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Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX

Nezmo to Squirrelly

MVM

to Squirrelly

Re: iPhone system services?

Well, they seem somewhat self-explanatory.

Cell network search - not certain.

Compass calibration - the compass occassionaly needs orientation. Perhaps turning this off saves power?

Diagnostics and usage - not certain.

Location based iAds - I would guess this stops iAds knowing your location. Again, a power saving if off.

Time zone - allows the phone to search and detect time zone.

Traffic - allows the Maps app to search the traffic servers.
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

kes601

Member

Diagnostics and Usage is for sending Apple info on if the phone crashes, etc.

iCurious
@rr.com

iCurious to Nezmo

Anon

to Nezmo
That's pretty funny you say they are self-explanatory and then proceed to either make guesses as to what they do or have no clue.

I'm surprised that a google search just returned very little on this subject. Seems like everyone would want to know.
I sure do.
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

1 edit

1 recommendation

Daemon to Nezmo

Premium Member

to Nezmo
said by Nezmo:

Well, they seem somewhat self-explanatory.

Cell network search - not certain.

AT&T still has parts of the old cingular network as well as the other networks it gobbled up somewhat separated from the original AT&T towers. They identify differently to your phone even if all you see is AT&T in the top left corner. GPS location helps the phone know which towers are likely to be local and thus doesn't have to spend as long searching for nearby towers. It speeds up a search, say, when you get off and airplane and turn your phone back on.
said by Nezmo:

Compass calibration - the compass occassionaly needs orientation. Perhaps turning this off saves power?

Magnetic and true north are not aligned. The apparent inaccuracy in your compass will depend on your latitude. If you have the compass set to true north, it will take a GPS reading to ensure it's pointing at true north based on your location. Would be activated by the compass app, but also the maps app if you orient the map to match the phone's direction.
said by Nezmo:

Diagnostics and usage - not certain.

As another poster added, this is for crash reports and other data, and attaches your location to the report, helping the programmers on the other end identify if perhaps, say, a tower is faulty, not the OS.
said by Nezmo:

Location based iAds - I would guess this stops iAds knowing your location. Again, a power saving if off.

Yep
said by Nezmo:

Time zone - allows the phone to search and detect time zone.

Yep. So if you travel it will automatically change the time, even if you are outside of cell network range.
said by Nezmo:

Traffic - allows the Maps app to search the traffic servers.

This is the only one that puzzles me. Shouldn't the map just show the traffic for the map section you are currently looking at? Why does it need to know where you are? Maybe it caches traffic info in the background in case you open the maps app, or maybe it submits data about your speed and location to a public database others use for traffic information.

Of all of those services, location based iAds, Time Zone, and diagnostic would be the ones most likely to poll in the background while you aren't aware. The rest would only come up when necessary and you'd probably find the phone a little less usable if you disabled them, I'd think.

Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX

Nezmo to iCurious

MVM

to iCurious
said by iCurious :

That's pretty funny you say they are self-explanatory and then proceed to either make guesses as to what they do or have no clue.

I'm surprised that a google search just returned very little on this subject. Seems like everyone would want to know.
I sure do.

Yep, funny. At least I tried. And I said 'somewhat.' The OP acted like they didn't have the first clue.

I always laugh at people who criticize hiding behind an anonymous post.

Squirrelly
join:2000-10-24
Harrisburg, PA

Squirrelly

Member

said by Nezmo:

said by iCurious :

That's pretty funny you say they are self-explanatory and then proceed to either make guesses as to what they do or have no clue.

I'm surprised that a google search just returned very little on this subject. Seems like everyone would want to know.
I sure do.

Yep, funny. At least I tried. And I said 'somewhat.' The OP acted like they didn't have the first clue.

I always laugh at people who criticize hiding behind an anonymous post.

Yup, the only ones I thought I knew were iAds and time zone

Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX

Nezmo to Daemon

MVM

to Daemon
said by Daemon:

This is the only one that puzzles me. Shouldn't the map just show the traffic for the map section you are currently looking at? Why does it need to know where you are? Maybe it caches traffic info in the background in case you open the maps app, or maybe it submits data about your speed and location to a public database others use for traffic information.

I think you may have something here. I have been wondering how the Maps app knows the traffic on what are basically minor roads. The roads in question do not have traffic monitors on them as far as I know. Of course it may just be built from databases of construction notifications unlike the larger roads that actually have active monitoring.

iCurious
@rr.com

iCurious to Nezmo

Anon

to Nezmo
Sorry if I seemed too critical. It simply did seem pretty funny to me. And if you joined every forum you see on the web when you're looking for answers, it would get out of hand quickly. And besides, am I really that much more anonymous than any of the other "members" of this forum? Hey, my name is Mike and I live in northern Idaho. I have 30 years experience with Unix, Windows, and Apple OSs.
And, at least I got this discussion going again with some good explanations which I imagine many other "searchers" will appreciate down the road. I do thank you for your replies. They have helped a bunch.
Mike

wings10
I Am Legend
Premium Member
join:2004-06-09
South Elgin, IL

wings10 to Nezmo

Premium Member

to Nezmo
said by Nezmo:

said by iCurious :

That's pretty funny you say they are self-explanatory and then proceed to either make guesses as to what they do or have no clue.

I'm surprised that a google search just returned very little on this subject. Seems like everyone would want to know.
I sure do.

Yep, funny. At least I tried. And I said 'somewhat.' The OP acted like they didn't have the first clue.

I always laugh at people who criticize hiding behind an anonymous post.

If they don't take the time to join a forum I would just ignore them.

bradroe
join:1999-09-30
Corona, CA

bradroe to Nezmo

Member

to Nezmo
Traffic is not for Maps app to search the traffic servers. I put traffic off and I can still see traffic on my roads nearby. I think it's so the iPhone can send data back to traffic servers and let them know where there is heavy traffic. But only when the map app is open. Not sure it does it all the time because that would be crazy and drain the battery quickly.

Jeff Dunn
@mycingular.net

Jeff Dunn

Anon

said by bradroe:

Traffic is not for Maps app to search the traffic servers. I put traffic off and I can still see traffic on my roads nearby. I think it's so the iPhone can send data back to traffic servers and let them know where there is heavy traffic. But only when the map app is open. Not sure it does it all the time because that would be crazy and drain the battery quickly.

This is partially correct. The Traffic option is indeed for pulling your location and speed information for submission back to public central traffic databases. It only operates continuously if you are moving AND the phone is plugged into a power source. Because of this, turning it off to save battery is unnecessary. It also has nothing to do with whether or not the Maps app is open in the foreground or background.

GuruGuy
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Atlanta, GA

GuruGuy

Premium Member

said by Jeff Dunn :

said by bradroe:

Traffic is not for Maps app to search the traffic servers. I put traffic off and I can still see traffic on my roads nearby. I think it's so the iPhone can send data back to traffic servers and let them know where there is heavy traffic. But only when the map app is open. Not sure it does it all the time because that would be crazy and drain the battery quickly.

This is partially correct. The Traffic option is indeed for pulling your location and speed information for submission back to public central traffic databases. It only operates continuously if you are moving AND the phone is plugged into a power source. Because of this, turning it off to save battery is unnecessary. It also has nothing to do with whether or not the Maps app is open in the foreground or background.

Jeff,
Where are you getting your info from? Quoted source? Thanks.

Jeff Dunn
@sbcglobal.net

Jeff Dunn

Anon

said by GuruGuy:

said by Jeff Dunn :

said by bradroe:

Traffic is not for Maps app to search the traffic servers. I put traffic off and I can still see traffic on my roads nearby. I think it's so the iPhone can send data back to traffic servers and let them know where there is heavy traffic. But only when the map app is open. Not sure it does it all the time because that would be crazy and drain the battery quickly.

This is partially correct. The Traffic option is indeed for pulling your location and speed information for submission back to public central traffic databases. It only operates continuously if you are moving AND the phone is plugged into a power source. Because of this, turning it off to save battery is unnecessary. It also has nothing to do with whether or not the Maps app is open in the foreground or background.

Jeff,
Where are you getting your info from? Quoted source? Thanks.

Not a quoted source, no. A combo of forums and self-experimentation.