You can turn off higher level location services at the OS level, but at the radio level the cellular network will always need a precise enough location to handle tower handoffs and timing issues between the tower and phone, as well as modern beam forming techniques where the tower “aims” the signal at the phone. The simple act of the phone communicating with a specific tower tells the phone where it is (sometimes with surprisingly high precision).
911/emergency services also use more low level location techniques, but I’m pretty sure those functions don’t get called unless you dial an emergency number.
You know you can just turn off location services right? Pretty sure even iPhone has the option
You can turn off higher level location services at the OS level, but at the radio level the cellular network will always need a precise enough location to handle tower handoffs and timing issues between the tower and phone, as well as modern beam forming techniques where the tower “aims” the signal at the phone. The simple act of the phone communicating with a specific tower tells the phone where it is (sometimes with surprisingly high precision).
911/emergency services also use more low level location techniques, but I’m pretty sure those functions don’t get called unless you dial an emergency number.