Configuring Geolocation settings

Geolocation settings allow you to control which geolocation technologies are used to collect location information from the devices in your account. Specifically, you can control whether:

  • Public IP addresses are used to determine your devices' primary location

  • Location Services are temporarily enabled to collect Wi-Fi and OS locations from devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or higher

Configure the IP location setting to control whether public IP addresses are used to determine your devices' primary location when other geolocation technologies (Wi-Fi, OS Location) are unavailable or invalid.

Note that locations based on a device's public IP address are typically accurate at the country and region level only; locations within a city are less reliable. Location accuracy may also be negatively impacted by VPNs, proxies, and the location of the device's Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Learn more about geolocation technologies

Configuration of the IP location setting has the following effect:

When the setting is... The following conditions apply...
Enabled

  • When a device's location changes by more than 100 meters, but Wi-Fi andOS locations are unavailable or invalid:

    • The device's IP location is reported as its Last known location in Device Details.
    • A Public IP location updated event is logged to Event History.
    • The device's IP location is reported as its primary location on the History page in the device's Device Details. Note that the location is resolved to the city-level only; street addresses are not available. As a result, the map is not shown.
    • In device reports, the following columns show a icon to indicate that the location is based on the device's public IP address and its accuracy may be low:
      • Device Location > City
      • Device Location > State/Province
      • Device Location > Country
    • On the Location History page in the device's Device Details, IP locations show a icon and a city-level location in the timeline, but a location marker is not shown on the map.

  • When a device's location changes by more than 100 meters, and a Wi-Fi or OS location is available and valid:

    • The device's Wi-Fi or OS location is reported as its Last known location in Device Details.
    • A Device location updated event is logged to Event History.
    • On the History page in Device Details, the device's primary location is resolved to a street address, and a location marker shows on the map. IP location may be reported as a secondary location, but a location marker is not shown on the map.
  • The Include IP locations checkbox is available for selection when you're creating a rule based on device location. Note that if you select this option, and an IP location change triggers the rule, the map in the email notification does not contain a marker.

Enabling the Geolocation setting option may increase the number of false alerts generated by rules based on device location.

Disabled

(default configuration for new accounts)
  • Wi-Fi (if available) and OS Location are used to determine a device's primary location.
  • When a device's location changes by more than 100 meters:
    • The device's Wi-Fi or OS location is reported as its Last known location in Device Details.
    • A Device location updated event is logged to Event History. Public IP location updated events are never logged.
    • On the History page in Device Details, the device's primary location is resolved to a street address, and a location marker shows on the map. IP location may be reported as a secondary location, but a location marker is not shown on the map.
  • The Include IP locations checkbox is not available for selection when you're creating a rule based on device location. Note that if the Include IP locations option was enabled in an existing Action rule, it is disabled and removed when the Geolocation setting is disabled.

If your devices predominantly use a wired network connection, and you want to track their location, it is best practice to enable the Geolocation setting.

To collect Wi-Fi and OS locations from Windows 11 devices, Location Services need to be enabled. If you don't want to permanently enable Location Services on your devices, you can use the Turn Location Services on when required setting to temporarily allow the GEO component to access location information.

This setting only applies to devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or higher. For lower versions of Windows, the Geo component can collect Wi-Fi and OS locations without Location Services being enabled.

Configuration of the setting has the following effect:

When the setting is... The following conditions apply...

Enabled

(default)

During each scan for location information, if the GEO component detects that Location Services are disabled, the component temporarily enables Location Services, collects the device's Wi-Fi or OS location, and then immediately disables Location Services.

Disabled

During each scan for location information, if the GEO component detects that Location Services are disabled, no action is taken. Wi-Fi and OS locations are not collected.

Note the following:

  • If the IP location setting is enabled, an IP location is reported as the devices' primary location.

  • If the IP location setting is disabled, no location information is available for devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or higher.

To configure the settings:

  1. Log in to the Secure Endpoint Console with the Manage permission for Geolocation. Only System Administrators are granted this permission by default.
  2. On the navigation bar, click Settings > Account settings.

  3. Under Geolocation > IP location, do one of the following:

    • To use IP Location to determine a device's primary location, click the slider to set it to On, and then click Enable in the dialog that opens.

    • To not use IP Location to determine a device's primary location, click the slider to set it to Off, and then click Disable in the dialog that opens.

      Disabling the setting does not remove historical IP location data. All IP locations reported on each device's Location History page are retained, as are the Public IP location updated events logged to Event History.

    The setting is updated and a Geolocation setting updated event is logged to Event History.

  4. Under Geolocation > Turn Location Services on when required, do one of the following:

    • To temporarily turn on Location Services when the setting is disabled on a device, click the slider to set it to On.

    • To not turn on Location Services, click the slider to set it to Off.

    The setting is updated and a Geolocation setting updated event is logged to Event History.