Can't enable location services on some sites
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jaan513 last edited by jaan513
I've been using Opera for Android since many-many years. Recently, some sites stopped getting my location. I've reinstalled Opera, re-enabled site-specific location services and tried to remove all blocks from trackers etc, no luck.
Sites that work with geolocation: openstreetmap, google maps.
Sites that don't work with geolocation: peatus.ee (can be changed to EN to test - it says "Geolocation denied" on the site), citystrides.com (not sure if it's possible to see the map without logging in).
Gis.ee works, gis.ee/tallinn doesn't work.Using Opera 103.3.5234.91185 on Nokia X10, Android 14.
I'm not the only one with this problem. Would be nice to know how to debug it further.
Edit: I don' t use Chrome or other browsers in Android, but I've seen from other people that geolocation works with all sites that I listed.
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johnymacclen last edited by
That pattern is a useful clue — the main page works but a sub-page such as /tallinn does not. Location permission in Opera for Android is granted per site, and the page that actually asks for your location is not always the address in the address bar: a map loaded in a frame can come from another origin, so allowing the main site does not always cover it.
A few things worth trying, in order:
- In Android Settings > Apps > Opera > Permissions, check Location is allowed while using the app and that precise location is switched on.
- In Opera, check Settings > Site settings > Location for the sites that fail, set them to Allow, then clear the stored data for one failing site and try again, accepting the prompt when it appears.
- Switch off Opera's built-in VPN and ad blocker for a failing site and test again, in case either is getting in the way of the location request.
- Note whether the failing pages are on HTTPS and whether the map itself is embedded from another domain — that domain would need permission as well.
- Try the same pages in a private tab, and compare with Chrome on the same phone. If they work in Chrome, that points to an Opera permission or a blocked third-party origin rather than the phone's own location settings, so it is worth reporting with your Opera and Android versions and the exact failing addresses.
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freeti84calculator last edited by
That split between gis.ee working and gis.ee/tallinn not working is the most telling part, because it points to a stored decision for one page rather than a phone-wide setting.
One thing worth trying, in addition to the steps above, is to clear the stored data for that exact site rather than just toggling the permission. In Opera, go to the failing page, tap the padlock in the address bar, open Site settings, then clear the site data and reset the location permission there. Then close the tab completely and open the /tallinn page directly, rather than navigating to it from the main page, so Opera asks for location fresh on that page.
It is also worth checking the Android side in more detail: in Settings > Location, make sure Opera is set to precise location rather than approximate, and that Google Location Accuracy and Wi-Fi scanning are on. Some map sites need that extra accuracy signal, and an approximate fix can be rejected outright, which would explain why Google Maps still works while smaller sites report the request as denied.
If it still fails after that, noting whether the prompt appears at all on the failing page, or whether the site reports denied without any prompt, would help narrow it down — the first points to a stored site decision, the second to Opera or Android blocking the request before it reaches you.
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jaan513 last edited by jaan513
@johnymacclen said in Can't enable location services on some sites:
A few things worth trying, in order:
In Android Settings > Apps > Opera > Permissions, check Location is allowed while using the app and that precise location is switched on.
In Opera, check Settings > Site settings > Location for the sites that fail, set them to Allow, then clear the stored data for one failing site and try again, accepting the prompt when it appears.
Switch off Opera's built-in VPN and ad blocker for a failing site and test again, in case either is getting in the way of the location request.
Note whether the failing pages are on HTTPS and whether the map itself is embedded from another domain — that domain would need permission as well.
Try the same pages in a private tab, and compare with Chrome on the same phone. If they work in Chrome, that points to an Opera permission or a blocked third-party origin rather than the phone's own location settings, so it is worth reporting with your Opera and Android versions and the exact failing addresses.- Precise location is switched on.
- No prompts appear for the sites that fail. For the ones that work, prompts appear first.
- I don't use these blockers.
- Tried to see if the embedding comes from another site - not sure. gis.ee/tallinn may use transport.tallinn.ee but there location works. Also for gis.ee/tallinn, there's also a ridango.cloud domain that's used, but not HTTPS, it's WSS protocol (that I know from Firefox on PC, F12 debugging).
- Chrome location works on Android, but I don't use Chrome, it's disabled mostly.
I've uninstalled and reinstalled Opera without any difference.