Q: Location Services Not Working - Macbook Pro and IPad2
I have read through numerous similar regarding issues with location services. I recently moved from Shenyang in NE China to Beihai in the south. Neither my iPad nor MacbookPro can find my location. Before moving here both lumps of hardware worked fine up in Shenyang.
The WiFi router I am using is brand new (TP-Link TL-WR886N) and issued by the local network provider. There have been several posts suggesting some routers may not pass on location data - is there any way to determine this in the router set-up?
I have been through System Preferences and have China set as my region with automatic time zone setting 'ticked'; in Time Zone the message "Unable to determine current location at this time" is shown. The location icon is not shown in the Menu Bar. If I 'look' in the location services displays it shows maps has been trying to use location service.
I have a Huawei Smart Phone with a version of Du Maps loaded and this works perfectly well, as far as showing my location is concerned; the drawback is the maps are in Chinese only, something I am struggling to get to grips with.
Would it be possible to use the Huawei phone (Android) as a portable hotspot that my IPad maps app could use? I have had then paired but so far 'Maps, does not pick up any location data.
iPad 2, iOS 9.2.1
Posted on Mar 9, 2016 6:52 PM
Location Services (including automatic time zone selection, Maps, and "Find My Mac") relies on a database of Wi-Fi access points with known locations. You don't have to be connected to a wireless network, but Wi-Fi must be turned on and within range of one of those access points. Otherwise the machine won't be located at all, or the location will be wrong. Sometimes the location will be wrong because the database contains inaccurate data. That would happen, for example, if you moved from one place to another and took your Wi-Fi router with you. The router is still listed in the database, but at the old location.
According to reports, if you connect to a Wi-Fi network with an iPhone, the location of the network will be sent to Apple and added to the database after a delay. An iPhone, unlike other Apple devices, has built-in GPS satellite navigation, and so can locate itself independently of Wi-Fi. The phone would have to be set to share diagnostic and usage information with Apple.
Posted on Mar 10, 2016 12:08 AM