Location Issue on my laptop with Windows 11

Edge reddit page also has several posts with Edge location services stuck on the VA DC

Interesting, we probably have different but similar bugs then. I have a feeling mine was ISP related because a) it started happening on my iPhone and b) the solution I was able to use didn't work for other people. My computer was outright unable to use location services, on all browsers, so if stuff like other browsers or the Maps app are working for you, I would assume an Edge-specific problem.

bentokage and others posting recently,

Please read my most recent long post back on page 3 of this thread, if you don't know how to browse here, look below the initial post on any page for the word 'Replies', then click the page number or Previous Next to switch pages.

My most recent previous post on page 3 clearly indicates there's a problem, but also explains how this Microsoft Secure Network actually works, as well as questions whether it's truly a bug (possible) as JB-D-M believes or some sort of testing issue that only some of us are experiencing.

There's no way that any of us without inside knowledge can know the answer to this, but I have found what clearly appears to be the true way that the new Edge Secure Network operates, so that' might make it easier for someone reading this thread to troubleshoot their system to determine why those of us experiencing this flaky switching back and forth to/from Boydton, VA is occurring, even when we supposedly have the Secure Network features turned 'OFF' in Edge settings.

Read that last part carefully, I said just as I stated in my previous post on page 3 that I'm having exactly the same flaky symptoms as JB-D-M and bentokage were having, even though for short periods my system has also properly displayed my current location for at least one or two tests with those IP location testing pages that JB-D-M had provided.

The only question that truly remains is why it's not working stably for some of us, though as I also mentioned in my own case it seems to work for the first one or two IP address queries from each of the apps until it suddenly switches back to Boydton, VA, after which I must try again to 'clear' the problem by either playing with some of the many settings or even shutting the tablet down completely, which I'm guessing may be doing noting more than giving the symptom time to reset and clear itself out of the system.

In other words, my theory is that at least in my case, this is acting like a network 'protection' rather than a bug, forcing the system to display the Boydton, VA address rather than a more accurate one closer to my true location in order to block the 'attacks' by those IP testing apps that might appear to be trying to find my true location. Remember, this new set of Secure Network features were specifically designed to aid in blocking or hiding your true location and provide those for a nearby data center instead, which is what some of the links I provided in the post on page 3 explain fully.

If you haven't read at least one the Cloudflare portions of that previous thread on page 3 then do it! Other than the fact this feature seems to be operating at times it shouldn't it's doing exactly what those pages at Cloudflare and the FAQ entry for the Secure Network VPN feature at Microsoft claim it's supposed to do, so it's operating perfectly as designed, but seemingly just a bit too often for some of us.

Rob

None of those I have chatted with or seen with the issue use the secure network features nor are they near that DC or use a vpn. This is a recurring issue over the years (based on reports) but for recent impacted users started within the past few weeks as did my issue.

Interesting, we probably have different but similar bugs then. I have a feeling mine was ISP related because a) it started happening on my iPhone and b) the solution I was able to use didn't work for other people. My computer was outright unable to use location services, on all browsers, so if stuff like other browsers or the Maps app are working for you, I would assume an Edge-specific problem.

bentokage and others posting recently,

Please read my most recent long post back on page 3 of this thread, if you don't know how to browse here, look below the initial post on any page for the word 'Replies', then click the page number or Previous Next to switch pages.

My most recent previous post on page 3 clearly indicates there's a problem, but also explains how this Microsoft Secure Network actually works, as well as questions whether it's truly a bug (possible) as JB-D-M believes or some sort of testing issue that only some of us are experiencing.

There's no way that any of us without inside knowledge can know the answer to this, but I have found what clearly appears to be the true way that the new Edge Secure Network operates, so that' might make it easier for someone reading this thread to troubleshoot their system to determine why those of us experiencing this flaky switching back and forth to/from Boydton, VA is occurring, even when we supposedly have the Secure Network features turned 'OFF' in Edge settings.

Read that last part carefully, I said just as I stated in my previous post on page 3 that I'm having exactly the same flaky symptoms as JB-D-M and bentokage were having, even though for short periods my system has also properly displayed my current location for at least one or two tests with those IP location testing pages that JB-D-M had provided.

The only question that truly remains is why it's not working stably for some of us, though as I also mentioned in my own case it seems to work for the first one or two IP address queries from each of the apps until it suddenly switches back to Boydton, VA, after which I must try again to 'clear' the problem by either playing with some of the many settings or even shutting the tablet down completely, which I'm guessing may be doing noting more than giving the symptom time to reset and clear itself out of the system.

In other words, my theory is that at least in my case, this is acting like a network 'protection' rather than a bug, forcing the system to display the Boydton, VA address rather than a more accurate one closer to my true location in order to block the 'attacks' by those IP testing apps that might appear to be trying to find my true location. Remember, this new set of Secure Network features were specifically designed to aid in blocking or hiding your true location and provide those for a nearby data center instead, which is what some of the links I provided in the post on page 3 explain fully.

If you haven't read at least one the Cloudflare portions of that previous thread on page 3 then do it! Other than the fact this feature seems to be operating at times it shouldn't it's doing exactly what those pages at Cloudflare and the FAQ entry for the Secure Network VPN feature at Microsoft claim it's supposed to do, so it's operating perfectly as designed, but seemingly just a bit too often for some of us.

Rob

When a “feature” interferes with normal functionality of the OS for the user, i.e. preventing automatic time setting frok working properly by putting me in Eastern rather than Central because the OS thinks I’m in Virginia, thats no longer a feature, its a bug.

None of those I have chatted with or seen with the issue use the secure network features nor are they near that DC or use a vpn. This is a recurring issue over the years (based on reports) but for recent impacted users started within the past few weeks as did my issue.

Tom,

See my other message to you in that other thread, it explains portions of this.

The thing you are missing is that there really is a new issue entirely here as well, since the Secure Network feature is obvious involved in what's happening, even though as everyone seems to think including myself, we've got these specific features turned off when the issue is happening.

As JB-D-M here believes, this sounds like it might be a bug, and that's possible.

However, what I'm saying is that it's also possible that Microsoft has built something into Edge or even Windows itself that's watching for potential attackers trying to find your location and since the way most of us are testing this is to continually perform actions that trigger the location system, those might also be mis-triggering and forcing the Secure Network feature into a sort of 'protect' mode, where it continually blocks the remote site's ability to acquire your true location until some eventual timeout resets and returns it to providing the more accurate location again.

We don't know the true reason and apparently JB-D-M doesn't really care, but some of us do and would like to try and understand what may truly be causing this apparent failure to occur. That's why I'm providing all of this information, not to say it isn't happening, because it clearly is, I'm just not going to wait around complaining at Microsoft since I know that won't solve or speed up anything. I'll instead try to understand it better and see if there's a workaround to truly fix it for now.

Microsoft's own Support has been offering the same old solutions of clearing histories and some other related settings as you said, but the results of those have varied just as in the past as well, so they're really just running the same old playbook or online support scripts as they're trained to do, while I'm looking at what's actually changed for clues to what it may have triggered.

The reason it appears to have started recently is clearly due to a recent Edge browser update, which release every week or two from a separate system than Windows Update that few realize exists, though we've heard about it here in a few threads in the past. No great secret there, just something few realize even occurs other than due to the 'new features' web pages Edge typically displays when the browser next restarts.

Rob