How to fix geolocation services not working on Mac
Try these troubleshooting tips to fix macOS location services not working, so that your favorite Mac apps can show you relevant geolocation-based content again.
Mac computers don’t have a GPS module and instead rely on Wi-Fi positioning and IP address geolocation to detect your current location with decent accuracy.
Built-in apps use your location to display relevant content like weather forecasts in Weather, turn-by-turn navigation in Maps, local recommendations in Spotlight, and more. Third-party apps like web browsers can request your location for the same reason. But if your Mac pinpoints an incorrect location or no location at all, trying these troubleshooting steps may help isolate and fix the problem.
Turn on location services
Navigate to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and check that the Location Services switch has been turned on.
Check location permission for specific apps
If a specific app like Find My cannot pinpoint your current location, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and be sure the switch next to that app is in the ON position. Then click the Details button next to System Services and enable relevant switches there as well.
You may also need to use in-app controls to turn on location access. Sometimes you must perform a specific action to trigger the macOS location permission prompt, where you should hit Allow. For instance, the Chrome browser will display the location prompt if you open Google Maps or search for local restaurants on Google.
Quit and reopen the app
If an app stops getting your location out of the blue, close and open it again.
Set the date and time automatically
Your Mac may not be able to detect your current location if the system date and time are incorrect. To fix this, go to System Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on “Set time and date automatically” as well as “Set time zone automatically using your current location.”
Then, navigate to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Details and turn on the switch for “Setting time zone.”
Restart your Mac
Your Mac may experience difficulty fetching your location due to system glitches that occur during regular use. Restart your computer and see if that helps.
Check internet connectivity and turn off VPN
Fixing an unstable internet connection, hopping on a different Wi-Fi network, or using your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot feature may help fix the location issue on your Mac. If you’re using a VPN service on your Mac, turn it off and instead use a VPN browser extension that only affects that browser instead of the whole system.
Restart your Wi-Fi router
Turn your Wi-Fi router off and then back on, even if your internet connection seems to be working fine. Then, open an app like Weather, Maps, or Find My to see if it shows your correct location.
Switch to a fixed private Wi-Fi address
Your Mac may experience issues determining your location if macOS is set to use the rotating private Wi-Fi address, so switch to the fixed private address option instead.
- Open System Settings and select Wi-Fi in the sidebar, then click the Details button next to the connected Wi-Fi network on the right.
- Click the menu next to Private Wi-Fi address and choose Fixed or Off.
- Restart your Mac, and see if it now detects your geolocation correctly.
Revert router settings
If you recently upgraded to a new Wi-Fi router or changed some settings on your old one, that could be the culprit. Log in to the router’s built-in web portal to revert those changes, and see if that fixes issues with location services not working.
Restart macOS location services in Terminal
Try reinitializing location services in macOS by using a killall Terminal command.
1) Open Terminal from the Applications/Utilities folder, paste this command, and hit the Enter key.
sudo killall locationd
2) Type your macOS login password, if asked. For security reasons, Terminal won’t display the password characters being typed.
3) Open an app like Weather to confirm that it now detects your location correctly.
Check that apps are working properly
Specific apps may display incorrect location due to problems on their backend rather than your Mac. Visit Apple’s System Status page to see if services like Weather and Find My are facing an outage. If geolocation issues affect a particular third-party app, check its status on sites like Downdetector. Additionally, check built-in settings in apps like Chrome to be sure that everything is configured correctly.
Update the app or browser
If the location issues affect a particular Mac app, install the latest app update.
Delete and re-download the app
If you’re still having locaiton issues even though you’re running the latest version of an app, delete said app and reinstall it. Then, open the app and give it permission to use your location when asked.
Remove cleaners, optimizers, and virus scanner apps
Third-party apps that claim to clean your Mac or protect against viruses may also cause all sorts of unexpected issues on your Mac. If you have such an app, delete it and restart your Mac.
Update your Mac to the latest macOS version
If your Mac is running an older version of the macOS operating system, unfixed bugs could be causing location problems. Update to the latest macOS version in System Settings > General > Software Update to see if that helps.
Boot into safe mode to inspect the problem
Log in to another user account on your Mac or boot into safe mode. If your Mac can now detect your location, that means a particular app, app extension, or system setting in your macOS user account could be causing location issues. Review the list of recently added or updated apps and delete any unnecessary ones.
Reinstall macOS (without losing personal data)
Reinstalling macOS will install a fresh copy of the software without deleting your data, which may fix any location issues caused by conflicting settings.
Take your Mac to a repair shop
If none of the troubleshooting tips above helwork, or you’re having location issues on a recently purchased Mac, I recommend taking it to an Apple store or authorized repair shop to have it inspected for defects by trained technicians. If there’s a hardware issue, you may be eligible for a free repair or replacement.
Which of the above tips helped you address the problem? Sound off in the comments section below.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/28/fix-location-issues-mac/
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