CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascripthtmlgeolocation
Kalhan.Toress
Kalhan.Toress

Reputation: 21901

Geo Location API - different results

I'am using a LAN over WIFI and cable connections. Both are visible under same IP to the outside.

But somehow when i try to get the Geolocation (longitude and latitude over HTML5 Geolocation API), It will show two different places and those are bit faraway from each other.

And i notice that the results using WIFI is so much accurate.

You can try this by using https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/examples/map-geolocation

Can somebody explain reason behind this?

PS: latitude differs by 0.0141216 points and longitudes differs by 0.0115545 points

Upvotes: 3

Views: 139

Answers (2)

Joseph Hansen
Joseph Hansen

Reputation: 13329

Wifi geolocating is one of the most accurate forms of locating. The bottom line is that it's easy to triangulate a location using nearby routers, especially when some routers, switches, and cell towers have exactly known positions.

Furthermore, many companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Apple, collect location data about routers using cell phones and mobile devices' Wifi and GPS. Behind the scenes, they collect huge amounts of data about router locations, among other things.

For more background information, you should read some of the informative answers on other Stack Exchange sites or articles from other sources such as Wikipedia:

Upvotes: 1

Leon
Leon

Reputation: 32514

This page explains Geolocation detection in Firefox:

Firefox gathers information about nearby wireless access points and your computer’s IP address. Then Firefox sends this information to the default geolocation service provider, Google Location Services, to get an estimate of your location. That location estimate is then shared with the requesting website.

Now, if you are within the reach of a WiFi access point then you are definitely physically close to it. Unlike that, with a wired connection you could be infinitely far from the router node whose physical location is known.

But how do they know the coordinates of WiFi access points? Probably smartphones help to gather the data.

Upvotes: 0

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