Geocaching App and Garmin GLO 2

[+South Lyon Trekkers]

Does anyone know, especially have used, the Geocaching app with a Garmin GLO 2? Does they work together?

[+Mineral2]

The Garmin Glo should just be sending position data to your phone. I don't know if it requires an app to read the data and if it can then be passed on to other apps for use. But you really shouldn't need a Garmin Glo for geocaching. Phones and tablets these days, (and when I say "these days," I do mean phones compatible with the current geocaching app), have built-in gps receivers that are as good as what you'll get from a Garmin. I think there are some limited situations where the Glo might be useful. Otherwise, it seems redundant for most people.

[+South Lyon Trekkers]

I guess I missed that. My phone is pretty old and doesn't have a GPS chip. Another reason to upgrade, I guess.

[+Atlas Cached]

Are you certain?

What model?

Is it possible phones made long enough ago to not have GPS could still have functioning batteries?

8^\

[+Mineral2]

Some of those old phones had user replaceable batteries. I'm more concerned that a phone that old is on an older android OS and is not receiving proper security updates. I worry about that with my Galaxy S6, which otherwise still functions fine, GPS included.

[+Atlas Cached]

True. The Monterra is android 4.0, and almost nothing in the play store works with it any more....

[+Mineral2]

Luckily my Galaxy is running android 7.0, Most apps are compatible. But the last security patch was from 2018, and that has me concerned. I don't like that phones are locked so that you can't upgrade/install your own OS. At least with a computer, I have the option of installing a modern, but stripped down, linux distribution to keep the hardware running smoothly.

[robertlipe]

SLT, I wouldn't expect that combination to be well supported. Phones with GPS have been common for 8+ years at this point and development mindshare for add-on devices  just isn't wide. Additionally, Groundspeak recently wrecked their developer interface and required extensive changes from apps that talk to the site, so most of the old versions of any apps you'll find appropriate for that phone - even before GLO - are not at all likely to work these days. You don't say if you already have the GLO, but if you're really wanting to stay geocaching with a phone, Moto makes some really good entry-level devices with GPS that'll run modern apps for about the same price as the GLO. (They're very popular in the weather balloon projects in schools...)

Not to threadjack, but lots of Androids DO have that option. xda-developers.com  Android builds like LineageOS focus on exactly the problem you're describing: capable hardware that's abandoned by the maker not keeping it up to date.

[+N6HE]

SLT, hi - did you ever get a better answer to your GLO 2 and Geocaching App on iPhone? Seems adding a bunch of Russian GLONASS satellites to the GPS ones would have to be better, but....

[+South Lyon Trekkers]

I am going to looking this more as I recently upgraded my very old phone.

[+Atlas Cached]

You 'updated' phone almost certainly has GLONASS capability at minimum, if not more (Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC).