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Google is bundling a number of services, including Location Services, in the Google Play Services application instead of including them in the open-source Android platform. Main reasons behind this are to support frequent updates of core services without requiring OEMs to update the entire platform, and to hide the implementation of some proprietary services.

The problem is that there doesn't seem to be a good forum for reporting issues with Google Play Services and Location Services (e.g., problems with the new fused location provider).

Here are the current options for reporting Android issues that I'm aware of, and none of them seem like the right place to report a Google Play Services issue:

  1. "Support" link at bottom of Google Play Services page - Most obvious place to start, but it redirects to the generic Android Developer Support page.
  2. Google Product Forum for Android - This forum seems on-topic for Google Play Services, but was closed as of Sept 3, 2013.
  3. Android Open-Source Project (AOSP) issue tracker - This is where the "Report a platform bug" link on the Android Developer Support page points. This issue tracker is for AOSP, and since Google Play Services is independent of AOSP, issues related to Google Play Services and network Location Services implemented by Google (including the older network provider) are off-topic here.
  4. android-platform Google Group - Also aimed at AOSP, not Google products.
  5. android-developers Google Group - Description of the group says to post bugs/feature requests to the AOSP issue tracker (#3 above). Also, it appears most questions related to location/ Google Play Services posted to this group are rarely addressed by the Android team and replies mainly come from other developers.
  6. StackOverflow - There are Google Play Services / location tags here, but there is no indication that any issues are being observed or triaged by Google.
  7. Google Maps API Issue Tracker - Android Maps API v2 - This feature of the issue tracker is specifically for the Android Maps API v2 (which is part of Google Play Services), but not Google Play Service in general and not for Location Services, which are separate from the Maps API v2.

What is the proper location to report issues with Google Play Services and Location Services?

I'm primarily interested in reporting issues from a developer's perspective.

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    Are you asking from a developer point of view or an end user? I'd expect you'd report issues in different places depending on your use of the Google Play Services.
    – bmdixon
    Oct 21, 2013 at 14:20
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    @bmdixon Primarily developer point of view, but ideally the answer would include both. Although, users typically wouldn't know whether an issue was caused by Google Play Sevices or another component/API.
    – Sean Barbeau
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:25
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    I feel like Google wants to make Google Play Services all but invisible to the average end user. Issues with it would normally manifest themselves in a broken app or feature and that would push users to follow the standard app support paths. That's not a comment on the validity of your question, however - it's a very good one from a developer/enthusiast point of view.
    – Mr. Buster
    Oct 23, 2013 at 23:10
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    Had a similar issue where I could not find support : code.google.com/p/android/issues/…. Tried most of the channels you listed but got nowhere. This lead me to drop the entire thing.... If you found an answer to this I'd be interesting in hearing about it.
    – ddewaele
    Apr 26, 2014 at 13:16
  • @ddewaele Unfortunately I haven't found any good forum yet.
    – Sean Barbeau
    Apr 26, 2014 at 13:25

6 Answers 6

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Then post your question where it's sure to be seen: googleplus help. That link is, after all, one of the few links the closed page offers with any actual developer interaction. I looked, and saw many questions were way off-topic, but the questioners were usually led to the right forum, or had their question answered. And you can always point back to the "closed forum" page you referenced as your reason for being there. You have a legitimate question; let them know that, the only way that seems possible!

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I'm also trying to report a bug for them and I don't know where. The naswer from user53872 from above https://android.stackexchange.com/a/63627/51412 led me to Play Store and there's e-mail address

apps-help@google.com

which I think may be used for reporting bugs.

Another way around this issue it to find appropriate repo in official google samples, e.g. android-play-location, and fire github style issue on them and see if target responds.

I see that method may be succesful, here is example:

I've passed this on to the eng team and they're taking a look. I'll update this issue when I hear back from them.

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I once spent 2 hours trying to find a way to report a bug in Google service on android, and it's apparently next to impossible to do, at least from user point of view.

There's no bug tracker, theoretically you could use some mailing lists, but there's no guarantee any Google employee actually reads them.

There's also absolutely no way to contact support unless you purchased device through play store (you need to enter valid order number), so people (like myself) buying Nexus 7 from local reseller have no access to support.

To summarize: You can't.

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You maybe interested in this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65177965&postcount=30

Well, I had a similar problem: with Google play services enabled my phone (SM-N9005) Note3 (Still on Android 4.3) never went to deep sleep. Yesterday I tried this: I disable the service, then deleted the contents of the directory /data/data/com.google.android.gms/ leaving just the directory, then I uninstalled google play services updates and reinstalled the latest version. Now my phone sleeps again. So I think this problem is due to some corruption that happens over time in that directory. I have now google play services ON, location services on, gps on. and battery drain is minimal.

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You can give feedback through Google's feedback form.

To do this, open the Google Settings app, press the three dots at the top right and select "Help and Feedback". Then, go to the bottom of the page and select "Send Feedback". This option will open the aforementioned form, allowing you to describe your issue, as well as send diagnostic data to Google.

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Directly in the Google play we can give a feedback for Google Services. Go to the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.gms. This link will open Google Play going directly to "Google Services".

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    Leaving a review is not the right way to report a bug in any software. You can't give enough useful information, and other users with the same problem can't collaborate. There's no way for developers to track open bugs this way. And only in the smallest organisations will your review be seen by anyone who's in a position to fix the bug.
    – Dan Hulme
    Feb 16, 2014 at 22:47

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