Location Services Not Working in Built-in macOS Apps

For me this has been and continues to be an annoying glitch. Some time ago another user reported a trick he discovered by accident. When location services refuses to work simply click once on the WiFi fan shaped icon in the top menu bar, then try again. Works for me every time. I’ve reported this glitch using Feedback several times.

Remember that Macs do not have GPS modems in them and therefore cannot use the GPS satellite system for accurate location data like the iPhone can. So how do Macs know where they are? They triangulate nearby WiFi signals to get an estimated location that is not nearly as accurate as the iPhone.

byshark wrote:

Yes, I know GPS works like that, it's just very very strange that the problem is observed only in built-in Apple apps, and in any others everything works just fine!

Strangely enough, that's because Apple is doing it correctly. Those other apps are tracking you, so obviously they are bypassing Apple's privacy-focused location services APIs. Most likely, they are getting your location from your IP address and your IP address' geolocation just happens to be accurate.

You have to review your location privacy settings. Maybe try turning it on, then off, or something else to try to reset the database. The most likely explanation is that one of your 3rd party apps that works has tried to hack the Apple privacy database and wound up corrupting it instead.

byshark wrote:

However, no applications have attempted to bypass or manipulate system settings

LOL! There's not going to tell you!

there is no third-party software installed on the computer at the moment

I love the qualified, absolute statement. If you have ever installed any 3rd party software, they could have corrupted your privacy database. 3rd party apps regularly do this.

The most interesting thing is that this issue affects all macOS devices in my region. For example, a MacBook Air M1 is also unable to determine its location in built-in applications. My uncle, who lives in a neighboring city, has a MacBook Air M3, and he is experiencing the exact same problem. But at the same time, when using third-party software, location services function correctly and when using Apple’s built-in apps, they do not.

So you live a region, with two cities, and the population of each city is exactly one?

This is just the way tracking software works. It's designed to track you. That's its function. So if there are operating system features designed to protect your privacy, they are going to try to bypass or disable those features. If your system gets corrupted, then you'll need to erase the hard drive and reinstall the operating system.

lkrupp wrote:

Don’t you just love being told you don't know what you are talking about by the one you’re trying to help?

That's OK. I'm always willing to meet people halfway by reading between the lines. 😄

Don’t you just love being told you don't know what you are talking about by the one you’re trying to help?

Then perhaps you should have mentioned what country you were in before we started trying to help.