Fix location grayed out in settings.

Question

So recently I updated my windows 11 home computer to the latest update and as soon as I finish updating and log back in, I get a message saying that oh this and that app needs location services to be turned on so I click open settings and it didn't work so I searched it up manually and see that the setting is grayed out while being off. I searched up every youtube video on how to fix which including in delete #3 key trigger info in registry which required me to make a backup registry and also turning on services for geolocation. The geolocation service was already on with manual running so i switched to automatic and gave my computer a restart. Nothing helped. The same thing popped up saying that my admin has turned it off and I need location to be on for this app to work. I go back to settings yet again and i see the message saying my organization has turned/grayed the setting. Now note I am on a personal computer I own which is it's own admin so I don't know.

Answer 1

Hi Lual Char,

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community Forums.

I. Identifying the Root Causes of Problems

Organization policy:

You mentioned that the settings show “My organization has grayed out/grayed out”, which usually means that there is some kind of policy or administrative privilege that restricts the location services from being turned on. Even though you think this is a personal computer, it is possible that you may have previously set up certain administrative policies or installed certain management software (e.g., parental control software, enterprise security software, etc.) that may be causing this issue.

System updates:

System updates may have introduced new security policies or fixed certain security-related vulnerabilities, which may have caused location services to be disabled or restricted by default.

II. Resolution Steps

Check and disable possible management software:

Check if you have installed any management software that may restrict location services and try to disable or uninstall them.

Use the Local Group Policy Editor:

If your version of Windows 11 is Professional or Enterprise, you can try to use the Local Group Policy Editor to modify the policy settings for Location Services.

Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > ” Windows Components > Location and Sensors, then find the policy settings related to Location Services and make sure they are not set to disabled.

Check the registry:

Although you have tried to remove specific subdirectories from the registry, it is recommended to check again to make sure that you have not missed them. Also, please note that you should always make a backup before modifying the registry.

Restore the system:

If none of the above steps solved the problem, you may consider using the System Restore feature to restore your system to the state it was in before the update.

Best regards

Neuvi

Answer 2

Check and disable possible management software:

Check if you have installed any management software that may restrict location services and try to disable or uninstall them.

Use the Local Group Policy Editor:

I have windows 11 home so perhaps there is NO local group policy editor -- but I am an administrator on my laptop but cannot turn on location services.

I don't think there is any management software on my laptop. This has only happened to the flagged up since the laatest update