CLLocation Manager didStartMonitoringForRegion delegate method not called - ios

Question

I am trying to use location monitoring in my app. I can set my location and reverseGeocode the location I want to monitor. the didUpdateToLocation delegate method works fine, and updates continuously but the didStartMonitoingForRegion delegate never gets called, nor do the didExitRegion nor didEnterRegion.
Any suggestions?
- (IBAction)setLocation:(UIButton *)sender {
if(!self.locationManager) self.locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
[self.locationManager setDelegate:self];
[self.locationManager setDesiredAccuracy:kCLLocationAccuracyBest];
[self.locationManager setDistanceFilter:10]; // Update again when a user moves distance in meters
[self.locationManager setPurpose:#"Set location based alerts if switch is on"];
self.plugLocation=nil; //reset to nil so didUpdateToLocation will update it
self.distanceLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d",0];
[self.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
if ( ![CLLocationManager regionMonitoringAvailable] || ![CLLocationManager regionMonitoringEnabled] ){
NSLog(#"Location monitoring not Unavailable");
}else {
}
}
-(void)setPlugLocation:(CLLocation *)plugLocation{
//
if (!_plugLocation) _plugLocation=[[CLLocation alloc]init];
_plugLocation=plugLocation;
if (_plugLocation) {
[self setRegion:plugLocation radius:20 name:self.plugName];
[self reverseGeocode:self.plugLocation];
NSLog(#"setPlugLocation %#", [self.plugLocation description]);
}
}
-(void)setRegion:(CLLocation *)center radius:(double)meters name:(NSString*)name{
CLLocationCoordinate2D plug2D;
plug2D.latitude=center.coordinate.latitude;
plug2D.longitude=center.coordinate.longitude;
CLRegion *region = [[CLRegion alloc] initCircularRegionWithCenter:plug2D radius:meters identifier:name];
[self.locationManager startMonitoringForRegion:region desiredAccuracy:kCLLocationAccuracyBest];
}
- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didUpdateToLocation:(CLLocation *)newLocation fromLocation:(CLLocation *)oldLocation{
self.latitudeLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%f",newLocation.coordinate.latitude];
self.longitudeLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%f",newLocation.coordinate.longitude];
if (self.plugLocation == nil)self.plugLocation = newLocation;
if (self.plugLocation!=nil) {
CLLocationDistance distanceBetween = [newLocation distanceFromLocation:self.plugLocation];
NSLog(#"didUpdateToLocation Distance from plug=%f",distanceBetween);
self.distanceLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%f",distanceBetween];
}
}
-(void)reverseGeocode:(CLLocation *)coordinates;{
if (!self.plugGeo) self.plugGeo = [[CLGeocoder alloc] init];
[self.plugGeo reverseGeocodeLocation:coordinates completionHandler:^(NSArray *placemarks, NSError *error) {
if (error==nil&&[placemarks count]>0) {
CLPlacemark *placemark=[placemarks objectAtIndex:0];
NSLog(#" setPlugLocation geocodeAddressString %#",placemark);
//should also transfer back to plug detail and save
self.locationLabel.text=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#\n%#, %#", placemark.subThoroughfare, placemark.thoroughfare, placemark.locality,placemark.postalCode];
[self sendAlertMessage:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#\n%#, %#", placemark.subThoroughfare, placemark.thoroughfare, placemark.locality,placemark.postalCode] title:#"Success"];
}else {
NSLog(#" setPlugLocation couldn't geoCode address %#",error);
}
}];
}

Answer 1

Are you using the simulator to test your application? Something that I've found is that the simulator is completely unreliable for region exit/enters. Try compiling the project on your device by plugging it in and changing from iPhone Simulator to your iOS device. You can then unplug your device and run your app from your phone to test it.
Why doesn't the simulator work for regions? Regions are mostly determined by Apple's hidden algorithm using Wi-Fi, cell towers, and other applications on the phone requesting location. Seeing as a simulator doesn't use Wi-Fi or cell towers... region monitoring is going to be pretty impossible.
It's likely your code is fine (I see no glaring errors), but the simulator is giving you bad results. Try it on your device and let us know if it does the same thing.