Overview

The latest version of Locale is 2.5 (release notes).

Contact

  • Feature Requests

    Feature requests should be directed to the feature request forum.

  • Support and Inquiries

    If you have other questions, please direct them to:

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where do I download Locale?

    Locale is available as a paid app on the Android Market.

  • My download from the Android Market says "Download unsuccessful," or it has been stuck at "Starting download..." for hours. How do I get it unstuck?

    This is an Android Market problem that can be fixed by following Google's instructions for Troubleshooting Download Issues.

  • I bought Locale. Why is Locale not showing up in My Apps on the Android Market?

    Android Market app purchases are tied to a Google account email address. When paid apps are missing, it is usually because the Android Market is looking at the wrong account. To confirm the correct account:

    1. Go to Google Checkout using a web browser, log in, and look for Locale in the purchase history. If Locale does not appear in the Google Checkout purchase history, then it was probably purchased under a different account. If you have another Google account, try logging into Google Checkout using the other account to look for the Locale purchase.
    2. After finding which account Locale was actually purchased under, check and see which account the Android Market is looking at. For Android 2.2 and later, open the Android Market app and choose "Accounts" from the menu to see what account is currently selected by the Android Market. If the account is different than the one Locale was purchased under, go ahead and change the selected account and the problem will be fixed. For Android 2.1 and earlier, go to the Settings app and tap on Accounts and sync. Look for all Google accounts, which are denoted by a large "g" icon on the left side. Confirm there is only a single account with this "g" icon, and that the email address is exactly the same as the one you noted from the Google Checkout website. If there are multiple Google accounts, then the Market could be using the wrong one. Unfortunately, the only way to change accounts under Android 2.1 or earlier is to reset Android and provide a different account during the initial setup process.

    In extremely rare cases, an error can occur in the Android Market that causes purchases to disappear from the Market app but still appear in Google Checkout. If this happens, please contact Google.

  • I bought Locale from the Android Market on my old device. How do I transfer Locale to a new device?

    Simply set up the new device with the same Google account that was used to purchase the app, as Android Market app purchases are tied to your Google account. For more details, please see Google's retrieving previously purchased applications article.

  • How do I move my purchase from one Google account to another Google account? (e.g. change of email address)

    Android Market app purchases are tied to a Google account, which is your email address. Although the Android Market does not allow purchases to be moved between accounts, the Android Market does allow multiple accounts at the same time. To use multiple accounts with the Android Market:

    1. Go to Android Settings -> Accounts and sync and add the old account
    2. Open the Android Market app and choose Account from the menu
    3. Select the account added in step 1

    After completing these steps, your previous purchases will now appear in the Android Market's My Apps screen.

  • Why does it sometimes take a while to update my situation?

    For most conditions (Battery, Contact, Location, and Time), Locale will update immediately. For some conditions, such as Orientation or some plug-ins, it may take a few minutes to detect a change in order to conserve battery life.

  • Why won't Locale detect my location correctly?

    Locale uses artificial intelligence in combination with cell towers, Wi-Fi, GPS, accelerometer and other data to instantly determine your location, while using less than 3% of the battery. If Locale does not update your location right away, there could be a misconfiguration of your device or bad location data in your area. We recommend the following troubleshooting steps:

    1. First, check Android's settings to ensure that all the necessary location services are enabled. Make sure that Network and GPS locations are both turned on under the Android system settings. Also, make sure that Wi-Fi Tethering ("Mobile Hotspot") and Airplane Mode are turned off under the Android system settings.
    2. Second, check the accuracy of the location data that Locale is receiving. To do this, move yourself to the location that you are interested in and create a new Location condition. Wait for Locale to determine your location. Once the location is determined, notice the position of the pin and the size of the circle's radius. This is exactly what Locale sees based on GPS, Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and other location data. Save the location without resizing or moving the pin. Once you save the situation, Locale should accurately detect your location when you are standing in this spot.
    3. Every once in a while, stale or bad data needs to be corrected through training. Training will not only correct bad location data, but it can also reduce battery usage by helping Locale avoid using GPS. To perform training, choose "Train Wi-Fi Locations" under the Menu of the Location condition screen. Pick a nearby Wi-Fi access point, and then drag-and-drop the pin to the right spot. If the pin is way off (e.g. hundreds or thousands of kilometers off), zoom out to move the pin long distances. Then, zoom back in to position it precisely. In order for training data to be saved, the pin must be moved at least a little bit (otherwise Locale assumes the original location was correct and training was not necessary). It does not matter if the access point is secured. It does not matter if the access point has Internet access. Locale merely uses the presence of the access point as a reference point; Locale does not connect to it. After training, you do not need to leave Wi-Fi enabled. Training will not increase Locale battery usage.

  • Why does Wi-Fi keep turning on and off?

    Locale will sometimes perform brief Wi-Fi scans (even if Wi-Fi is turned off) to determine your location accurately. Although it seems counterintuitive, these Wi-Fi scans significantly improve location accuracy and battery life. Without Wi-Fi scans, location accuracy is typically within 2,000 meters. With Wi-Fi scans, location accuracy is typically within 100 meters.

  • How do I backup Locale?

    Locale will automatically backup situations in the background. In the event you replace or reset your device, Locale will immediately and automatically restore situations when the app is reinstalled. To use this feature, simply make sure that Google's Backup Manager is enabled by going to Android Settings -> Privacy and verifying that the checkboxes for Backup and Restore are both checked. (If these settings are not present, then the device does not support the Google Backup Manager.) There is also a beta manual backup and restore feature that can be enabled by following these instructions.

  • I see the Shortcut setting opens apps... how do I kill apps?

    Android treats memory differently than a desktop computer. When leaving an app, it is paused rather than killed, so that so that returning to it later is faster. If Android needs more memory, it will automatically close apps that have been paused but have not been used recently. Because Android manages memory automatically, "task killer" apps are not necessary. Google has blocked "task killer" apps for Android 2.2 and later.

    While it is not possible to "kill" apps on Android, the Shortcut setting can be used to simulate this behavior by bringing the Home screen to the foreground. To do this, simply create a new Shortcut setting that opens the "Launcher" app (on HTC devices, the Launcher might be called "HTC Sense"). When the setting is fired, it will bring the Home screen to the foreground, pausing whatever application was previously on the screen.

  • Why can't I install Locale to external memory or the SD card?

    Locale is a background application, and therefore needs to be installed to internal memory to work properly. This is consistent with Android's guidelines for app install locations.

Compatibility

Locale is compatible with Android devices running Android 1.5 through Android 4.0.3. Locale supports all screen resolutions and screen sizes. Locale supports phones, tablets, media players, and other touch-screen devices (TVs will be supported in the future). Locale is tested extensively on a wide variety of Android devices in our lab from nearly every manufacturer.

Although Locale is compatible with over 900 Android devices, there are a few known issues which are documented below. The issues described only occur on the specific devices listed. Although a manufacturer may have many similar devices, each model is slightly different and each device is affected differently. For example, an issue that occurs on the Samsung Galaxy S does not occur on the Samsung Galaxy S II (and vice versa) unless indicated. Also many Android devices have similar names, please keep in mind that we will always be explicit when naming a specific device.

  • Due to an Android bug, Android will report a Force Close about 1% of the time when installing a Locale update from the Android Market. Simply ignore this error. The problem is that Android does not properly close the old version of Locale before installing the new version, resulting in an erroneous Force Close.
  • Sometimes the Location condition may not appear as an option in Locale because of an Android bug. To resolve this issue, open the Android Settings app and choose Location settings. From there, uncheck and then recheck the boxes for the various location services. Then reboot the phone.
  • Some HTC devices have an option in the Android Settings called "Fast Boot" (found under Android Settings -> Power -> Fast Boot). When Fast Boot is enabled, Locale's service will start about 15 minutes after the device boots. When Fast Boot is disabled, Locale's service will start immediately. For best results, disable Fast Boot.
  • On HTC Sense UI devices running Android 2.2, the Orientation condition is prevented from updating while the screen is off. HTC's Android 2.3 update resolves this issue. Non-Sense UI devices such as the Nexus One were never affected by this issue.
  • On HTC Sense UI devices running Android 2.2, the Caller condition will not work reliably. HTC's Android 2.3 update resolves this issue. Non-Sense UI devices such as the Nexus One were never affected by this issue.
  • On Samsung Galaxy S devices running Android 2.2 and Samsung Galaxy S II devices running Android 2.3, the Caller condition will not work reliably. This issue has been reported to Samsung, and we are waiting for Samsung to fix this issue. Non-TouchWiz UI devices such as the Samsung Nexus S were never affected by this issue.
  • For contact-specific ringtones, please use the Android contact list. Locale's Caller condition and Ringtone setting cannot be used to create contact-specific ringtones due to a limitation in Android.