Through Location Services, apps and websites can use your mobile phone’s cellular, Wi-Fi, and GPS data to pinpoint your general location.
You may enable location services on macOS from within the System Preferences. However, doing so will provide numerous websites and apps access to your precise position.
In order to successfully set up and use Find My Mac on your Mac, Location Services must be enabled. Because if your Mac becomes lost or stolen, Find My Mac will use Location Services to help you find your friends and recover your belongings.
Instructions for Activating Mac’s Location Services
- The Apple logo can be accessed by selecting it in the top left corner.
- Navigate to the “System Preferences” menu item.
- In the top menu, select “Security & Privacy.”
- Choose the “Privacy” menu item.
- To make the window more secure, select the padlock icon at the bottom right.
- There will be a prompt for you to enter your username and password to prove your identity.
- After signing in, you’ll have access to the Location Services toggle and settings.
- To activate location services, click the box labeled “Enable Location Services.”
You’ve just enabled Mac’s location services.
Following the aforementioned procedures, you can disable location services by clicking the padlock icon and then deselecting the “Enable Location Services” checkbox.
You may also manage which programs and services on your Mac can access your precise location from this menu.
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What to Do If Your Mac’s Location Services Aren’t Working
A number of Mac users have complained that Location Services does not function properly. Most complaints center around, but are not limited to, the following issues:
Ignoring attempts to enable Location Services. As of late, Location Services has been randomly shutting off.
Neither the app nor the website can determine your precise location. Maps, Siri, Safari recommendations, Reminders, Reminders, Weather, Calendar, etc. are all dependent on precise location data, and they’re all broken right now.
Similarly, “unable to determine the current position at this moment” errors may appear.
If your iPhone or iPad is experiencing issues with Location Services, follow these steps
1. Update.
Get the most recent version of macOS and make sure your Mac is up to date. System Preferences > Software Update is where you should look to see if there are any upgrades available. If an update is available, selecting the button to install it will be highlighted.
Make sure your preferences are set correctly. Observe the subsequent configurations:
- Check your Mac’s preferences to make sure Location Services is turned on.
- To enable Location Services on your Mac, head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Location Services.
- Confirm that the option to use location services has been chosen. If you need access, you can enter your password by clicking the lock icon.
- Verify that the problematic apps and system services have permission to utilize Location Services.
- Verify that the correct region is chosen in System Preferences > Language & Region on your Mac.
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2. It’s in Safe Mode.
Launch Safe Mode on your Mac. Intel Macs and Apple silicon Macs have distinct Safe Boot procedures.
As a courtesy, check that Location Services is activated.
Once you’ve shut down your Mac, give it a minute to fully power down. To access the starting menu, press and hold the power button for several seconds.
- Choose the disc you want to boot from. Keep Shift pressed when clicking the Safe Mode button.
- Put down the Shift key and sign in to your Mac.
- Disable Location Services in Safe Mode (System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy), wait one minute, and then enable it again.
- Reboot your Mac. You can also exit Safe Mode by restarting your Mac.
3. Restart. Reboot your Mac. If you want to proceed, do what I say
To disable Location Services, select Security & Privacy from the Apple menu, then Privacy, and finally Location Services.
In order to make modifications, you might need to unlock the padlock. If this lock is locked, click the lock icon and enter your administrator password.
- Turn off location services by deselecting the box.
- The next step is to restart your Mac (Apple menu > Restart).
- Go to the Apple menu, then System Preferences, then Security & Privacy, and finally the Privacy tab to activate Location Services. To enable location services, click the toggle.
- Verify your solution by testing the issue again.