Location services not working on MacBook Air M2 (also fails on brand new M4)

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Level 1

33 points

Location services not working on MacBook Air M2 (also fails on brand new M4)

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing persistent issues with location services on my MacBook Air 15” M2, and I’ve now confirmed the same behavior on a brand new MacBook Air with M4. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what’s happening:

The Problem:

• None of the system apps (Maps, Weather, Find My) or browser apps (Safari with Google Maps) can determine location.

• There are no errors, just no response or a message like “Unable to determine your location.”

• All relevant privacy permissions are enabled in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.

• Wi-Fi is strong and active (tried both regular home Wi-Fi and iPhone hotspot).

• No VPN or special configuration is used.

• iPhone on the same Wi-Fi network returns accurate location instantly.

What I’ve Tried:

• Clean install of macOS (no Time Machine migration)

• Running location logs while using Maps and Weather:

log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.locationd"' --info

No output appears at all when opening location-using apps.

• Resetting TCC database:

tccutil reset Location

Returns: tccutil: Failed to reset Location

• Checked that locationd is running:

ps aux | grep locationd
<details>
<summary>Process output</summary>
_locationd         353   0,0  0,4 427053552  30480   ??  Ss   11:17     0:01.33 /usr/libexec/locationd
_locationd         525   0,0  0,2 426953456  12656   ??  S    11:17     0:00.13 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/GeoServices.framework/.../com.apple.geod
...
</details>

System info:

sw_vers
ProductName:        macOS
ProductVersion:     15.5
BuildVersion:       24F74
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep "Model Identifier"
Model Identifier: Mac14,15

Same problem is confirmed on another MacBook Air with M4 chip and clean macOS 15.5 install.

iPhone Works Fine:

My iPhone 15 Pro (iOS 17.5.1), connected to the same Wi‑Fi, gets exact location instantly.

The Question:

This suggests that the Wi‑Fi network is valid in Apple’s location database (since the iPhone resolves it fine), and that the issue lies in how macOS resolves location via Wi‑Fi (since these Macs don’t have GPS).

Has anyone else experienced this? Could this be a known issue in macOS 15.x on Apple Silicon Macs?

Thanks for any insight or workaround.

MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jun 26, 2025 1:28 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,210 points

Jun 26, 2025 8:57 PM in response to vladkas

• Wi-Fi is strong and active (tried both regular home Wi-Fi and iPhone hotspot).

The strength of the WiFi signal is irrelevant. It doesn’t even matter if your Mac is connected to any WiFi access point. What matters is if your Mac can “see” any WiFi access points that have a known location in App’s database.

• iPhone on the same Wi-Fi network returns accurate location instantly.

This suggests that the Wi‑Fi network is valid in Apple’s location database (since the iPhone resolves it fine), and that the issue lies in how macOS resolves location via Wi‑Fi (since these Macs don’t have GPS).

The iPhone gets location from cellular tower triangulation or GPS. I think it will fall back to WiFi triangulation if the other two are unavailable.

Has anyone else experienced this? Could this be a known issue in macOS 15.x on Apple Silicon Macs?

All of my Macs running sequoia (M2, M4, Intel) have no issues with location.

Take your Air to other locations (public hotspots in view) and see if it can determine the location.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

155,690 points

Jun 26, 2025 2:46 PM in response to vladkas

I understand you already performed what can only be described as extensive troubleshooting and I don't have an immediate answer for you either.

First please review Manage Location Services settings - Apple Support. It seems as though you did already but review it to make sure nothing was overlooked.

If you don't find anything relevant EtreCheck may provide additional information you can act upon. Instructions for posting its report to this Discussion are here: How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community.

iPhone Works Fine:

My iPhone 15 Pro (iOS 17.5.1), connected to the same Wi‑Fi, gets exact location instantly.

Not surprising since all iPhones incorporate autonomous geolocation capability independent of Wi-Fi or cellular networks, although it uses those sources to augment that location.

Finally if you're still unable to get anywhere contact Apple: Official Apple Support. Use the fact your M4 Mac is new to take advantage of their free 90 day technical support. There is nothing unique about Silicon Macs that prevents Location Services from working the way Apple describes.

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

155,690 points

Jun 26, 2025 4:26 PM in response to vladkas

The thought occurred to me that if you never had any Mac's location services work, it is theoretically possible your wireless router's location has never been determined. That would be unusual since Apple's location services database relies upon a fiendishly clever scheme that determines its location in collusion with iPhones that connect to it, and presumably you have been using your iPhone 15 Pro on that wireless network for quite some time.

This describes the predecessor of what Apple eventually called the Find My network.

So: has Location Services ever worked on your present Mac or any previous Macs using that same network equipment?

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Answer 4

dialabrain

Level 10

136,103 points

Jun 26, 2025 1:43 PM in response to vladkas

vladkas wrote:

My iPhone 15 Pro (iOS 17.5.1), connected to the same Wi‑Fi, gets exact location instantly.

I don't have an answer for you but Location Services work on an iPhone without a Wi-Fi connection.

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