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Is there a way I can make photos taken by Camera be automatically and reliably geo-tagged, so that the location is recognised when I upload them to Flickr?

I have 'GPS' enabled in the camera, but it seems that if the GPS is not enabled or not 'ready', it isn't recorded (when I check the photo's details in Gallery, the location is 'Unknown').

Alternatively, is there a way I can geo-tag a photo after I've taken it? (edit: made this a separate question)

If it's relevant, my phone is a Samsung Galaxy S.

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3 Answers 3

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As long as you have GPS switched on on your phone (on a Galaxy S the easiest way to do this is from the buttons that appear when you pull the notification bar down from the top of the screen) and have GPS switched on in the camera, you should see the "satellite receiver" GPS icon appear and start flashing when you open the camera app. As long as you see this then your phone is trying to geo-tag your pictures.

Be aware that even in the best of conditions your phone can take 30 seconds or more to get a decent GPS position locked, so wait a bit after you open the camera app before you take the picture.

You can also speed up the GPS lock by making sure that you have the assisted GPS features switched on, see this previous question for details on how to switch those features on.

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  • Thanks. It's a pity the Camera app doesn't give any feedback as to if it has obtained a position lock or not...
    – pfctdayelise
    Commented Dec 6, 2010 at 0:55
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    The flashing satellite receiver icon stops flashing once it starts to get a lock in any GPS using app, it should on yours too?
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Dec 6, 2010 at 10:27
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    the Camera app has its own icon, and I don't know that it ever stops flashing (if by flashing you mean the "radiation" kind of animation). I just took a photo after waiting around 15 seconds, the icon was still flashing but it DID geo-tag it.
    – pfctdayelise
    Commented Dec 6, 2010 at 21:23
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You can install the application Tasker and use it to always enable GPS when the camera is launched. Enabling GPS for apps that need it is one of the more common uses of Tasker, but it does so much more than that.

Here's an article with information: http://lifehacker.com/5599116/how-to-turn-your-android-phone-into-a-fully+automated-superphone

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  • Why would you switch GPS off at all? It's not as if it uses power at all until you launch an app that uses GPS?
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Dec 7, 2010 at 11:04
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Once I tested my location based android app while developing, I noticed it can take forever to get a location, when GPS is on. When just 'Location through network' enabled, the location comes within seconds. Use this anwer, when the answer of GAThrawn doesnt satisfy you.

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  • It seems to me that Camera doesn't use 'Location through network' when GPS is disabled/slow, which is a shame.
    – pfctdayelise
    Commented Dec 5, 2010 at 23:46
  • Oh, too bad. Well, Location through network is not very accurate. Maybe useless for photo tagging...
    – OneWorld
    Commented Dec 6, 2010 at 10:20

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