New WiFi, location problem

TonyAdams1998

Just got a new broadband provider today and everyone's devices in the house are saying we're in Waterford yet I'm in North Kildare. Anyone know why this maybe happening?

Thanks

ItHurtsWhenIP

The IP address blocks your ISP is using for your connection is probably registered in Waterford.

sennah

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

Just got a new broadband provider today and everyone's devices in the house are saying we're in Waterford yet I'm in North Kildare. Anyone know why this maybe happening?

Thanks

Did your new provider give you a new router? If so, it will take a while for Google, Apple, et al to "localise" this new device (they tag the MAC address of the WiFi radio on the router). Until they establish the correct location of the new router, you will be shown as the location registered against your IP address of sometimes coarsely located based on nearby cell-towers

Apparently you can speed up the localisation somewhat by setting the GPS on your devices to high-accuracy and then using the map apps to pin-point your true location. This will get passed back to Google and Apple and the correct location will be pushed out in due course

ItHurtsWhenIP

sennah wrote: »

Did your new provider give you a new router? If so, it will take a while for Google, Apple, et al to "localise" this new device (they tag the MAC address of the WiFi radio on the router). Until they establish the correct location of the new router, you will be shown as the location registered against your IP address of sometimes coarsely located based on nearby cell-towers

Apparently you can speed up the localisation somewhat by setting the GPS on your devices to high-accuracy and then using the map apps to pin-point your true location. This will get passed back to Google and Apple and the correct location will be pushed out in due course

If this were true, then my FWA router is about 30KM away in Limerick, from my house in Tipperary ... :rolleyes:

sennah

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

If this were true, then my FWA router is about 30KM away in Limerick, from my house in Tipperary ... :rolleyes:

Google did initially scoop up WiFi MAC's and the corresponding GPS locations using their Streetview cars. I think they solely maintain the location database using users Android devices now. Apple used to use Google and a company called Skyhook Wireless for WiFi geo-location but, similar to Google, they now collect this information from users devices

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-google-and-everyone-else-gets-wi-fi-location-data/


I'm not really getting your point about your FWA router being 30KM away? Surely you have a WiFi transmitter in your home - the MAC of which your device(s) will likely be pinging back to Google / Apple?


Just to add... I buy second-hand routers from time to time and it can take an age for Google to realise the new location (it will show the seller's location for a number of weeks!)

ItHurtsWhenIP

sennah wrote: »

Google did initially scoop up WiFi MAC's and the corresponding GPS locations using their Streetview cars. I think they solely maintain the location database using users Android devices now. Apple used to use Google and a company called Skyhook Wireless for WiFi geo-location but, similar to Google, they now collect this information from users devices

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-google-and-everyone-else-gets-wi-fi-location-data/


I'm not really getting your point about your FWA router being 30KM away? Surely you have a WiFi transmitter in your home - the MAC of which your device(s) will likely be pinging back to Google / Apple?


Just to add... I buy second-hand routers from time to time and it can take an age for Google to realise the new location (it will show the seller's location for a number of weeks!)

Wasn't the google snooping and storing of WiFi details determined to be illegal?

Why would my transmitter be pinging to Apple or Google? I'm not connected to them.

If I'm on my phone, yes it's own GPS tells it that I'm in Tipperary, but that's nothing to do with the router/transmitter.

On my network devices (Laptops/Desktop), my location is shown as Limerick (hence the 30KM) as my ISP is Limerick based. The OP's ISP is either Waterford based, or they've picked up an IP block from a former Waterford based company.

Have you seen the VM threads that occasionally people are reporting that they are getting Google.at. This is because VM are reallocating IP blocks between their locations and the internet is just taking time realising this ... and it is absolutely nothing to do with routers.

sennah

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

Wasn't the google snooping and storing of WiFi details determined to be illegal?

Why would my transmitter be pinging to Apple or Google? I'm not connected to them.

If I'm on my phone, yes it's own GPS tells it that I'm in Tipperary, but that's nothing to do with the router/transmitter.

On my network devices (Laptops/Desktop), my location is shown as Limerick (hence the 30KM) as my ISP is Limerick based. The OP's ISP is either Waterford based, or they've picked up an IP block from a former Waterford based company.

Have you seen the VM threads that occasionally people are reporting that they are getting Google.at. This is because VM are reallocating IP blocks between their locations and the internet is just taking time realising this ... and it is absolutely nothing to do with routers.

It seems we're going off on our own forks here

Google got in trouble for sniffing and storing actual WiFi traffic during their Streetview campaign... not for mapping the location of wireless AP's. There is nothing illegal with mapping WiFi AP's or cellphone transmitters. It's sometimes referred to as war-driving, a hobby I partake in myself occasionally

Re. the transmitter "pinging" Google... no, your devices ping Google or Apple saying something like... "I'm connected to SSID xyz, which has a MAC of xx:xx:xx and my Lat/Lon is 55.xxx, -7.xxx". Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc use these "pings" to build databases of WiFi access points and their approximate locations. This data is then used to help other devices and services determine their location using solely the WiFi AP's or cell-sites around them... again, by pinging the manufacturer with something like "I can see SSID xyz, which has a MAC of xx:xx:xx. Where am I?". This is all fairly common knowledge as it is explained quite clearly on all Android and Apple devices


When it comes to devices and the services on those devices establishing their location, there are different methods at play. If you're on a smart-phone, it can use GPS (if enabled) or else it can fall back to establishing a location based on surrounding WiFi or mobile cell sites. If for whatever reason the smart-phone can't use either GPS or the manufacturers location API, then yes, it can usually use the location registered against the device's public IP address. PC's and laptops are somewhat different. Up until recently, if a website or service requested your location, it was generally limited to using the location registered against your public IP address. However, things have opened up a bit with later Windows releases, newer browsers, etc. Google have baked their location API into their browser which allows their websites and third-party website to establish your location. Windows 10 has also brought location services a little more to the fore and many of their apps can use true locations which may have been gathered from MS smart-phones

Back to the OP... if they're using smart-devices and were supplied with a new router from their broadband provider, then they will eventually see their true location coming through in apps. If the OP is using a laptop or PC, mileage may vary... as in the last paragraph, it depends on the service and what method it used for geo-locating. Yes, it may be limited to using IP location which raises the likes of the VM incident you mentioned above

The OP didn't mention what device they're seeing the issue on

Nollog

90% of the country is in Dublin because eir don't like geoip.

Did you have a different location with your last provider?