Windows location suddenly became completely off


AndreyT

AndreyT

Active member
Member
Local time
3:46 PM
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92
Location
Santa Clara, California
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Since about a week ago, my Windows 11 PC (no WiFi, Ethernet connection) started to detect my location as Minneapolis, MN. All applications and web pages (regardless of the browser) place me in Minneapolis, while in reality I'm in San Franciso Bay Area. This behavior started relatively recently. Just a week ago it was locating me correctly.

Windows 11 settings permit "Location" access to all apps involved. Location access is permitted in all site settings as well. Also, the "Default" location in Windows settings is properly set to my home address in California. Inspecting my external IP also shows my IP as located in San Jose, CA.

Nevertheless, Windows location services place me in Minneapolis. What could be happening here?

Google Maps on another machine on the same LAN (Windows 10, also Ethernet only) says "Your precise location could not be determined" but scrolls the map to center it on San Jose, CA. So, the problem is not present on that machine.

P.S. Anyone from Minneapolis here? Is there anything going on there?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5930K CPU @ 3.50GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA X99 Micro
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
@AndreyT


I just disabled Windows Location entirely.
Works much better that way. :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8655 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Ghot said:
@AndreyT


I just disabled Windows Location entirely.
Works much better that way. :-)
Click to expand...
I wish I could disable mine but my Hulu+Live TV requires it to work lol. Probably some other streaming services do as well.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware 18 Area-51
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24-Core)
    Motherboard
    Alienware
    Memory
    64GB DDR5 6400MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel UHD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Onboard, Realtek high-performance Audio chips (ALC3329 & ALC1708))
    Monitor(s) Displays
    300HZ 18-inch QHD 500 nit Comfort View+
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 5 SSD
    Case
    Magnesium Alloy
    Cooling
    Advanced Cryo-Tech Quad-Fan Cooling system & large vapor chamber
    Keyboard
    Cherry MX ultra low profile mechanical keyboard with per key AlienFX RGB lighting
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 7
    CPU
    Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12 Core) ARM based CPU
    Motherboard
    Microsoft Corp.
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Qualcomm Adreno X1-85
    Sound Card
    Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos spatial sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    120 Hz 13.8-inch 600 nit PixelSense Flow touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    2304x1536
    Hard Drives
    1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD
    Case
    Anodized Aluminum
    Cooling
    Traditional active cooling fan system
    Keyboard
    Mechanical QWERTY, backlit when in use
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4 and Surface Arc Mouse
    Browser
    Vivaldi (main), Firefox, Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    MS Defender and Malwarebytes Free
Are running a VPN, this will alter your location.

To change the location on your Windows 11 PC, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location, and then adjust the settings to allow apps to access your location or set a default location. If the option is grayed out, ensure the Geolocation Service is set to Automatic and running
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 9700K 3.60
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z390 UD
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
    PSU
    850w PSU
    Case
    Cyberpower PC
    Cooling
    Water cooled
    Keyboard
    Backlit Cyberpower gaming keyboard
    Mouse
    Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    1 GB mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
Spunk said:
Are running a VPN, this will alter your location.
Click to expand...
No, I'm not. I use a regular Comcast residential cable connection. And various "what is my external IP" services on the Net have no trouble determining my correct Comcast IP and my correct location.

Spunk said:
To change the location on your Windows 11 PC, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location, and then adjust the settings to allow apps to access your location or set a default location.
Click to expand...
As I stated above, Location is enabled in windows settings for all browsers. My default location is also set properly in Windows settings. Location access is also allowed for all mapping sites (e.g. Google Maps, Bing Maps etc.).

Yet all mapping sites suddenly started teleporting me to a very specific spot in Minneapolis: 44.97320223006452, -93.35278344048427
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5930K CPU @ 3.50GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA X99 Micro
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Is this a browser or browser plug-in issue? Try creating a new local account.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
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