Is there anything I'm missing on how to solve this?
GPS radios are powered down normally, as they are major battery drain. Hence, getLastKnownLocation() can frequently return null or a stale location, because nothing is checking for location fixes. getLastKnownLocation(), therefore, is only useful if you have a casual interest in the location and are happy if there is no location.
If you need to know the location, you will need to use requestLocationUpdates() or similar stuff, to cause Android to power on the GPS radio and actively try to find the location.
