Location Services disabled after every restart

Had this as well. Some research in the file system and comparison to a Mac with working location services revealed some old /etc/master.passwd file. While this file is not used by the system usually, it still provides vital data for the early boot phase (when the locationd and geod daemons will start). I had a /etc/master.passwd~orig file as well. The latter file contains the valid entries. Copy it to /etc/master.passwd as root, reboot and you're fine. You probably need to disable the csrutil as well. Mine was off while I was tinkering with the system.

Thanks, you're right, there does not seem to be anything in the report that might be causing this. I can't keep track of what was posted in some other track.

(The Google "keystone" things are dodgy, but I doubt they are the ones causing the present problem).

I suggest a test: make a new account, turn Location Services on in that account, restart. Do Location Services stay on for that account? If so, we will have found that the issue is probably affecting just your main account.

The link to Chrome bug has been posted to this thread but it's in a reply so I think new people are missing it. See the post from user i_dislike_macs. The issue has been confirmed, so Google already know about the issue and there is ongoing discussion about it.

The workaround until it's fixed is to make sure Chrome it up-to-date, then enable location services. It should stick until next time a Chrome update is released.

In case it is helpful I seem to have resolved the issue although this might be a solution particular to my situation. I have been migrating from an old 2010 Mac which ran High Sierra to a new iMac. I used the Migration Assistant method (was assured it would be fine) and everything worked perfectly except that Location Services were disabled on the new iMac when the process was complete. I did this twice, erasing the machine between attempts and had the same problem. I decided that rather than use this method again I would erase the machine again, reinstall BigSur and copy over files I wanted from a Time Machine back up and install fresh copies of apps etc. So far so good all is working well. It seems there must have been something in the full migration or stuff from the old Mac what was making the new Location Services in the new Mac unhappy,

Hello Deep Sky Diver,

Thanks for asking the Apple Support Communities for help with Location Services after your Mac restarts.

Test if the same thing happens in safe mode. Shut your Mac down, and then restart in safe mode. Set it up in safe mode, and restart. Test to see if the settings stay after safe mode: Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If you still have issues, it may be beneficial to reinstall macOS. You should make a backup before reinstalling: Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Use this article to reinstall: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Have you run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" or anti-virus apps on your Mac?

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. There are perhaps other things installed that may be causing a conflict. The report may illuminate that.

Did you try resetting NVRAM?

This is not just a Chrome issue. Even Calendar does this.

I've been experiencing this since December. I have enabled Location Services and locked the settings many times over. Yet when I come back to the System Preference for Privacy and Security, Enable Location Services is unchecked.

Only if the browser (Safari, Chrome, and Firefox) is open will they appear in the list of apps that can be enabled, even if I've previously enabled them. I have to unlock, then enable location services, then select the checkbox for the apps I want to use.

Later, when I come back, system preferences is locked, enable location services is unchecked, and if the apps aren't open, they don't appear in the list of apps that have requested access.

I continually get a message that Calendar would like to use my location. I allow it, but it doesn't stick.

I've reinstalled the operating system with a fresh install, and it still does this.

Hello Deep Sky Diver,

Thanks for trying the troubleshooting provided. Please contact Apple Support for help resolving this.

Contact - Official Apple Support

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

I am experiencing the same thing with Google Chrome location services getting disabled on macOS Catalina and Big Sur - lots of 2015 MacBook Pros (Catalina) and several M1 minis (Big Sur).

The devices are rarely rebooted, no I think it must be whenever Chrome is updated. I found another post referencing the same issue with Sierra: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252188240 from December 2020, so it looks like this is recent and not related just to the latest OSes.

The really annoying thing is that it requires admin access to check the box beside Security & Privacy/Location Services -> Google Chrome, so my users who aren't admins need to have Tech Services check the box for them every few days or every other week.

Has something happened with Google Chrome's wrapper that makes it no longer trusted by Security & Privacy?

Cross-posting to 252188240 and also logging with Google.

According to this Google Chrome bug tracker, Google switched to macOS CoreLocation, and that's what is now tripping the re-approval after every Google Chrome app update:

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1051591