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.

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.

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.

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.

My solution this thread here would fit. I migrated to my new Mac from a backup that came from a Lion setup. But that Lion machine was one of the first Mac Pros and the original systems might have been 10.5 or so. I did a full migration with all system preferences. Thus the “something from my old Mac” probably caused that, but the real reason was the not migrated master.passwd file.

Dear Eric,

i also have the same issue with my MacBook Pro touch bar 2016 model. after upgrade to Mac OS Big Sur. Location service has been disable in every time i restart my Mac and sometime it was disable my keyboard when i tried to type on any browses "Safari, Firefox, Chrome". I did try to reinstall my Mac OS again by using Mac OS Recovery. but the issue still appears.

Please kindly advise me to fix this issue.

Best Regards,

Sereyvuth

[Email Edited by Moderator]

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.

I didn't find any VPN files listed in the report so it appears that you did uninstall it. Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's or bank's servers, they are useless. Public VPN's are anything but private.  

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

I found it's only when you use Google search in Chrome that turns off Location Services. If you quit Chrome completely . Then unlock sys pref and turn location services on for Chrome. Then restart Chrome. (Running High Sierra)

I, like so many others, have the same problem: Location Services keeps getting turned off for Google Chrome.

You can turn it on, but whenever Chrome updates, it goes off again.

It's very frustrating. There should be a way to permanently turn it on and have it stay on.

The fact you have to turn it on again and again seems ridiculous.

I'm running a late-2016 15" MacBook Pro with MacOS Mojave 10.14.6.