Checking location service permission on iOS

Question

How can I check if location service is enabled for my app?

I have 2 storyboards and I want to check location service. If location service enabled for my app, I want

Answer 1

This is the correct.

if ([CLLocationManager locationServicesEnabled]){

    NSLog(@"Location Services Enabled");

    if ([CLLocationManager authorizationStatus]==kCLAuthorizationStatusDenied){
        alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"App Permission Denied"     
                                           message:@"To re-enable, please go to Settings and turn on Location Service for this app." 
                                          delegate:nil 
                                 cancelButtonTitle:@"OK" 
                                 otherButtonTitles:nil];
        [alert show];
    }
}

Answer 2

Tested on iOS 9.2

For getting location updates we should always check

• Location services enabled on user's iOS Device and
• Location services enabled for particular app

and launching user on correct settings screen to enable

Launch iOS Device Location Settings page

Step.1 Go to Project settings --> Info --> URL Types --> Add New URL Schemes

Step.2 Use below code to launch direct phone's location settings page: (Note: The URL Scheme is different in iOS 10+, we check the version as stated here)

 #define SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN(v)  ([[[UIDevice 
 currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] == 
 NSOrderedAscending)

 //Usage
NSString* url = SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN(@"10.0") ? @"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES" : @"App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION";
            [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString: url]];

Launch Application Location Settings page

Use below code to launch direct application's location settings page

[[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString]];

Here is the full code example :

#define SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN(v)  ([[[UIDevice 
 currentDevice] systemVersion] compare:v options:NSNumericSearch] == 
 NSOrderedAscending)


CLLocationManager *locationManager;

-(void) checkLocationServicesAndStartUpdates
{
    locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
    locationManager.delegate = self;
    locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest;

    if ([locationManager respondsToSelector:@selector(requestWhenInUseAuthorization)])
    {
        [locationManager requestWhenInUseAuthorization];
    }

    //Checking authorization status
    if (![CLLocationManager locationServicesEnabled] && [CLLocationManager authorizationStatus] == kCLAuthorizationStatusDenied)
    {

        UIAlertView *alertView = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Location Services Disabled!"
                                                            message:@"Please enable Location Based Services for better results! We promise to keep your location private"
                                                           delegate:self
                                                  cancelButtonTitle:@"Settings"
                                                  otherButtonTitles:@"Cancel", nil];

        //TODO if user has not given permission to device
        if (![CLLocationManager locationServicesEnabled])
        {
            alertView.tag = 100;
        }
        //TODO if user has not given permission to particular app
        else
        {
            alertView.tag = 200;
        }

        [alertView show];

        return;
    }
    else
    {
        //Location Services Enabled, let's start location updates
        [locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
    }
}

Handle the user click respone, and launch correct location settings

-(void)alertView:(UIAlertView *)alertView clickedButtonAtIndex:(NSInteger)buttonIndex
{

    if(buttonIndex == 0)//Settings button pressed
    {
        if (alertView.tag == 100)
        {
            //This will open ios devices location settings
            NSString* url = SYSTEM_VERSION_LESS_THAN(@"10.0") ? @"prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES" : @"App-Prefs:root=Privacy&path=LOCATION";
            [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString: url]];
        }
        else if (alertView.tag == 200)
        {
            //This will opne particular app location settings
            [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString]];
        }
    }
    else if(buttonIndex == 1)//Cancel button pressed.
    {
        //TODO for cancel
    }
}

Answer 3

---

Swift 3.0 & iOS 10 Solution:

---

self.locationManager?.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
if CLLocationManager.locationServicesEnabled() && CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() != CLAuthorizationStatus.denied {
            locationManager?.delegate = self
            locationManager?.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBestForNavigation
            locationManager?.distanceFilter = distanceFiler
            locationManager?.startUpdatingLocation()
        }else{
            let alertView = UIAlertView(title: "Location Services Disabled!", message: "Please enable Location Based Services for better results! We promise to keep your location private", delegate: self, cancelButtonTitle: "Settings", otherButtonTitles: "Cancel")
            alertView.delegate = self
            alertView.show()
            return
        }


@objc(alertView:clickedButtonAtIndex:) func alertView(_ alertView: UIAlertView, clickedButtonAt buttonIndex: Int) {
    if buttonIndex == 0 {
            if let url = URL(string: "App-Prefs:root=LOCATION_SERVICES") {
                UIApplication.shared.open(url, completionHandler: .none)
            }
    }
    else if buttonIndex == 1 {
        //TODO for cancel
    }

}

Answer 4

The best way, handling all cases! ->

//First, checking if the location services are enabled
if(![CLLocationManager locationServicesEnabled]){
    [self showMessage:@"Please enable location services to detect location!" withTitle:@"Location not enabled"];
}
else if ([CLLocationManager authorizationStatus]==kCLAuthorizationStatusDenied){
    //Now if the location is denied.
    UIAlertController *alertController = [UIAlertController
                                          alertControllerWithTitle:@"Enable location permission"
                                          message:@"To auto detect location, please enable location services for this app"
                                          preferredStyle:UIAlertControllerStyleAlert];

    alertController.view.tintColor = AppColor;
    UIAlertAction *cancelAction = [UIAlertAction
                                   actionWithTitle:@"Dismiss"
                                   style:UIAlertActionStyleCancel
                                   handler:^(UIAlertAction *action)
                                   {
                                        NSLog(@"Cancel action");
                                   }];

    UIAlertAction *goToSettings = [UIAlertAction
                                actionWithTitle:@"Settings"
                                style:UIAlertActionStyleDefault
                                handler:^(UIAlertAction *action)
                                {
                                    //Simple way to open settings module
                                    NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:UIApplicationOpenSettingsURLString];
                                    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:url];
                                }];

    [alertController addAction:cancelAction];
    [alertController addAction:goToSettings];
    [self presentViewController:alertController animated:YES completion:^{
        alertController.view.tintColor = AppColor;
    }];
}
else{
    //Do whatever you want here
}

Answer 5

Updated in Latest Swift 5.0, Xcode 11.2.1

import UIKit
import CoreLocation

User constants

struct UserConstants {
    static let latitude = "latitude"
    static let longitude = "longitude"
    static let lastKnownLatitude = "lastKnownLatitude"
    static let lastKnownLongitude = "lastKnownLongitude"
}

Location Manager Delegate for monitoring location changes

@objc protocol LocationManagerDelegate {
    @objc optional func getLocation(location: CLLocation)
}

class LocationHelper: NSObject, CLLocationManagerDelegate {

    weak var locationManagerDelegate: LocationManagerDelegate?
    var isLocationfetched: Bool = false
    var lastKnownLocation: CLLocation? {
        get {
            let latitude = UserDefaults.standard.double(forKey: UserConstants.lastKnownLatitude)
            let longitude = UserDefaults.standard.double(forKey: UserConstants.lastKnownLongitude)

            if latitude.isZero || longitude.isZero {
                return nil
            }
            return CLLocation(latitude: latitude, longitude: longitude)
        }
        set {
            UserDefaults.standard.set(newValue?.coordinate.latitude ?? 0, forKey: UserConstants.lastKnownLatitude)
            UserDefaults.standard.set(newValue?.coordinate.longitude ?? 0, forKey: UserConstants.lastKnownLongitude)
            UserDefaults.standard.synchronize()
        }
    }

    struct SharedInstance {
        static let instance = LocationHelper()
    }

    class var shared: LocationHelper {
        return SharedInstance.instance
    }

    enum Request {
        case requestWhenInUseAuthorization
        case requestAlwaysAuthorization
    }

    var clLocationManager = CLLocationManager()

    func setAccuracy(clLocationAccuracy: CLLocationAccuracy) {
        clLocationManager.desiredAccuracy = clLocationAccuracy
    }

    var isLocationEnable: Bool = false {
        didSet {
            if !isLocationEnable {
                lastKnownLocation = nil
            }
        }
    }

Location updates with authorization check

    func startUpdatingLocation() {
        isLocationfetched = false
        if CLLocationManager.locationServicesEnabled() {
            switch CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() {
            case .notDetermined:
                clLocationManager.delegate = self
                clLocationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
                clLocationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBestForNavigation
                clLocationManager.startUpdatingLocation()
                isLocationEnable = true
            case .restricted, .denied:
                showLocationAccessAlert()
                isLocationEnable = false
            case .authorizedAlways, .authorizedWhenInUse:
                self.clLocationManager.delegate = self
                self.clLocationManager.startUpdatingLocation()
                isLocationEnable = true
            default:
                print("Invalid AuthorizationStatus")
            }
        } else {
            isLocationEnable = false
            showLocationAccessAlert()
        }
    }

Show location alert if permission is not allowed

    func showLocationAccessAlert() {
        let alertController = UIAlertController(title: "Location Permission Required", message: "Please enable location permissions in settings.", preferredStyle: UIAlertController.Style.alert)
        let okAction = UIAlertAction(title: "settings", style: .default, handler: {(cAlertAction) in
            UIApplication.shared.open(URL(string: UIApplication.openSettingsURLString)!)
        })
        let cancelAction = UIAlertAction(title: "cancel", style: UIAlertAction.Style.cancel)
        alertController.addAction(cancelAction)
        alertController.addAction(okAction)
        let appdelegate = UIApplication.shared.delegate as? AppDelegate
        appdelegate?.window?.rootViewController?.present(alertController, animated: true, completion: nil)
    }

    func stopUpdatingLocation() {
        self.clLocationManager.stopUpdatingLocation()
    }

    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
        if !isLocationfetched {
            isLocationfetched = true
            clLocationManager.startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges()
            NotificationCenter.default.post(name: NSNotification.Name.updateLocationNotification, object: nil)
        }
        let userLocation = locations[0] as CLLocation
        self.lastKnownLocation = userLocation
        if let delegate = self.locationManagerDelegate {
            delegate.getLocation!(location: userLocation)
        }
    }

    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didChangeAuthorization status: CLAuthorizationStatus) {
        if (status == CLAuthorizationStatus.denied) {
            // The user denied authorization
            isLocationEnable = false
        } else if (status == CLAuthorizationStatus.authorizedWhenInUse) {
            // The user accepted authorization
            self.clLocationManager.delegate = self
            self.clLocationManager.startUpdatingLocation()
            isLocationEnable = true
        }
    }

    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didFailWithError error: Error) {
        print("\n error description for location updation:- \(error.localizedDescription)")
    }

}

For testing above, just write these line of code in your controller,

LocationHelper.shared.locationManagerDelegate = self
LocationHelper.shared.startUpdatingLocation()

LocationManagerDelegate Methods

extension ViewController: LocationManagerDelegate {

    func getLocation(location: CLLocation) {
        currentLocation = location.coordinate
    }

}

Answer 6

-(void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didFailWithError:(NSError *)error{

    NSLog(@"%@",error.userInfo);
    if([CLLocationManager locationServicesEnabled]){

        NSLog(@"Location Services Enabled");

        if([CLLocationManager authorizationStatus]==kCLAuthorizationStatusDenied){
         UIAlertView    *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"App Permission Denied"
                                               message:@"To re-enable, please go to Settings and turn on Location Service for this app."
                                              delegate:nil
                                     cancelButtonTitle:@"OK"
                                     otherButtonTitles:nil];
            [alert show];
        }
    }
 }

Reason behind this, this method will call when your service will be disable the location service. this code is useful for me.