How does a Mac determine your location during set-up?

Question

A friend just brought me a Macbook Air (2019) to Greece where I am currently located. The computer came from another European country and was reset to factory settings before the trip. When I started the setup, Greece was pre-selected on the country/region picker before even connecting the computer to a network. How is this possible?

giuliomagnifico · Accepted Answer

Because the nearby Wi-Fi stations transmit on which country they&rsquo;re configured also if you are not connected to them. Try to boot it in the middle of a countryside with your phone the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disabled and it should display the default country (I think is USA?! I don&rsquo;t remember).This is also the same cause why Apple is using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with the GPS to retrieve your precise location. And this is also you should turn OFF (not tap on the icon from the control center) the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: your privacy.

verdverm · Answer

Your IP address or other networking introspection most likely