As I understand it a pure GPS device has to check and cross check a lot of satellite data to work out where it is. This can take a long time if it has no idea where it is to start with. With A-GPS a phone can use basic network data to give the GPS a fair idea of where it should start from, thus speeding up the GPS's ability to get a good fix.
Andmike wrote:
P.S, there it also no indication on the phone that there has been any attempt to kick start the GPS functionality despite my asking the website to find me at least 5 times. I do know however that sometimes it can find me accurately as it has found you.
So i guess without a icon in the notification bar to show Assisted GPS is active and being used it is hard to know weather the device is using Triangulation or A-GPS.
So maybe the GPS does not even kick in even if it is on because it has not be chosen as the location method, or maybe it does use the GPS but does not show activity in the notification bar.
So really it looks like(maybe a bit of guessing too) the first method that NMS or NAT finds available to use weather it be A-GPS or GPS or mobile triangulation is the one it shows on the map or with co-ordinates.
So maybe there should be a priority given to the best loacting service available and not just the first one found out of the 3.
Then the refresh factor of the location method becomes a factor again with 1 hour being a long time, so maybe the first location method can be Triangulation then the location accuracy can improve as the other methods become available, depending on the location of the device of course ,so with more refresh cycles the location becomes more and more accurate.
Thought i better clarify that my last post is based on the fact that you have not gone to the last step of locating your device which is to use the function REPORT DEVCIE LOST thru Nortons website when logged into Anti-theft.
Which means the location frequency rate of device reported as lost would be every 5 minutes not every hour.
Hitting the Norton Anti-theft REPORT DEVICE LOST ( panic button) option is the last thing we want to do, but it is nice to know it there to use in a emergency.
Let me give a bit of perspective on location and hopefully this will clear up some of the questions in this string.
How do we report location?
For PCs, we primarily use Wi-Fi access points to triangulate the location of the device. If your device does not have Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi is off, or if there aren't enough Wi-Fi access points we recognize in the area, then we cannot give you a Wi-Fi based location. In that instance, we give you a location based on IP address and this will not be as accurate. It should give you a general location near your city but won't be as accurate as Wi-Fi.
For smartphones and tablets, we primarily use Wi-Fi and GPS. If your device is not lost or stolen, we use Wi-Fi to locate the device since it uses less power. If it is lost or stolen, then we use GPS as it is more accurate.
Location Frequency
If your device has not been locked, a location will be reported from your device per the frequency you have set in the location frequency setting for your device. Also, each time you log in to the site, your location will refresh. Clicking on Find Device will not refresh the location.
If your device has been locked, then we start locating the device every 5 minutes rather than your previously specified setting.
I hope that helps a little bit. Please let me know if you have more questions about this.
I loaded the software on my Lenovo Laptop today. It shows the laptop location as 30 miles away from its current location. So, it is so far off as to worthless information. Laptop connect by wifi in my home with Cox cable being the Internet supplier.
Location accuracy as you will have seen is at best patchy. On numerous occasions it appears to be a better locator of your internet provider, than the location of your device. However to be fair, if it cannot use GPS or a radio signal to try and pin your device down I don't see that it can do much better.
I was curious how it could locate a laptop computer, which I guess it actually cannot do well. That should probably be clearly stated in the product advertising for truth in advertising. When I renewed my Norton Anti-Virus subscription, it offered a special price to add the Anti-Theft, without any explanation of its "REAL" limitations. I find this to be a bit deceptive so it colors my view of the company. I have used Norton's antivirus on numerous home computers for many years and have been reasonably satisfied with Symantec, so I just want to pass this on as a concerned consumer.
BTW, I also set up and handle all IT functions for our corporation's LAN & WAN networks, so I am not new to technology.
I take your point on the need to be open about accuracy jrmat.
On Norton's behalf I would point out that this thread was begun by a Norton staffer (JoeK) trying to monitor and improve the accuracy. And quoting him:-
Quote:
We make the best effort possible to give you an accurate location but there are things that can cause it to be less accurate. For instance, if there are no Wi-Fi access points around, we will not be able to rely on those to give a location. Fortunately, there is pretty dense coverage nowadays in most cities. Hopefully you can find solace in the fact that even if in one particular moment the 100% accurate location cannot be delivered, we can still lock the device, take pictures with the Web cam and deliver a message to the person who has found it. That still goes a long way in getting your device back.
Unquote:
So they are trying to help, but I'm sure JoeK will note your comments.
I also hope that you still see some value in the product as a whole.
My laptop is located on Oahu and NA-T places me at a specific address on the Big Island, about 150 miles away. I'm a bit leery of trying to disable the laptop before I am sure the program is working properly. Is there any way to improve location performance?
I am sorry that you have both had trouble with the location element of the product. I would like to private message you and hopefully I can help out.
Thanks to Andmike for filling in here. We are hoping you still see value in the product even when location may be off, but I'll contact you and see if there is a way we can make it better.
I am having the same issue, it shows me in one town when I'm in another. It's a new computer, less than a month old and I just loaded the program last night. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
As I see it the issue is nothing to do with the age of your computer, but how it is connected to the internet etc. The fact that you have only just loaded the software may also be contributing to there not being much data for it to work on yet.
I just installed Norton Anti Theft and ran the location. The accuracy is off by 243 miles. Any explanations as to why the accuracy would be off by such an extreme number of miles?
