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Firefox geolocation is not accurate

  • 15 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Recently moved and transferred cable internet service to new address, keeping same equipment. But when using Firefox, my home geo-location still shows as being in my former region when using online maps, shopping, etc, sites. I'm sure it's not a DNS/server issue as other web browsers show my correct geolocation, and those "what is my IP" sites also show correct region. ISP customer service also confirms my profile is updated.

For the record: - Firefox version: 71.0 - Verified sites have location request permissions - Tried launching in Firefox safe mode - Tried Firefox Refresh

Any suggestions greatly appreciate -

DW

Recently moved and transferred cable internet service to new address, keeping same equipment. But when using Firefox, my home geo-location still shows as being in my former region when using online maps, shopping, etc, sites. I'm sure it's not a DNS/server issue as other web browsers show my correct geolocation, and those "what is my IP" sites also show correct region. ISP customer service also confirms my profile is updated. For the record: - Firefox version: 71.0 - Verified sites have location request permissions - Tried launching in Firefox safe mode - Tried Firefox Refresh Any suggestions greatly appreciate - DW

All Replies (15)

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You have a map from chromium it let’s you change time zone and alphabet

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What do these websites say about your location?

http://whatismyipaddress.com/ Under the map, look for Location Not Accurate?

http://browserleaks.com/geo

https://html5demos.com/geo/

https://www.iplocation.net/find-ip-address

How to set your location manually in Firefox(Windows) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1197142#answer-1115502

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dwitham2003 said

But when using Firefox, my home geo-location still shows as being in my former region when using online maps, shopping, etc, sites.

... those "what is my IP" sites also show correct region.

What website(s) show the wrong information for your location?

Setting aside an account setting -- you would need to change on that site -- the information might be retained in a cookie the site previously set and stubbornly avoids updating.

To remove a site's cookies:

First, save any pending work. Then, while viewing a page on the site, click the lock icon at the left end of the address bar. After a moment, a "Clear Cookies and Site Data" button should appear at the bottom. Go ahead and click that.

In the dialog that opens, you will see one or more matches to the current address so you can remove the site's cookies individually without affecting other sites.

Then try reloading the page. Does that help?

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You can remove all data stored in Firefox for a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox for this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data for that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.

If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data for that website will be saved once again.

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(see below)

Modified by dwitham2003

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Apologies on the scrambled formatting last reply – redo:

All good suggestions - I was really hoping...but nope. Firefox still insists I'm about 40 miles from my actual location. In response:

"What do these websites say about your location?" Initially Whatismyipaddress.com has the inaccurate location. Upon selecting 'Update my IP location', the 'Details' show three providers: one accurate, one at my former locale, one invalid (map never does update). Of the other links, only IPLocation.net is in the correct region...ensured Location Services were enabled (yes); manually set the Windows default location but apparently Firefox isn't talking to Windows either, still wrong locale

"What website(s) show the wrong information for your location?" Any site via Firefox, (Chrome still gets it right) removed cookies manually and also totally cleared Firefox cache and cookies, but it's still lost after reloading the page.

Used the good-to-know "Forget About This Site", but alas, the wrong location is still coming up.

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I see, your IP address does not trace to your actual location. However, many sites can query your browser for a precise location using GPS or wi-fi hotspot data.

Do you get this prompt when triggering sites to access your precise location:

That example is from: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Geolocation_API#Live_Result

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Yes, I get the exact same prompt above

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dwitham2003 said

Yes, I get the exact same prompt above

How close are the coordinates to your actual location?

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Coordinates are dead on - for my previous address.

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It's fascinating. When you run that page in other browsers you get current location, but previous location in Firefox?

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What results do you get in a new profile ?

You can create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.

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Thanks for the follow up -

When I launch the https://developer.mozilla.org... page in Chrome, the location is correct. But still off in Firefox.

Creating a new Firefox profile led to the same results, mapping data in Firefox still goes to my previous locale.

Honestly, at this point I'm pretty much resigned to being stuck with the issue in Firefox...luckily other browsers work correctly, as does the Google Maps desktop app.

Appreciate the troubleshooting -

dw

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What hardware did you move to your new location? Router? And is it a wire-less router?

Perhaps your router has the old geo-location coordinates stuck" inside, if that is a wireless router.


Also, are you using a fixed (permanently assigned to your ISP account) or a dynamic (DHCP) IP address? In my area Comcast uses DHCP which has a 72 hr "lease" which is renewed automatically every time the connection is used. If the connection isn't used within that 72 hours, the next time you connect to the internet chances are you will using a different IP address. IOW, the IP address is only reserved for the user for a maximum of 72 hrs after the last use.

And as far as fixed IP address goes, the published reference data tables might be using old location information or your ISP hasn't yet updated their data to reflect the change-of-address for your account.

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Only when you connect via a WiFi hotspot or otherwise GSP coordinates are used then your location can be accurate. If you connect via the gateway of your ISP then a reverse DNS lookup can be used or a Geo location service and results can differ because it depends on how precise their database is.