Firefox consistently reports WRONG geolocation data - ALL other browsers get it right!
So this is driving me nuts - Firefox thinks I am still in Chelmsford.
I havent lived there for some considerable time... I am now in SCOTLAND (exact location witheld for security) but I am over 400 mile away from where Firefox alone thinks I am. Whenever an app or website asks Firefox for my location it tells them I am in Chelmsford. ALL and I do mean ALL other browsers get it right. Only Firefox gets this wrong.
I dont use a VPN or anything like a plugin to alter or conceal my IP location - if I check my IP geolocation directly it is correct - but firefox seems to ignore this data for some reason... The only thing I can think of is that it may be using some wifi geolocation map - and of course my two routers which both have distinctive SSIDs may still be logged as being located in Essex... How on earth would I get that updated I wonder... The people who came up with the whole wardriving geolocation map idea dont seem to have considered that routers might move...
Meanwhile in attempts to solve this :
I HAVE - cleared ALL browser cookies and data I HAVE - uninstalled and reinstalled the browser I HAVE - Cleared ALL history. I HAVE checked the location returned by all the popular geolocation services that I know of. They all get it right - but STILL Firefox persists with this crazy delusion that I am still in Chelmsford, when I am definietly NOT!
So how do I fix this?
By the way I am an IT professional so you may take it that I have tried everything obvious!
Please do read the list of things I have already tried before replying, but what am I missing?
PS I also checked my ISP - they also have my location correct - so it isn't some weird IP routing thing...
Modified by user137375004210888199297433150722715688623
Chosen solution
I found an article indicating that starting in Firefox 102, Linux users have GeoClue enabled for geolocation. If you wanted to roll that back to see whether it is a factor, or turn it back on if needed, here's where you'll find that:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.
(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste geo.provider.use_geoclue and pause while the list is filtered
(3) To toggle between true (enabled) and false (disabled), either double-click the preference or click the toggle button at the right end of the row. I don't know whether this takes effect immediately or after your next restart.
(I don't have this on Windows, so don't have the ability to test.)
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Chosen Solution
I found an article indicating that starting in Firefox 102, Linux users have GeoClue enabled for geolocation. If you wanted to roll that back to see whether it is a factor, or turn it back on if needed, here's where you'll find that:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future.
(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste geo.provider.use_geoclue and pause while the list is filtered
(3) To toggle between true (enabled) and false (disabled), either double-click the preference or click the toggle button at the right end of the row. I don't know whether this takes effect immediately or after your next restart.
(I don't have this on Windows, so don't have the ability to test.)
Note that the Firefox version from the Linux repositories may not come with all special keys.
keyLocationServiceGoogleFound: FALSE keySafebrowsingGoogleFound: TRUE keyMozillaFound: TRUE
I suspected that the system was relying on reported wifi SSID location matching - which will be WRONG if a number of routers (more than one) have been moved wholesale as a group - to a new location - which is of course precisely what I have done.
Turning geoclue off results in a less precise location - but in the right general area... which is good enough to be considered as a fix! The moral of the story is that these clever systems do often come with a peculiar set of circumstances under which they will fail... sometimes because nobody thought they would ever be encountered.
So in this case, GeoClueless. I wonder how that is supposed to eventually get updated?