HT204233: Get help using Find My iPhone
Learn about Get help using Find My iPhone
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Mar 2, 2014 12:29 PM in response to Barrywheeler49by JimHdk,If you have the WiFi-only iPad your location is determined by the mapped location of nearby WiFi routers.
The WiFi-only iPad does not have GPS. Without GPS location-finding is done by using a Apple location database which contains the MAC addresses of routers and their physical location. A MAC address is a unique number which is built-in to all network devices when manufactured. Each router has a unique MAC address.
The Apple database is built and updated by Apple GPS-enabled devices (primarily iPhones) actually seeing routers and then adding/updating the router's locations into the database.
Note that to be location mapped, or to be used for location determination, a WiFi router does not need to be connected to a router, it just has to see the router. More precise location determination can be done if several nearby routers can be seen.
When a router is moved from one location to another erroneous old locations can sometimes be reported until the router's new location is corrected in Apple's database.