How do I get a background location update every n minutes in my iOS application?

I found a solution to implement this with the help of the Apple Developer Forums:

* Specify `location background mode`
* Create an `NSTimer` in the background with `UIApplication:beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:`
* When `n` is **smaller** than `UIApplication:backgroundTimeRemaining` it will work just fine. When `n` is **larger**, the `location manager` should be enabled (and disabled) again before there is no time remaining to avoid the background task being killed.

*This works because location is one of the three allowed types of background execution*.

**Note: I lost some time by testing this in the simulator where it doesn't work. However, it works fine on my phone.**

I used xs2bush's method of getting an interval (using `timeIntervalSinceDate`) and expanded on it a little bit. I wanted to make sure that I was getting the required accuracy that I needed and also that I was not running down the battery by keeping the gps radio on more than necessary.

I keep location running continuously with the following settings:

locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyThreeKilometers;
locationManager.distanceFilter = 5;

this is a relatively low drain on the battery. When I'm ready to get my next periodic location reading, I first check to see if the location is within my desired accuracy, if it is, I then use the location. If it's not, then I increase the accuracy with this:

locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyNearestTenMeters;
locationManager.distanceFilter = 0;

get my location and then once I have the location I turn the accuracy back down again to minimize the drain on the battery. I have written a full working sample of this and also I have written the source for the server side code to collect the location data, store it to a database and allow users to view gps data in real time or retrieve and view previously stored routes. I have clients for iOS, android, windows phone and java me. All clients are natively written and they all work properly in the background. The project is MIT licensed.

The iOS project is targeted for iOS 6 using a base SDK of iOS 7. You can get the code [here][1].

Please file an issue on github if you see any problems with it. Thanks.


[1]:

[To see links please register here]

There is a cocoapod [APScheduledLocationManager][1] that allows to get background location updates every *n* seconds with desired location accuracy.

let manager = APScheduledLocationManager(delegate: self)
manager.startUpdatingLocation(interval: 170, acceptableLocationAccuracy: 100)

The repository also contains an example app written in Swift 3.


[1]:

[To see links please register here]

On **iOS 8/9/10** to make background location update every 5 minutes do the following:

1. Go to Project -> Capabilities -> Background Modes -> select Location updates

2. Go to Project -> Info -> add a key NSLocationAlwaysUsageDescription with empty value (or optionally any text)

3. To make location working when your app is in the background and send coordinates to web service or do anything with them every 5 minutes implement it like in the code below.

I'm not using any background tasks or timers. I've tested this code with my device with iOS 8.1 which was lying on my desk for few hours with my app running in the background. Device was locked and the code was running properly all the time.

@interface LocationManager () <CLLocationManagerDelegate>
@property (strong, nonatomic) CLLocationManager *locationManager;
@property (strong, nonatomic) NSDate *lastTimestamp;

@end

@implementation LocationManager

+ (instancetype)sharedInstance
{
static id sharedInstance = nil;

static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
sharedInstance = [[self alloc] init];
LocationManager *instance = sharedInstance;
instance.locationManager = [CLLocationManager new];
instance.locationManager.delegate = instance;
instance.locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest; // you can use kCLLocationAccuracyHundredMeters to get better battery life
instance.locationManager.pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically = NO; // this is important
});

return sharedInstance;
}

- (void)startUpdatingLocation
{
CLAuthorizationStatus status = [CLLocationManager authorizationStatus];

if (status == kCLAuthorizationStatusDenied)
{
NSLog(@"Location services are disabled in settings.");
}
else
{
// for iOS 8
if ([self.locationManager respondsToSelector:@selector(requestAlwaysAuthorization)])
{
[self.locationManager requestAlwaysAuthorization];
}
// for iOS 9
if ([self.locationManager respondsToSelector:@selector(setAllowsBackgroundLocationUpdates:)])
{
[self.locationManager setAllowsBackgroundLocationUpdates:YES];
}

[self.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
}
}

- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didUpdateLocations:(NSArray *)locations
{
CLLocation *mostRecentLocation = locations.lastObject;
NSLog(@"Current location: %@ %@", @(mostRecentLocation.coordinate.latitude), @(mostRecentLocation.coordinate.longitude));

NSDate *now = [NSDate date];
NSTimeInterval interval = self.lastTimestamp ? [now timeIntervalSinceDate:self.lastTimestamp] : 0;

if (!self.lastTimestamp || interval >= 5 * 60)
{
self.lastTimestamp = now;
NSLog(@"Sending current location to web service.");
}
}

@end

In iOS 9 and watchOS 2.0 there's a new method on CLLocationManager that lets you request the current location: CLLocationManager:requestLocation(). This completes immediately and then returns the location to the CLLocationManager delegate.

You can use an NSTimer to request a location every minute with this method now and don't have to work with startUpdatingLocation and stopUpdatingLocation methods.

However if you want to capture locations based on a change of X meters from the last location, just set the distanceFilter property of CLLocationManger and to X call startUpdatingLocation().