What part of the internet system decides where you are?

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RunningMan

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#1781836 14-May-2017 08:24

No, it simply depends on how the device that you are using is obtaining it's location.

In descending order of accuracy, these are some of the technologies used to locate a device

GPS - should be accurate to a metre or so, provided there is an unobstructed view of enough satellites

WiFi - accurate to 30ish meters. Location is looked up from crowd sourced data of where it is thought a particular AP is. Moving an AP to a different location leads to confusing results.

Cell tower location - Many kms radius

IP - very inaccurate. Looked up from databases of which ISP own which IP address blocks. If the databases are up to date, then you should get the correct country.

If your location is being reported incorrectly, you need to understand how it is being determined in the first place. A GPS enabled phone, outside, should be very accurate, but it can take 30 seconds or so to stabilise location. A desktop with no wireless connectivity is relying on guessing location from the IP address.

Fred99

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#1781839 14-May-2017 09:02

Using google maps, if wireless is enabled on the notebook I'm using (tethered to an external monitor and with LAN cable to router) then the location accuracy is pretty good - considering we're at least 100m from the road it's pinpointed the approximate position of the right room in the house. Toggle wireless off (how I normally use it) and google maps put the position somewhere in the ocean near Vanuatu, using IP address location, comes up with Auckland (I'm in Chch).

Not sure if that wifi location happens to be particularly accurate as we can "see" about a dozen other wifi SSIDs from here.

I guess that there may be legitimate reasons why you'd want to block geolocation, but also it's sometimes convenient when web pages can deliver content based on location. Is there a way of setting "approximate" location manually on a PC, so that a point in the general area is given - rather than use the wifi location - which in our case at least is deadly accurate?

RunningMan

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#1781848 14-May-2017 10:10

Fred99:[snip]

Not sure if that wifi location happens to be particularly accurate as we can "see" about a dozen other wifi SSIDs from here.

The more networks you can see, the more precise the location will be.

Geektastic

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#1781878 14-May-2017 12:01

RunningMan:
Fred99:[snip]

Not sure if that wifi location happens to be particularly accurate as we can "see" about a dozen other wifi SSIDs from here.

The more networks you can see, the more precise the location will be.

From our house you can see one WiFi network: ours!

Geektastic

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#1781879 14-May-2017 12:02

Fred99:
Using google maps, if wireless is enabled on the notebook I'm using (tethered to an external monitor and with LAN cable to router) then the location accuracy is pretty good - considering we're at least 100m from the road it's pinpointed the approximate position of the right room in the house. Toggle wireless off (how I normally use it) and google maps put the position somewhere in the ocean near Vanuatu, using IP address location, comes up with Auckland (I'm in Chch).

Not sure if that wifi location happens to be particularly accurate as we can "see" about a dozen other wifi SSIDs from here.

I guess that there may be legitimate reasons why you'd want to block geolocation, but also it's sometimes convenient when web pages can deliver content based on location. Is there a way of setting "approximate" location manually on a PC, so that a point in the general area is given - rather than use the wifi location - which in our case at least is deadly accurate?

My phone location setting in High Accuracy. However even outside the weather widget is miles out. Literally.

RunningMan

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#1781919 14-May-2017 13:39

You may also find the weather app is giving a forecast for the nearest settlement that it has a forecast for, if it doesn't have one for your particular location.

Fire up something like google maps and see where that places you.

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Sidestep

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#1781925 14-May-2017 13:56

I checked out my 'Google Maps Timeline' for the first time a couple of weeks back.

It's tracking was scarily accurate, a blue line tracked my travels across NZ and around the world, including a city (& country) I couldn't remember visiting - but clicking down showed I'd been there for a couple of hours in 2013 transiting the airport.

I was impressed it'd recorded my travels to the minute I arrived and left different locations, and I could click on many of the SSID's that had recorded my passing (many were gas stations or businesses when I'd driven past at high speed, private - with street numbers - when I'd dawdled) to see who they were.

I'd turn 'Location History' off, but I've started to rely on Google's Location Services to find the places and things I want.
Guess that's the exchange I've made for giving up some privacy.

MurrayM

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#1782177 15-May-2017 07:48

Several years ago I found a website that let you submit your WiFi router's MAC address and location and it would then add that to some huge database it has that lots of other services use to find your location. Worked fine until we moved and Google thought I was still at the old address. I updated the address in on the website (can't remember what it was) and everything came right again after a while.

freitasm

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#1782200 15-May-2017 08:55

Everyone using an Android phone with GPS and WiFi on is collecting AP location data for Google. All the time.

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MurrayM

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#1782275 15-May-2017 09:39

I think it was this site that I used to add my router's location: http://www.skyhookwireless.com/submit-access-point I did this several years ago, not sure if it's still being used these days.

Geektastic

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#1782563 15-May-2017 14:06

So...

I replaced the Samsung weather widget with Accuweather's version, which gives my correct location.

Google on my desktop still thinks I am in Ponatahi...!

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