn on GPS it should not need it. I have located my phone in my house where no GPS can be accessed. The only thing I can imagine is the phone spend most of the time with the dealer where there was no signal and wasn't until it was moved to a different location that emails etc loaded.

But there's another thing you can try (if you haven't) occasionally when I look for my phone on protect it won't show -- until I switch from wireless to cell network (or the other way around) and then it can suddenly be found on both. FWIW

I thought about the signal thing. This morning, I had the phone on my lap, 4 bars, 4G, and I couldn't get anything to work until i reset the phone 3 times (hard resets). The device was on my lap and I was trying to locate it via protect and my laptop.

I have various other GPS devices that were all working fine at the same location, so it wasn't a GPS connection issue IMO.

I dunno, it was bulletproof on my Bold. Seems like a few things on the OS10 devices aren't as well honed in as they could be yet.

I, also, had to reboot the device and it then worked. As a matter of fact, a few of the commands then caught up with it. Obviously, not comforting unless the device is rebooted by the thief or by your car repair outfit!!! :mad:

So it's worthless unless someone hard reboots your phone a couple times. Come on BBRY get your ish together. It's this stuff they need to fix instead of changing colors. That really helps issues :confused:

Originally Posted by F2

I, also, had to reboot the device and it then worked. As a matter of fact, a few of the commands then caught up with it. Obviously, not comforting unless the device is rebooted by the thief or by your car repair outfit!!! :mad:

OK, nice to know I'm not a bonehead and that someone else is seeing the same thing.

LOL, a pop up: "as you are stealing this device, please reboot three times so our security features might enable themselves..." :confused:

LMAO

Originally Posted by grumpyaeroguy

OK, nice to know I'm not a bonehead and that someone else is seeing the same thing.

LOL, a pop up: "as you are stealing this device, please reboot three times so our security features might enable themselves..." :confused:

LMAO

I just tied it and it did find the area I'm in. Send a sound and thought it didn't work. 5 minutes later, off my phone goes lol. So I guess it's working for me.

Originally Posted by KDB84

Wouldn't this be more of a GPS situation? Maybe your networks were fine, but the GPS couldn't penetrate the roof of the shop to provide an updated location?
Though I guess it should have locked still. . .

That's what I'm thinking. If the phone isn't in line of sight with a satellite. I'm not sure that this feature of BlackBerry Protect would work.

I know I've had that problem when my BlackBerry is inside a building.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Originally Posted by crazigee

That's what I'm thinking. If the phone isn't in line of sight with a satellite. I'm not sure that this feature of BlackBerry Protect would work.

I know I've had that problem when my BlackBerry is inside a building.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Don't think it needs GPS. If you turn Protect, you see GPS pop up on your phone. But mine can be found in the house, well away from windows and skylights.

Originally Posted by scrannel

Don't think it needs GPS. If you turn Protect, you see GPS pop up on your phone. But mine can be found in the house, well away from windows and skylights.

I am looking for aluminum foil to wrap mine in but too lazy to go downstairs to the kitchen!!!

Originally Posted by F2

I am looking for aluminum foil to wrap mine in but too lazy to go downstairs to the kitchen!!!

Haha. Good one. Let me know how that works out. :)

One thing would be that mine didn't work a subway, despite having a full LTE signal. That to me is an indication that it is GPS based.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Originally Posted by crazigee

Haha. Good one. Let me know how that works out. :)

One thing would be that mine didn't work a subway, despite having a full LTE signal. That to me is an indication that it is GPS based.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

I THINK it is gps-based but am not sure. But cell towers would mean triangulation and that would not be very precise. But then again, if the unit in in the subway or a larger apartment building or office - no gps, no Protect location.

Originally Posted by F2

I THINK it is gps-based but am not sure. But cell towers would mean triangulation and that would not be very precise. But then again, if the unit in in the subway or a larger apartment building or office - no gps, no Protect location.

If I get a chance will try it today. GPS on its own can't "send" a signal, so perhaps the GPS location is read from the phone using cell signal? Something new to screw around with.

Originally Posted by F2

I THINK it is gps-based but am not sure. But cell towers would mean triangulation and that would not be very precise. But then again, if the unit in in the subway or a larger apartment building or office - no gps, no Protect location.

If I get a chance will try it today. GPS on its own can't "send" a signal, so perhaps the GPS location is read from the phone using cell signal? Something new to screw around with.

Originally Posted by scrannel

If I get a chance will try it today. GPS on its own can't "send" a signal, so perhaps the GPS location is read from the phone using cell signal? Something new to screw around with.

Oh, that is certainly true. The phone uses SOME LOCATION Services to pinpoint the phone. Then it broadcasts back that info to the Protect website. The question is does it REQUIRE gps for location or can it or does it also use cell triangulation. Since triangulation would not be very accurate, I THINK it uses gps. And tin foil probably would block both gps AND cell signals so I won't try my experiment.

On the protect page it says it uses GPS. So, stuck my phone in room next to router (I get no cell signal here anyway) with zero chance of GPS seeing the sky. Then did a search for it on Protect and it could only find my "stale" signal in Atlanta. (I'm in California). So, I then brought into my office -- which has skylights that allow GPS to work (have tested that before), ran on wireless. And, it found it. So, guess is wireless reported GPS location. Need both GPS and cell network or wireless. My guess, anyway. However, can't really test triangulation as I get no cell signal.

BTW, have noticed GPS come on periodically during the day/week. I never did a Protect search for my phone while in Atlanta, so guess it must check in one in a while to see where device is?

Originally Posted by scrannel

On the protect page it says it uses GPS. So, stuck my phone in room next to router (I get no cell signal here anyway) with zero chance of GPS seeing the sky. Then did a search for it on Protect and it could only find my "stale" signal in Atlanta. (I'm in California). So, I then brought into my office -- which has skylights that allow GPS to work (have tested that before), ran on wireless. And, it found it. So, guess is wireless reported GPS location. Need both GPS and cell network or wireless. My guess, anyway. However, can't really test triangulation as I get no cell signal.

BTW, have noticed GPS come on periodically during the day/week. I never did a Protect search for my phone while in Atlanta, so guess it must check in one in a while to see where device is?

Good work narrowing it down that way. I think your experiments have identified the way the location service works.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Yes, other day when I first ran Protect (had not run it in months), the Location showed I was in Page, Arizona. I had been there last Weds or Thurs. Who knows why it captured that location and kept it. The REBOOT brought the location back HOME!

Originally Posted by F2

Yes, other day when I first ran Protect (had not run it in months), the Location showed I was in Page, Arizona. I had been there last Weds or Thurs. Who knows why it captured that location and kept it. The REBOOT brought the location back HOME!

Clearly your phone feels a personal connection to that area. Maybe it fell in love while it was there and now considers it home.

:)

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Originally Posted by crazigee

Clearly your phone feels a personal connection to that area. Maybe it fell in love while it was there and now considers it home.

:)

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Well, Antelope Canyon was a really nice place.

Originally Posted by F2

Well, Antelope Canyon was a really nice place.

That is gorgeous!

My brother the geologist would be in his 7th Heaven examining the rock formations. He lives in AZ so it's possible he's been there.

Posted using my Z10 via CB10

Tried the protect service for the 1st time, location services enabled, inside a building, wifi on, cell data off and got the device located in under a minute. Seems like everything is working just fine here...

Posted via CB10