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Jragyn Author

Level 1

21 points

I want Siri to know my location NOT using WiFi on my DESKTOP iMac!

I have an iMac. A DESKTOP iMac. I'm NOT hauling it around from place to place. It has an ethernet internet connection. When I use WiFi on my stationary, desktop iMac, my connection speed -- according to Ookla's SpeedTest, -- drops to less than 0.3 Mbps. When I have both ethernet and WiFi connection turned on at the same time, I get no reliable connection at all. So as a result, I want to use my iMac with its ethernet connection only.

However, I can't use many of Siri's features without WiFi turned on, because she apparently needs WiFi turned on in order to know where I am -- even though that never changes because, as you may have noticed I said already -- I HAVE A DESKTOP COMPUTER!

There's gotta be a way to tell Siri my location manually OR have her store in her memory my location info from when WiFi was last turned on. I shouldn't have to keep it on all the time to the extreme detriment of my internet connection just for the times when I want to know the forecast or what movies are playing nearby.

I've thought about having WiFi on but 'forgetting' my home network so that WiFi can be turned on without ever connecting to any network. (Such unnecessary wear on the hardware, is it not?!) However, I never told my iMac the WiFi password in the first place -- it was automatically entered using iCloud Keychain. So that could mean that 'forgetting' my home network will remove the password on every other device I have, right? Or at least not save it for any new devices I get in the future?

There HAS to be another solution to get Siri on my iMac to know and remember its location without deleting stuff in my Keychain that I WANT to be there! Did I miss something? How do I manually enter Siri's location for my stationary desktop iMac?

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12), 27-inch, Mid 2010

Posted on Oct 20, 2016 1:32 AM

22 replies

Oct 20, 2016 2:31 AM in response to Jragyn

Resetting NVRAM may solve the issue of the order.

You don't need Wifi for a connection, but you need it for Siri, as it relies on info from Wifi to determine your location.

If you want to turn Wifi off, then Siri won't be able to know your location.

I can't help you there, that is how the system works. FWIW, the power consumption is minimal, at least compared with other components of your iMac (the display, the hard drive, the cpu). I doubt you could tell the difference after, say, a year.

dwb

Level 7

33,100 points

Oct 20, 2016 4:10 AM in response to Jragyn

As has been stated, WiFi is required for location services. You want location services you need WiFi. Will having WiFi on "wear out" the radio? Unlikely. An electric circuit doesn't wear out like a mechanical part does.

ccrayton

Level 1

9 points

Dec 25, 2016 4:12 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

It is supposed to work this way, but does not. My service order is set to ethernet first, then wifi. Still, my iMac tries to send everything down the Wifi connector if it is there. Like Jragyn I get crappy speeds if wifi is enabled, even if it is dead last in the service order. It needs to be turned off to force the iMac to use the Ethernet port. All of my Macs are that way, and it is frustrating. It's one of the maddening things that Apple does not care enough about to fix, like the 5mm high font in Apple Mail that makes it unusable on a large screen for anyone over the age of 40.

Dec 26, 2016 2:33 AM in response to ccrayton

ccrayton wrote:

It is supposed to work this way, but does not. My service order is set to ethernet first, then wifi. Still, my iMac tries to send everything down the Wifi connector if it is there.

There is probably some software conflict that is causing this. What you see is NOT normal.

There are a number of troubleshooting steps you can make.

1) Try from a different user account: is the service order respected?

2) Try creating a new "Location" in System Preferences->Network: is the service order respected when using this new location?

3) Try running in Safe Mode on your normal account and "Location": is the service order respected?

4) Install a fresh system on an external drive or separate partition - again, is the service order respected?

It needs to be turned off to force the iMac to use the Ethernet port. All of my Macs are that way, and it is frustrating. It's one of the maddening things that Apple does not care enough about to fix, like the 5mm high font in Apple Mail that makes it unusable on a large screen for anyone over the age of 40.

I don't think there is anything to fix. You need to do the troubleshooting, as it is most likely a software conflict with something else. The fact that you experience it in several machines may lead you to think that it is an OS bug, but it is more likely that you have similar installations, perhaps migrating stuff from machine to machine carrying the problem with it. At this point I think that a clean install might help.

Regarding Mail fonts: you can change these in Mail->Preferences...