Forum Discussion
Geolocation wrong (really wrong) in Edge but correct in Chrome
This is probably a Windows 10 API problem not an Edge issue, but geolocation is wrong - usually really, really wrong - in Edge... while Chrome gets my location dead-on. On the same computer. At the...
Windows Version 10.0.19042 Build 19042
Same issue as reported by others in this thread: my location in Maps is being reported as being in Brisbane, QLD, Australia, when I am actually 1000Km (620miles) away in Sydney. The location in Brisbane is where my ISP is located. No workaround has fixed it for me either. I invested in the switchover from Chrome to Edge after being a loyal Chrome user for many years; I'd like to stay, but this is something that just bugs me too much. In addition to getting location-based search results that would be useful if I was in Brisbane but not so much in Sydney, I tend to use maps frequently to plan trips etc, and it's just irritating having to specify my current location whenever I do so.
This is most certainly a design flaw in the way that Windows Maps obtains the current location via IP geolocation. Given that more and more ISPs are starting to use ISP-level NAT, along with other reasons that the IP address location is an unreliable source, this means that there are likely to be millions affected by this, with most of them quietly just switching back to Chrome because they don't know what to do about it.
Microsoft, if you are serious about beating Google, location based services is a fundamental, mandatory thing to get right for a whole lot of reasons. You probably don't know how many users are affected by this poor design decision or how much of your location-based advertising business is being impacted, so at the very least, do some customer research to figure out the scale of the issue. You might find it's having a major impact on your Edge uptake, at a minimum.
Same issue as reported by others in this thread: my location in Maps is being reported as being in Brisbane, QLD, Australia, when I am actually 1000Km (620miles) away in Sydney. The location in Brisbane is where my ISP is located. No workaround has fixed it for me either. I invested in the switchover from Chrome to Edge after being a loyal Chrome user for many years; I'd like to stay, but this is something that just bugs me too much. In addition to getting location-based search results that would be useful if I was in Brisbane but not so much in Sydney, I tend to use maps frequently to plan trips etc, and it's just irritating having to specify my current location whenever I do so.
This is most certainly a design flaw in the way that Windows Maps obtains the current location via IP geolocation. Given that more and more ISPs are starting to use ISP-level NAT, along with other reasons that the IP address location is an unreliable source, this means that there are likely to be millions affected by this, with most of them quietly just switching back to Chrome because they don't know what to do about it.
Microsoft, if you are serious about beating Google, location based services is a fundamental, mandatory thing to get right for a whole lot of reasons. You probably don't know how many users are affected by this poor design decision or how much of your location-based advertising business is being impacted, so at the very least, do some customer research to figure out the scale of the issue. You might find it's having a major impact on your Edge uptake, at a minimum.