How To Change Location on a PC

Most of the time, you want your PC to know your actual location. That way, the clock automatically updates when you move to a different time zone and when you Google search the best restaurants nearby, it shows places you can eat in your town. Sometimes you need to change that location though. Changing your location can help you get around geo-restrictions in apps and PC services.

Well we’ve been there before and have changed the location on our PC running Windows 10. Today, we’re going to show you the exact process and tools we use to change the location on our PC anytime we need to. Even better, it works on any version of Windows. So whether you’re an early adopter of Windows 11 or still sticking with Windows 10, our tricks for changing your computer’s location will work. Let’s get started.

How To Turn On Location Settings

Once you change your PC location with a VPN, you need to go through and turn on any relevant location settings. That way, the apps you use gather your new location data based on the location of the VPN server you connected to. We like to turn on the location settings for Microsoft Edge and Cortana so that our web-browsing and voice searches use our new location. Here’s how we turn on location settings for these two apps.

Edge

To turn on Location Settings for the Microsoft Edge browser:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Choose “Privacy.”
4. Choose “Location.”
5. Turn on “Allow Access to Location on This Device,” “Allow Apps To Access Your Location,” and “Allow Desktop Apps To Access Your Location.”

Cortana

There’s no doubt you’ve heard about Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, but have you heard of Cortana, Microsoft’s voice assistant?1 If you have Cortana turned on, it will collect your location periodically, sending it to Bing to give you personalized web search results. To turn on Location Settings for Cortana:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Cortana.”
4. Click either “Permissions” or “Permissions & History.”
5. Choose “Manage the Information Cortana Can Access From This Device.”
6. Turn Location Settings on.

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How Do Location Settings Work?

Unlike with Mac computers, there’s a lot to finesse with Windows 10 PCs, with your Location Settings in particular. It’s a simple truth that some apps and services need your location data in order to work, such as the Find My Device feature, a maps app, and automatic time zone settings. But how exactly does Microsoft gather this data, and how can you customize it to your liking?

How Microsoft Builds the Location Settings Database

Microsoft builds the Location Settings database using these and other methods:

1. GPS
2. Nearby wireless access points
3. IP addresses
4. Cellular towers
5. MAC (media access control) addresses
6. Wireless routers
7. Other IoT devices (electronic devices connected to Wi-Fi)

After your computer collects your location data, it sends it back to Microsoft with all of your personally identifiable information (PII) removed. That’s a good thing, as it makes you less likely to fall victim to identity theft in the event of a data breach. Three cheers for online anonymity!

The only time that Microsoft will collect and share your location data without your consent is if you make an emergency call. This lets the operator know your location, giving you the help you need sooner rather than later.

Location History

In life, sometimes it’s about the journey, not the destination, and that’s definitely true for your Location History. Some apps collect not only your current location but also your past locations, which Microsoft stores for a limited time and then deletes. You’ll be able to see exactly which apps use your Location History in your Location Settings.

Default Location

If apps can’t get your precise location, they’ll use your Default Location; you can set a Default Location in your Location Settings.

Geofencing

Geofencing means that apps turn on and off based on defined, “fenced” areas. Of course, these apps must have location services enabled to use geofencing, and you can see which apps use geofencing in your Location Settings.

Location Icon

If one or more apps are using your PC’s location (save for geofencing), then your taskbar’s notification area will display the Location icon. Learn how to hide and show the Location icon:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Personalization.”
4. Click “Taskbar.”
5. Scroll down to the Notification Area.
6. Choose “Select Which Icons Show on the Taskbar.”
7. Turn on or off the Location Notification setting.

How To Check Location Settings

Is Location enabled on your PC? Here’s how to check:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Privacy.”
4. Click “Location.”

We recommend always checking your location settings after any Windows update. Some updates reset your settings to the default settings which would turn your location settings back on.

How To Clear Location History

If you don’t want anyone else who uses your PC knowing where you were, you can either restart your device or follow these steps:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Privacy.”
4. Click “Location.”
5. Under your Location History, click “Clear.”

It’s important to note that clearing your Location History only clears the history on your Windows 10 itself, much like incognito mode only clears your browsing history on your actual device. Certain apps may still store your location history. You’ll have to find out by reading apps’ privacy policies or checking out the data big tech companies log.

How To Turn Location Settings On and Off

To turn Location Settings on or off on your entire PC:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Privacy.”
4. Click “Location.”
5. Click “Change.”
6. Click “Location for This Device.”
7. Toggle the switch on or off.

To control just your user account:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click “Privacy.”
4. Click “Location.”
5. Switch “Allow Apps To Access Your Location” to on or off.

But remember, this will only work if you’ve enabled Location Settings in general.2

Recap

Hopefully, we’ve answered all of your questions about changing your location on a Windows 10 PC. These same steps should work on a Windows 11 computer as well. In case we didn’t cover everything above, though, we’ve answered the questions we get the most below.

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