Find my Mac is turned on in Settings my Mac but when I log into iCloud it says Im not sharing its location. How do I turn on location sharing?
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, rgma62!
I understand you want to turn on your Mac's location so that you can track it via Find My Mac. I'd be happy to provide information on how to do this.
Use the steps in the following article: About Location Services in OS X and Safari
"Enabling Location Services
Follow these steps to enable location services in OS X Mountain Lion or later
), click it and enter an admin name and password to unlock it (
).
Apps that you have allowed to use Location Services appear in the Privacy pane of Security & Privacy preferences. Checkboxes show whether Location Services is turned on or off for an app. If you don’t want to allow Location Services for one or more apps, you can deselect (uncheck) the checkbox next to an app's name. If you turn Location Services off for an app, you are prompted for permission the next time that app requests to use your location data."
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Enjoy your day!
Luis
Problem solved.
I just unplugged the Ethernet cable. My MBP defaulted to wifi and Internet Sharing switched itself off (as its using the Ethernet connection) and, hey-presto, it can be found in iCloud!
Thanks Luis
PS SA won the game 49-3!
Hi jeremy_v
I worked through your steps above. Location Services is already turned on and 'Find My Friends' is selected. I am familiar with this setting, but thought Id work through your steps incase I had missed something.
I still cannot find my Mac when looking on my iPhone 'Find My' app or using iCloud.com. iCloud says 'OnLine, No Location' (see screenshot), the 'Play Sound' button works.
Thanks for your help
Rich
Is your mac connected to Wifi?
Macs do not have gps or a cell connection from which to gather their location, so it is necessary to rely on heuristics, and the wifi connection is somehow used for that. Even if your mac connects to the internet via an Ethernet cable, turn Wifi on.
Hi Luis
thanks for taking the time to reply.
My MBP is connected via Ethernet. Wifi is turned on but i am using it to share my internet connection with the rest of the house.
Strangely i have another old Mac Mini connected to my TV which is connected via wifi (only) and i can find that using iCloud. Ive checked all the settings but cannot work out why i can see the Mac Mini (using 10.13.6) but not the MBP (10.14.6).
Any suggestions appreciated.
Rich
And there lies the difference.
If your MBP were connected to some wifi router instead of working itself as a router, it'd almost certainly appear.
I don't know if that is viable, but if you could have a wifi router or access point near your MBP so that both it and other devices can get a Wifi signal from said router, you could still have your MBP wired but it would appear in Find My Mac.
Thanks Luis
that should be easy to test by simply turning off internet sharing on my MBP (keeping wifi on as you suggest).
I’ll let you know how I go (just watching SA vs Italy rugby World Cup game) later.
"that should be easy to test by simply turning off internet sharing on my MBP (keeping wifi on as you suggest). "
It is not enough to keep it on, but if it is on and connected to the same router that serves Wifi to the mac mini (even if the primary connection remains Ethernet), then yes, it should work.
Also: you have to make sure that "Find My Mac" is checked in System Preferences->iCloud
Just to add: if you want you can continue to use Ethernet. All you have to do is turn off internet sharing.
Rugby fan? Me too. My country, Portugal, only reached the World Cup once. I remember fondly watching the 5 Nations tournament in the seventies with my mother. Been following the World Cup with interest. SA and NZ are top contenders for the title, but other teams are impressive too. Love the naive but spectacular Fiji game, for instance.
I think i will only need to use the iCloud locating if i loose my Mac or its stolen. In which case it will most likely not be connected to Ethernet. It’s advantageous for me to keep Internet Sharing on in my house as the router is at one end and my Mac (with Ethernet) is at the other end so it fills a wifi gap in the signal.
I’m from England but live in Australia so also follow two teams. A bit tricky if Australia meet England (which may happen after the group stages), but I will have to follow England in that game!
Thanks for your help and enjoy the rest of the competition.
Is the mac mini connected via wifi using that shared connection from your MBP, or to some other router or access point?
thanks again Luis
The Mac Mini is connected via wifi to another router in the house. Although it has an Ethernet port built in their isn’t a wall point near the TV!
Find my Mac is turned on on my Mac but when I log into iCloud it says Im not sharing its location
