Chief AT

Q: Home location wrong

My iPhone Map app has my correct home location, but my iPad air2 Map app has me a block over. How can I correct this? I've read the other posts on this site, and there isn't a working fix listed, but all those posts are pretty old.

iPad Air, iOS 9.1

Posted on Oct 26, 2015 5:14 AM

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Q: Home location wrong

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Oct 26, 2015 5:17 AM in response to Chief AT
    Level 10 (122,910 points)
    Apple Music
    Oct 26, 2015 5:17 AM in response to Chief AT

    Force restart your iPad.

     

    Press and hold both the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons for at least ten seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

     

    Then check the location.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Oct 26, 2015 5:37 AM in response to Chief AT
    Level 7 (24,938 points)
    Oct 26, 2015 5:37 AM in response to Chief AT

    Is your iPad wifi-only, or cellular?  If wifi only, then it gets its location from nearby wifi routers based on their hardware ID and their location based entry in Apple's database. Often, those router locations are only very approximate, and thus any connected devices location will also only be very approximate.

  • by Chief AT,

    Chief AT Chief AT Oct 27, 2015 7:00 AM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 27, 2015 7:00 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Carolyn - the reset doesn't change the location. I'll try Michael's suggestion next.

  • by Chief AT,

    Chief AT Chief AT Oct 27, 2015 7:02 AM in response to Michael Black
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 27, 2015 7:02 AM in response to Michael Black

    Michael - my router is located at my home (and always has been). But - I'll try this on the wireless network at the McDonald's, which is about 13 miles away. I'll see if the location changes to their restaurant or stays at the old - and incorrect - address. I'll post back.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Oct 27, 2015 7:13 AM in response to Chief AT
    Level 7 (24,938 points)
    Oct 27, 2015 7:13 AM in response to Chief AT

    Even if your router's hardware ID is in Apple's database with the correct address, your location will not necessarily be specific to that address. Your wifi only device will still take into account all detectable wifi signals within range and in that same database and it does some form of averaging (the details are not public, to my knowledge, but presumably based on signal strength or some such information). That's why I say wifi based location is only ever very approximate.

  • by Chief AT,

    Chief AT Chief AT Oct 27, 2015 9:11 AM in response to Michael Black
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 27, 2015 9:11 AM in response to Michael Black

    I haven't gone to the McDonald's yet, but for my home - I live in a rural area, with the nearest occupied dwelling over 200 yards away, and that's an elderly widow. My bet is that she doesn't even have a computer, let alone a wireless network. I'll post when I have more info.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Oct 27, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Chief AT
    Level 7 (24,938 points)
    Oct 27, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Chief AT

    One last thing to mention. Traditionally, wifi routers ended up in location databases via "war driving". Companies literally paid drivers with wifi signal detectors to drive around, note an active wifi node and record the nearest address or landmark for a location to be assigned to that node.  Apple and Google now use crowd sourcing as well.  Part of the location services tools you may have enabled on your iPhone actually do the detecting and send that data back to Apple, with the phone's GPS location at the time the wifi signal was detected. A computer algorithm then assigns that node an address based on that location information and available map data.

     

    But, since the location is merely assigned as the closest address from the point & time the wifi node's signal was detected (by whatever means), it may assign an address that is not the actually physical location of the router but may be another address some distance away. Again, the entire system of wifi node based location is very approximate at best. So a error in actual location of a block or even several in a low density population area is very likely.