Background Location Tracking (O11) – Looking for Suggestions
Hi everyone,
I want to implement background location tracking in an OutSystems Mobile App (O11). The app should continue receiving location updates while running in the background and display the live location on a Mapbox map.https://www.outsystems.com/forge/component-overview/8162/background-geolocation-lt-o11
I've tried the Background Geolocation LT Forge component, but I'm running into MABS compatibility/build issues. I also looked at several other Forge plugins, but most of them seem outdated or no longer maintained.
Has anyone implemented this recently?
I'm mainly looking for:
A reliable approach for background location tracking.
A solution that works with recent MABS versions.
Any recommended plugins, custom implementations, or best practices.
Any suggestions or experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Chintakayala,
I recently looked into this as well, and unfortunately most of the Forge components for background location are no longer actively maintained and may not be compatible with recent MABS versions.
For a production application, I'd recommend using a custom Cordova plugin instead of relying on older Forge components. On Android, you can use the Google Fused Location Provider, and on iOS, Core Location with background location updates enabled. You can then expose methods such as StartTracking, StopTracking, and location update callbacks to your OutSystems app.
Another option is to use a commercial library like Transistorsoft's Background Geolocation SDK and wrap it in a custom Cordova plugin. It's actively maintained and supports recent Android and iOS versions, although it does require a commercial license.
If you've already tried the Background Geolocation LT component, another possibility is to download its source code and update the underlying Cordova dependencies to make it compatible with your MABS version. However, this means you'll need to maintain the plugin yourself going forward.
If you can share your MABS version and whether you're targeting Android only or both Android and iOS, it may be possible to suggest a more specific approach.
Regards,
Janakiraman
@Chintakayala Veera Venkata Rahul : The GitHub repository at https://github.com/transistorsoft/cordova-background-geolocation-lt seems to be actively maintained. Since this component is based on that repository, I suggest republishing the Background Geolocation LT Forge component by updating its GitHub source to point to the latest version of the repository ( in extensibility configuration).
Hello @Siya ,
Thank you so much for your help! Your solution worked, The app also builds successfully now.
I'm facing one more issue, though. Even though I'm building and deploying a Debug build, I'm getting this license error:
Have you come across this before, or do you know what might be causing it? I'd really appreciate any guidance.
Thanks again for your help!
Since this Forge component depends on a commercial component, I'd recommend reaching out to the vendor's support to investigate why it's still not working, even in debug mode: (https://docs.transistorsoft.com/contact/)