Having GPS problems with weather apps

memilanuk

So... Took the leap a month or so back and got a Pixel 7 Pro with the intent of putting GrapheneOS on it. So far everything has been going pretty well... with the primary exception of weather apps, of all things.

It's not that I can't find or install them (did have one or two that kept crashing immediately on load) but that none of them, not a one, can seem to make use of the GPS for location specific features.

As far as I know, GPS / location permissions have been enabled for the apps (most recent / current is 'Shadow Weather'). Other apps such as Magic Earth, GPS Test and GPS Cockpit all seem to work fine, and show what appears to be current updated information. But not the weather apps.

Ideas?

unwat

memilanuk

Two that immediately come to mind:

Did you set up Google Play? If so, have you set it up so that location is provided by Google Play Services? If you're using the default route location to the OS, then your phone might not be getting a lock. (https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play)
Have you granted your weather apps permission to location "all the time"?

The weather app I use is crazy slow, maybe takes about 20 seconds to load. It's horrible, but it does work eventually. I've had this theory that it has something to do with the app not getting location quickly enough so it just hangs there.

Many weather apps also let you set a location manually. If you don't travel much, maybe that would be worth considering if you don't want the app getting your location constantly.