To change the location Windows 10 gives to apps, open Start > Settings > Privacy > Location, and under Default location select Set default. If you want to change your country or region instead, that is a separate setting, and it is covered below.
Applies to: Windows 10.
Which “location” do you want to change?
Windows 10 keeps more than one kind of location, and they do different jobs. Pick the one that matches your problem before you change anything.
| What you see | What to change |
|---|---|
| Weather, maps or local news apps show the wrong town | The default location, or the location service itself |
| Apps treat you as being in the wrong country | The home location (country or region) for your account |
| A website shows the wrong city | The site’s location permission in your browser. Many sites also guess from your internet address, which Windows does not control |
| The clock is an hour or more off | The time zone |
Before you start
- Know what the default location is. It is the location Windows, apps and services use when a more exact location can’t be detected using GPS or other methods. It is a fallback. It does not override a position that Windows can already work out.
- Check that location is on. When the device location setting is on, Windows uses a mix of GPS, nearby wireless access points, cell towers and your IP address to find the PC.
- Use an administrator account for device-wide changes. Only an administrator can switch location on or off for the whole device.
- Remember the support status. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. The settings below are still on the PC, but one of them depends on an app Microsoft has since retired (see the next section).
Set or change the default location
- Select Start, then Settings. The Settings window opens.
- Select Privacy.
- Select Location. The location controls for this PC and your account appear.
- Find the Default location section and select Set default.
- The Windows Maps app opens at this point. Follow the instructions it shows to choose your default location.
Important: the last step relies on the Windows Maps app. Microsoft deprecated Maps, removed it from the Microsoft Store in July 2025, and a final update makes the app nonfunctional. Microsoft’s location help page still lists the steps above, and its deprecation notes do not name a replacement for setting a default location. So if Set default does nothing, or Maps opens and will not work, the retired app is the likely reason, and nothing is wrong with your PC. In that case, use the next section to help Windows find your real position instead. Background on the retirement is in the resources for deprecated features.
Let Windows find your real location
If the goal is the correct town in your apps, the location service is more useful than a default, because it updates as you move.
- Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > Location.
- To switch location on for the whole device, select Change, and in the Location for this device message set the switch to On. This step needs an administrator.
- Set Allow apps to access your location to On for your own account.
- Under Choose which apps can access your precise location, turn on each app that should know where you are, such as a weather or maps app.
An app that you allow here gets precise location information. Apps without that permission get lower-accuracy information. Desktop apps, meaning programs you download from the internet or install from a disc or USB drive, do not appear in this list and do not ask for separate permission.
Rather share less? Turning off location in Windows 10 stops apps from reading it.
Change your country or region (home location)
Windows stores a home location for each user account. It is the country or region of the account, and apps that need to know your country can read it. It has nothing to do with GPS, and changing it does not move the PC on a map.
You can view and change it with two Windows PowerShell commands:
- Open Windows PowerShell.
- Type Get-WinHomeLocation and press Enter. Windows shows a number and a name, for example 244 and United States.
- To change it, type Set-WinHomeLocation -GeoId followed by the number for the country or region you want, then press Enter. For example, Set-WinHomeLocation -GeoId 0xF4 sets the United States.
- Run Get-WinHomeLocation again to confirm the new value.
The command changes the setting for the current user account only. The Set-WinHomeLocation reference links to the table of numbers (GeoIDs) for every country and region. To go back, run the command again with your original number, so write that number down first.
Change the location a website sees in Microsoft Edge
Windows passes its location to Microsoft Edge, and Edge asks before it shares that with a site. To review the setting, open Edge and go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All permissions > Location. Keep Ask before accessing (recommended) on if you want a prompt each time.
For one site, open it, select the lock or info icon in the address bar, choose Permissions for this site, and set Location to Ask, Allow or Block.
Some websites estimate a rough location from your IP address without asking, and that they can do this even when Windows location is off. That is why a site can show a different city from the one in your Windows apps. A VPN changes the IP address that sites see, so it is the tool that affects this kind of location. Already paying for a VPN service? Setting up a VPN on Windows 10 gets it running on this PC.
Confirm the change or undo it
- Check an app. Open an app you allowed, such as a weather app, and see whether it shows the right place.
- Watch the taskbar. When an app is using your location through the Windows location service, a location icon appears in the notification area. If you never see it, go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, select Select which icons show on the taskbar under Notification area, and turn on Location Notification.
- Clear old lookups. Windows 10 stores locations that apps looked up for 24 hours. To remove them sooner, restart the PC, or go to the Location page and select Clear under Location history. This clears the history on the device only. Apps that already read it may have kept their own copy.
- Undo. Switch Allow apps to access your location back to Off, or turn off individual apps in the list.
Troubleshooting
“Some settings are managed by your organization” appears
On a work or school PC, or a personal PC used at your workplace, you might not be able to change location settings. This message at the top of the Location page means your organization controls them. Ask your IT administrator.
Allow apps to access your location can’t be turned on
If the page shows Location for this device is off, the device-wide setting is blocking it. An administrator has to select Change and turn that setting on first. The per-app switches stay unavailable in the same way until Allow apps to access your location is on.
Set default does nothing
The button hands off to the Maps app, which Microsoft retired in 2025. Turn on the location service instead so Windows can detect the PC’s position.
The clock is wrong after you travel
Setting the time zone automatically is one of the features that depends on the device location setting. Turn location on, or change the time zone in Windows 10 yourself.
An app still knows where you are with location off
Some third-party apps and services can use other technologies, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a cellular modem, to work out a device’s location with varying accuracy, even when the device location setting is off.
Frequently asked questions
Does the default location hide where I really am?
No. It is only used when Windows cannot detect a more exact location. It is a fallback for apps, and websites can still estimate your area from your IP address.
Why does my PC show a town I am not in?
When a PC has no GPS signal to use, Windows relies on nearby wireless access points, cell towers and your IP address. Those can point to a nearby town or to your internet provider’s area. Turning on location and allowing the app gives it the most precise result Windows has.
Does changing the home location change my time zone?
No. The home location is the country or region for your account. The time zone is a separate setting.
Is my location sent to Microsoft?
When the device location setting is on, the PC sends de-identified location information to improve its location services. If you sign in with a Microsoft account, your last known location is also saved to the cloud. To remove it, sign in to your Microsoft account online and select Clear location activity. Microsoft’s privacy terms for this are on its Windows location service and privacy page.
Can I turn location off completely for emergency calls?
No. When you make an emergency call, Windows attempts to determine and share your precise location regardless of your location settings.
Next step: open the Location page, confirm location is on for the device and for your account, then allow only the apps that need it.
Matt Jacobs writes and maintains the guides on Support Your Tech, which he started in 2017. He spent most of his career keeping small-business PCs running and still takes the occasional consulting job, so the steps here come from fixing the same problems on other people’s computers. Every guide is checked on his own Windows 11, Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad before it goes up.