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Find my Mac is turned on on my Mac but when I log into iCloud it says Im not sharing its location

Find my Mac is turned on in Settings my Mac but when I log into iCloud it says Im not sharing its location. How do I turn on location sharing?

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Sep 29, 2019 7:24 AM

Reply
12 replies

Oct 1, 2019 2:16 PM in response to rgma62

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, rgma62!


I understand you want to turn on your Mac's location so that you can track it via Find My Mac. I'd be happy to provide information on how to do this.


Use the steps in the following article: About Location Services in OS X and Safari

"Enabling Location Services

Follow these steps to enable location services in OS X Mountain Lion or later

  1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple () menu.
  2. Click the Security & Privacy icon in the System Preferences window.
  3. Click the Privacy tab.
  4. If the padlock icon in the lower left is locked (), click it and enter an admin name and password to unlock it ().
  5. Select Location Services.
  6. Check the "Enable Location Services" checkbox.

Apps that you have allowed to use Location Services appear in the Privacy pane of Security & Privacy preferences. Checkboxes show whether Location Services is turned on or off for an app. If you don’t want to allow Location Services for one or more apps, you can deselect (uncheck) the checkbox next to an app's name. If you turn Location Services off for an app, you are prompted for permission the next time that app requests to use your location data."


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

Enjoy your day!

Oct 4, 2019 12:53 AM in response to jeremy_v

Hi jeremy_v


I worked through your steps above. Location Services is already turned on and 'Find My Friends' is selected. I am familiar with this setting, but thought Id work through your steps incase I had missed something.


I still cannot find my Mac when looking on my iPhone 'Find My' app or using iCloud.com. iCloud says 'OnLine, No Location' (see screenshot), the 'Play Sound' button works.


Thanks for your help


Rich


Oct 4, 2019 2:14 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hi Luis


thanks for taking the time to reply.


My MBP is connected via Ethernet. Wifi is turned on but i am using it to share my internet connection with the rest of the house.


Strangely i have another old Mac Mini connected to my TV which is connected via wifi (only) and i can find that using iCloud. Ive checked all the settings but cannot work out why i can see the Mac Mini (using 10.13.6) but not the MBP (10.14.6).


Any suggestions appreciated.


Rich




Oct 4, 2019 3:49 AM in response to rgma62

And there lies the difference.

If your MBP were connected to some wifi router instead of working itself as a router, it'd almost certainly appear.


I don't know if that is viable, but if you could have a wifi router or access point near your MBP so that both it and other devices can get a Wifi signal from said router, you could still have your MBP wired but it would appear in Find My Mac.

Oct 4, 2019 5:36 AM in response to rgma62

"that should be easy to test by simply turning off internet sharing on my MBP (keeping wifi on as you suggest). "


It is not enough to keep it on, but if it is on and connected to the same router that serves Wifi to the mac mini (even if the primary connection remains Ethernet), then yes, it should work.


Also: you have to make sure that "Find My Mac" is checked in System Preferences->iCloud

Oct 5, 2019 11:02 AM in response to rgma62

Just to add: if you want you can continue to use Ethernet. All you have to do is turn off internet sharing.


Rugby fan? Me too. My country, Portugal, only reached the World Cup once. I remember fondly watching the 5 Nations tournament in the seventies with my mother. Been following the World Cup with interest. SA and NZ are top contenders for the title, but other teams are impressive too. Love the naive but spectacular Fiji game, for instance.

Oct 7, 2019 3:13 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I think i will only need to use the iCloud locating if i loose my Mac or its stolen. In which case it will most likely not be connected to Ethernet. It’s advantageous for me to keep Internet Sharing on in my house as the router is at one end and my Mac (with Ethernet) is at the other end so it fills a wifi gap in the signal.


I’m from England but live in Australia so also follow two teams. A bit tricky if Australia meet England (which may happen after the group stages), but I will have to follow England in that game!


Thanks for your help and enjoy the rest of the competition.

Find my Mac is turned on on my Mac but when I log into iCloud it says Im not sharing its location

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