I tested it on a Nexus 6 (Android 7.0): You can scan for BLE devices only while location is enabled. But you can connect anytime if the sensor is already known, without the need to have location enabled.
Probably this is because you could obtain location from Bluetooth Low Energy iBeacons .... So if you turn off location, Bluetooth Low Energy will also be turned off.
Well, it's extremely strange. Because yesterday, it suddenly worked again. But only once.
So I tried to figure out why, and I finally found a workaround ; but I can't figure out WHY it works only this way. To make it work, I now have to :
1) Compulsorily enable GPS and set it to "high accuracy". I can disable GPS afterwards, once sensor connected, but I have to enable GPS to establish connection to my sensor !
2) Re-tap "Add sensor" every time, to make the app recognize my sensor again (even if it is still listed).
If I don't enable GPS (set to "high accuracy"), or if I don't re-add my sensor EVERY TIME, the app fails to connect it. It was not the case before : I could connect my MIO Alpha HRM with GPS disabled, and I didn't have to re-add it every time.
And this strange behaviour comes from Run.GPS (since about last update), because other apps, like BLE Heart Rate Monitor, work fine.
So I found a quite hard way to make it work again, but yes, it's quite hard ! :(
Since last update (I'm now on release 3.2.0, build 4467), I can no longer connect my MIO Alpha heart watch (Bluetooth Low Energy).
When I tap "Add sensor" (Type : Bluetooth Low Energy), I now always get "Select sensor --none--", both on tablet and phone (Android 6).
All other types (even "Generic BT HRM") fail to detect my Mio Alpha HR watch (which is not compatible to ANT+, only BLE).
So now I can't track my heart rate while running any more.
It worked perfectly on Saturday December 10th. Can you tell me how to downgrade, or how to fix this bug ? Of course I tried to uninstall/reinstall, to wipe cache/dalvik cache, to reboot, both on tablet and phone, many times, but the issue remains.