This brief tutorial will show you how to quickly enable or disable GPS (or WiFi) on your Android phone or tablet.
Please note: this guide was initially published way back in 2009 – when turning GPS on and off took way more steps than it does now. It has been updated to be current in 2021.
No longer are additional Apps or Widgets required in order for you to quickly turn GPS on or off – it’s built right into the Android OS. Though the interface may be slightly different depending on your phone, tablet and Android version – the general method is the same.
Swipe down on the status bar to open the notification drawer (swipe down from the very top of the screen), where you can toggle the Location (GPS) on and off with just the tap of a button.
Again, the Location button may look a bit different on each device – it typically looks like a ‘pin’
Some Android phones have nearly full-screen drawers with a lot of buttons. Depending on the version of Android, you may be able to edit the notification window so that the buttons are in a certain order or even hide the ones you don’t use very often.
Using the button toggles in the notification drawer you can also quickly enable other Android features in addition to GPS. You can turn WiFi on or off, turn auto-rotate on and off and much more.
