Location Issue on my laptop with Windows 11

1/16/25 UPDATE: Continued efforts and research to fix the location matter. Repeat - every single suggestion posted on any forum does not work. Tablet didn't work. Desktop across the room works (location). I unplugged the tablet and took it to the gym w/me. I'd log back in using their Wi-Fi and the location was accurate again. So I thought there was a setting in my modem or router that needed to be addressed. But why would the desktop still work? I did a complete reset on the modem while talking to xFinity. Coincidentally on the same day, Microsoft pushed out two big updates. I installed those. Within hours the tablet is back to working again and reflecting the correct location. My guess - it was the updates (again). Hard to say. Still no issue w/Apple product though. Until the next time.

Bob - You must be busy. No response. This is not an IPv6 issue. As I mentioned, the IP address lookup on both windows PC’s is local. The desktop works. The laptop/tablet does not. They each connect to the same router/modem in the same room. Network card driver variations is the only thing I can find. I can no longer use the laptop for any searches as it wants to recommend stores in Kansas. Since Microsoft won’t address this, I’ve also reached out to Google - not that I feel this is their issue but seek their technical expertise as again, multiple discussion boards over many years with numerous people having the same issue is getting nowhere with Microsoft. I’m beyond frustrated now wondering if it’s best to solely use Apple products.

Hi Rob. Thank you as always for your timely and detailed responses. I used to do IT work back in the day but stuck to commercial real estate banking! So with that said, I'm feeling a bit rusty, can talk the talk and totally not afraid to venture into commands, registry edits and/or services. As others have said, Microsoft makes enough profit on top of their highly paid people to get software code working as it's supposed to, i.e. if we tell settings to adjust time zone automatically, then it does so accurately. Period. As for IP4 vs IP6, I'm not seeing an IP6 address - only 4. And while I own the Apple ecosystem, I've been more comfortable w/Windows for use of Office and file storage purposes. With that said - I own two Lenovo computers. #1 is a tablet or laptop. #2 is a desktop. BOTH connect wirelessly to my router. The tablet is having the location issue, NOT the desktop. Both have all current updates. Comparatives are as follows:

#1: Tablet - Link to Public IP states IPv4 address of 73.2.92.131. IPv6 not detected. This equates to Comcast Cable located in Roseville, CA (about 20 miles up the road).

#2: Desktop - Link to Public IP states the same IP#

#1: Tablet reflects incorrect location in the weather widget and maps thinks I'm in Olathe, KS. #2: Desktop - Accurately depicts my location in both apps.

Here are the Wi-Fi settings on both units understanding the local IPv6 address & physical addresses are different. *** What is differentiating the tablet from the desktop in functionality?

Maggiekev,

Unfortunately, it's likely to go on forever, since as I stated in multiple posts in this thread, both Microsoft as well as Google and Apple have been working on helping customers who wish to hide their location do this, along with at least some ISP's as well, so it's not as easy to provide consistent location data to the world as it used to be.

I can't say why your particular settings seem to change, but then I've been hiding my own location for years, so I'm really not likely to see the same sorts of random changes, especially since my own ISP T-Mobile, also only displays an aggregate location through which many regional towers are displayed. This latter situation is likely due to no individual assignment for IPv6 addresses, which was my first guess in this thread, resulting in my location showing as Milwaukee even though I'm around 100 miles from that city.

To confirm how my own current location detection was acting, I tried a US-based Geo-location tool that displayed the same IPv6 address and no IPv4 address for my own location, with the first 3 of the GEO IP data providers used indicating the same T-Mobile USA, Inc organization. As I mentioned above this is probably why they're unable to provide more specific information, since T-Mobile in effect hides my location by default, though I don't know if that's intentional, requiring me to provide that via my device settings if I wish and I have personally disabled for Windows.

Here's the multiple Geo-location tool I used for you to try, since then you can see not only the IP(s) displayed, but also where or more accurately who they believe is providing this information to them.

IP Address Lookup - Check Location of Your Public IP

That may help you at least understand where this information might be coming from, since as I said in my case it's clearly coming from T-Mobile who only provides a general region for these newer IPv6 addresses, most likely because there are so many they'd need to manually enter the specific individual addresses into a database for, that they simply don't even attempt to maintain these for individual customers.

For that reason, I tried looking up the IPv6 address from that previous IP Location page by cutting and pasting it into the following IP WHOIS Lookup page, since it provides more specific detail for the IP address range assignment to your ISP. It won't necessarily tell you more detail you can use, but it will confirm the official details of what organization truly manages (no one owns) the IP address range your specific IP address is contained within.

IP WHOIS Lookup - Instantly Fetch the WHOIS Info of an IP

If your only identified IP address is an IPv6 as mine is, with no IPv4 address displayed as well, that would imply that the entire pathway from your own [router] device to the server performing the IP address testing is now operating in IPv6 mode, since that's a requirement for these addresses to actually function.

Since the older IPv4 addresses were often assigned a location at least relatively close to the actual location(s) they were used, it's more likely you'd see the past location you were used to when one of these is being used instead. Since more and more servers and routers on the Internet are supporting IPv6 every day, the chances you'll see these being used for your own connections increases as well, meaning that if like mine, your ISP doesn't provide individual locations for their IPv6 addresses, this problem will likely continue to grow for more sites that request location info as well.

Rob

Here we go again. And here I am again. How long will this issue keep cropping up? As I've posted months ago, various setting changes seemed to fix the issue. Months went by along with all the Windows updates, and leaving the time to automatically adjust never caused an issue, that is until two days ago. The setting is now turned off. The Weather and Map widgets place me elsewhere and performing a Google search, even on my iPhone thinks I'm located elsewhere. Google picked up the location from Windows though. Does anyone have any recent updates or recommendations on putting a stop to this incorrect location matter?