Whenever the phone connects to mobile data (H+, not G) it automatically turns on GPS (and in Device Mode, even if it was set to Battery Saving Mode, i.e., without using satellites).
It also happens when (I think) it connects to a different antenna, because when I’m not driving/walking it won’t turn on for a while, but if I’m moving, I have to check and disable the GPS every 5min.
This issue first started when I installed the 4.4 Alpha, but it was so annoying I reverted to 4.2. But it persisted, so I completely formatted it (everything: system, data, cache, dalvik cache and boot) and resinstalled.
So now I have a 100% clean install, but the damned GPS still turns on.
What can I do? I’m honestly thinking of getting a new phone.
I have created the thread that has been linked by Johannes below. I haven’t researched much more into the cause of the issue, however, I strongly suspect that it has to do with some Google Apps. So for example, the GPS always (also) looks for my position when I open the Play Store after not having opened that App for a while.
I was able to get rid of the behaviour for quite a while, but then activating some settings in my Google account to make better use of Google maps brought it back. I don’t think it is specifically Fairphone-related, hence. It is more Android-related…
I suspect it’s more carrier-related that an Android thing, as it is happening in builds that didn’t have this issue before. I’ll try to find someone with a different carrier to test.