Why does my location check keep failing

Definition

Why does my location check keep failing?

Location checks usually fail for ordinary reasons: location permission is off, Wi-Fi is off or sees too few networks, a VPN or remote-desktop tool is running, the device is close to a border, or the check could not get a clear enough answer and refused rather than guessed.

Sportsbooks, lottery apps, banks and streaming services all check where you are, and they all fail sometimes. The causes are mostly the same whichever company runs the check.

Check these first

Location permission. The app, or on a computer the browser or helper app doing the check, needs permission to use location. On iPhone and Android this is in the app’s settings. On a Mac it is in System Settings under Privacy & Security, Location Services.
Precise location. Phones can share an approximate location instead of a precise one. Many checks need precise location turned on for that app.
Wi-Fi. Keep it on, even on mobile data or Ethernet. The check uses it to scan nearby networks, not to connect. See Wi-Fi triangulation.
VPNs, proxies and relays. Turn them off for the check. Some ad blockers and privacy apps route traffic in the same way.
Remote-desktop and screen-sharing tools. Checks often refuse while these are running, because they let someone elsewhere control the device.

Less obvious causes

You are near a border. An estimate accurate to a few hundred metres can still straddle a state line. Many checks refuse rather than guess, and moving a short way inland often fixes it.
A new router. Location databases may not know a new network yet. Neighbours’ networks usually make up for it.
Few networks in range. In rural areas there may be little to match. Moving to a window or upstairs can help.
A modified device. Checks are designed to fail rooted or jailbroken phones, emulators, and phones with a mock-location app set in developer options. See mock location detection.
Network settings. Some routers and DNS filters block the services a check needs to reach.

Refusing is sometimes the right answer

A check that cannot tell where you are should say so rather than guess. Octet’s SDK returns INDETERMINATE with a reason in that case, separate from NO, so an app can tell you what to fix instead of telling you that you are somewhere you are not. See geolocation pass rate for why a check that always answers is not necessarily a good one.