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Websites give wrong location with Windows 10

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6 replies

by larrycleve1

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I've got the correct location set in privacy location. I've allowed apps to have access to the location.

But when I open a website in Firefox or Edge it gives the same incorrect location 30 miles away.

I've tried turning off and on allowing apps to access location with no luck. I can manually change location in the website to the correct location, but when closing and restarting the website it goes back to the incorrect location. This happens on most websites.

6 replies

by kees_b

Websites guess your location from your external IP-adress. Maybe your ISP doesn't publish detailed information about where yours is located. Contact your ISP and complain.

How do you change a location in a website?

by larrycleve1

my correct zip code in the website search bar. I use WOW internet, so I should contact them about the IP address?

by rproffitt

ISPs have an IP address pool they pull from to service their users. If the ISP serves people across 30 or more miles, the IP handed out can never be closer than the size of the service area.

Hope this explains why location by IP address is fundamentally flawed.

by rproffitt

There are folk that think IP location should work. In short, it does not.
Yes, you mentioned the privacy location but most web sites still use IP location which is ready, easy to implement web code. Remember I never wrote that it works.

The bug is on the web site, not your PC.

by larrycleve1

and they said they can't change the location on the IP address. I'll just change the location manually as I've been doing. Not a big deal.

Thank you both for your help and have a nice holiday.

by rproffitt

I disagree they can't change it but as I wrote above if they fix the IP you have, what happens when it's assigned to someone else? It's wrong again. You can see that this would be a never ending game of whack-a-mole.

Thanks, I'm having a turkey sandwich!

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