JimRobertson

Q: maps can't find current location

I've discovered a strange interaction between Safari and location services (and perhaps my Airport Extreme router. If I activate "Private Browsing" in Safari, many location services routines fail; for example, Maps can't find my current location; Find my Mac can't find my Mac; the Date & Time prefs panel cannot set the time zone automatically.

 

Sometmies toggling everything I can think of (location services and apps using it in the Privacy Pane of Security System Preferences Panel,iCloud Prefs, the choice to set time zone automatically, etc.).

 

Sometimes using a commercial VPN (VyperVPN) with Safari will trigger this problem.

 

However, none of this seems to cause troubles if I'm not using my Airport Extreme 802.11ac router. I just spent an hour at a local Starbucks, and the services all worked with the VPN using a server in Austin, TX (I'm in northern CA). Even at home, with the MacBook Pro sitting behind my router, all the services work, even with the VPN on and its server in TX, if I'm using the Chromium-based Epic Privacy Browser.

 

Has anyone else had such issues?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.3), Safari 7.0.4

Posted on May 22, 2014 1:06 PM

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Q: maps can't find current location

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  • by nomometal,

    nomometal nomometal Jun 2, 2014 9:36 AM in response to JimRobertson
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    Jun 2, 2014 9:36 AM in response to JimRobertson

    My MacBook still thinks I live in the town I moved away from, which is over 125 miles away. My mobile devices, using the same WiFi network, do not have this problem. It makes Maps highly impractical. I have updated my contact info, and all of the AirPorts involved were defaulted before being setup attheir new location.

     

    Very frustrating.

  • by JimRobertson,

    JimRobertson JimRobertson Jun 3, 2014 5:16 AM in response to nomometal
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jun 3, 2014 5:16 AM in response to nomometal

    I'm beginning to think the necessary element in this puzzle is the presence of an Apple router. I can take the MacBook Pro that "can't find itself" to another location where its access to the internet is another router (either WiFi or via Ethernet LAN connection), and suddenly it knows where it is!

     

    At home, if I reset the router in Airport Utility, that often makes my laptop location-aware, and in the few instances where that's not helped, power cycling the 802.11ac Airport Extreme has done the trick.

     

    One other clue, perhaps, is your mention that you have multiple airport routers on your LAN. So do I (in my case, only two, and one of them is configured in bridge mode). My current configuration of my Airport Extreme also reserves two ports for an ATT/Cisco "local cell" device (which I no longer use because I have decent cell service at my current residence). I'll expunge those port mappings and see if it helps.

     

    Thanks for responding.

  • by Sean Cavanaugh,

    Sean Cavanaugh Sean Cavanaugh Oct 6, 2014 6:36 PM in response to JimRobertson
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Oct 6, 2014 6:36 PM in response to JimRobertson

    I have the same problem with my MBP 17", also using a 802.11ac AirPort Time Capsule router. But interestingly, our iPhones, iPad and iMac are unaffected by it. Location services work fine with all of them except the MBP. I got it to work once by disabling location services in the Privacy settings, and then re-enabling it, but after a restart, location services stopped working again, and the disable/re-enable trick hasn't worked again.

     

    It appears to be a problem with the MBP, not the router. Very frustrating.

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Oct 6, 2014 6:54 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh
    Level 8 (49,742 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2014 6:54 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh

    Part of the problem is that there isn’t a Mac with a GPS unit installed, and they don’t contact cellular network towers.

     

    The way Location Services works on a Mac is it identifies all of the WiFi networks it can see. It then cross-checks those router MAC addresses with a database of known locations. It then triangulates your Mac’s position based on those signals.

    If your router and your neighbor's routers are not in the database, then it cannot locate you.

    If your router was previously located in the database, you will still be in the same old location until the database gets updated.

     

    I’m not certain how Apple updates its database, but I have heard it is related to location services on your iPhone and iPad. Obviously that requires that you allow Apple access to your anonymous location info while your iOS device has WiFi enabled and can see your network (and others nearby). I don’t know how to specifically allow that or deny it.

     

    If it “fades in and out,” that may be related to being able to see a located WiFi access point only intermittently. While it can “see” that router, it can locate you. When the router gets washed out by other noise, it cannot locate you.

  • by Sean Cavanaugh,

    Sean Cavanaugh Sean Cavanaugh Oct 6, 2014 7:00 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Oct 6, 2014 7:00 PM in response to Barney-15E

    But why do Maps, Time Zone location, etc. work on the iMac using the same Apple router in the same room, but not for the MBP?

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Oct 6, 2014 7:06 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh
    Level 8 (49,742 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2014 7:06 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh

    Maybe your router isn’t the known location and your iMac can see a neighbor’s router that the MBP cannot.

  • by Harvard Dad,

    Harvard Dad Harvard Dad Oct 7, 2014 9:48 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 7, 2014 9:48 PM in response to Sean Cavanaugh

    I have just moved and I am have the exact same issue with an Apple Tim Capsule ... however in my case the MacBook Pro on the same network can find my location while my iMac still thinks I'm in PA while I'm in VA ... yes I have tried to remove the Ethernet and just use wi-fi.

     

    I have Comcast service here as I did in PA ... never a location problem in PA why here and why only with this computer?

     

    Very frustrating ... when I use programs like Day One ... that use location services it thinks I'm hundreds of miles away and wreaks havoc with those programs.

     

    Neither Maps nor Google Maps can find my location on my iMac.

     

    I also checked the find my iPhone app and it say my iMac is online, but with no location available ... it shows its last location which was in PA.

     

    When moving I made no adjustments ...

     

    Any help appreciated ... Thanks!

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Oct 8, 2014 4:11 AM in response to Harvard Dad
    Level 8 (49,742 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 8, 2014 4:11 AM in response to Harvard Dad

    Read what I wrote above. It is all there. It may have nothing to do with your router as your router may have never been located.

    Running it without WiFi on will not provide any location data as it can’t locate via ethernet.

  • by Harvard Dad,

    Harvard Dad Harvard Dad Oct 8, 2014 9:47 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 8, 2014 9:47 AM in response to Barney-15E

    I was wrong ... the other devices picked up the location from other sources, not my router ... so none of my too many devices are getting location data from the router.

     

    As you say this is an issue with the router never being 'located', how do I get Comcast/Apple to locate it?

     

    I would call Comcast customer service, but my fear is they would have idea what I am talking about.

     

    Hardly one of life's biggest problems, but annoying ... kind of like an electronic splinter that you want to get out!

     

    Thanks for your continued help!

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Oct 8, 2014 2:58 PM in response to Harvard Dad
    Level 8 (49,742 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 8, 2014 2:58 PM in response to Harvard Dad

    Harvard Dad wrote:

     

    I was wrong ... the other devices picked up the location from other sources, not my router ... so none of my too many devices are getting location data from the router.

     

    As you say this is an issue with the router never being 'located', how do I get Comcast/Apple to locate it?

    There isn't a method as far as I know. My understanding is that the database is populated from hits off of iPhones and iPads. I don't know if certain security settings would prevent sending that data.

     

    Years ago, I had heard they were using SkyHook Wireless to populate the locations, so I submitted my information to them and I was able to set the location in Time & Date a few days later. As I mentioned, I don't think they use that service anymore. I think they are building it themselves.

  • by cesarfig1976,

    cesarfig1976 cesarfig1976 Oct 18, 2014 10:32 AM in response to JimRobertson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2014 10:32 AM in response to JimRobertson

    Hello!

     

    I have this same annoying issue. I've tried this today and now I'm waiting... I hope this solve the problem.

     

    http://www.skyhookwireless.com/submit-access-point

     

    Good luck!

  • by Harvard Dad,

    Harvard Dad Harvard Dad Oct 18, 2014 1:33 PM in response to cesarfig1976
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2014 1:33 PM in response to cesarfig1976

    Thanks so much for the information ... I submitted my information to Skyhook.

     

    I'll update post as soon as I know it is working, if it does this Shyhook should be better known.

  • by Harvard Dad,

    Harvard Dad Harvard Dad Oct 18, 2014 5:29 PM in response to Harvard Dad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2014 5:29 PM in response to Harvard Dad
    cesarfig1976 ... Thank you so much http://www.skyhookwireless.com/submit-access-point

     

    The link to Skyhook WORKED ... after weeks of working on this problem, my electronics are not now hundreds of miles away from me!