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macOS Ventura 13.5 Breaks Location Services Permissions for Apps

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The macOS Ventura 13.5 update that Apple released on July 24 has introduced a bug that affects location services.

macos 13 5 location services
Since July, there have been complaints from macOS Ventura users who updated to the new software and then were unable to access and control location permissions for first and third-party apps.

Under System Settings > Privacy and Security > Location Services, macOS Ventura 13.5 has no apps listed. Users are not able to toggle location services for apps on or off, nor can they see which apps have access to their location information at the current time.

If a newly installed app attempts to request location services, there is no option to enable it for that app, which limits the functionality of some apps that Mac users are attempting to access. The location bug has been present since macOS Ventura 13.5 was released, but it has gone under the radar, perhaps because a limited number of Mac apps request location access.

There is no fix for this bug and workarounds that users have tried have not helped. Apple will need to issue an update to macOS to restore the privacy settings to their original state.

There are no location services issues with the prior macOS Ventura 13.4 update nor with macOS Sonoma.

Related Forum: macOS Ventura

Top Rated Comments

Mr. Dee Avatar
Mr. Dee
35 months ago
And this is why I keep delaying my upgrades. Even when Apple software reaches GM, it’s still a beta for quite some time and that’s usually until the next release.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
SilvioInfante
35 months ago
Once upon a time I would have run a macOS software update in the middle of a work day without thinking twice.

These days if I'm working on anything at all, I end up delaying updates for weeks or months. I can't just tolerate Apple's sloppiness and lack of attention today. Too disruptive to the workflow.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
goonie4life9
35 months ago
Folks, not to fear, because Apple Support is on the case! Apple Support has OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED that this is not a bug, because if it was, Apple Support would know about it before any customer did, because Apple Support talks to millions of customers a minute. Now, to address this bug, you'll need to follow the standard troubleshooting steps. First, you'll need to backup and restore your Mac. If that doesn't work, you'll need to Reset Network Settings. If the issue persists, you'll need to Erase and Reinstall your Mac. DO NOT restore your Mac from a backup. If the issue continues, they'll need to gather logs and do an RTA to Engineering. Within 48 hr, Engineering will reply that they are aware of the issue, keep your software up to date, and Apple will provide no further troubleshooting for this issue.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
till
35 months ago
Always a little surprised at the kind of bugs that slip out from giant companies like Apple, with dedicated QA teams. This is the kind of thing that could be caught with automated testing.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bustycat Avatar
Bustycat
35 months ago
It may be a feature for Apple so you're using it wrong
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svenmany Avatar
svenmany
35 months ago

Folks, not to fear, because Apple Support is on the case! Apple Support has OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED that this is not a bug, because if it was, Apple Support would know about it before any customer did, because Apple Support talks to millions of customers a minute. Now, to address this bug, you'll need to follow the standard troubleshooting steps. First, you'll need to backup and restore your Mac. If that doesn't work, you'll need to Reset Network Settings. If the issue persists, you'll need to Erase and Reinstall your Mac. DO NOT restore your Mac from a backup. If the issue continues, they'll need to gather logs and do an RTA to Engineering. Within 48 hr, Engineering will reply that they are aware of the issue, keep your software up to date, and Apple will provide no further troubleshooting for this issue.
LOL

On the "officially confirmed" part of this post (which I assume was meant to be humorous), I did call Apple support and they quickly confirmed that it was a bug and that they were working on it (but keeping, vewy, vewy quiet about it).

On the official Apple support forums, a volunteer moderator said it wasn't a bug. I'm not aware of any other assertions to that effect. That moderator has received quite a bit of criticism.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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