macOS Ventura 13.5 Breaks Location Services Permissions for Apps

[MacRumors]

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

Article Link: macOS Ventura 13.5 Breaks Location Services Permissions for Apps

 

[Mr. Dee]

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.

 

[KaliYoni]

For anybody interested, here are two related stories on other sites:

Location Services missing from macOS 13.5

Last Week on My Mac: Ventura’s lost Location Services When Apple released the macOS Ventura 13.5 update, it was opaque about what it had changed, writing: “This update provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” Apple had removed one of its most...

talk.tidbits.com

Last Week on My Mac: Ventura’s lost Location Services

If you’ve updated to macOS 13.5, take a look at Location Services, in Privacy & Security settings. Do you notice anything missing?

eclecticlight.co

And an older article that may explain how this latest bug made it into a release:

Six Reasons Why iOS 13 and Catalina Are So Buggy - TidBITS

By most accounts, the release of iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 Catalina have been troubled, with numerous significant bugs making it past Apple’s internal testing and the public beta phase. Former Apple engineer David Shayer explains the underlying reasons these releases have had so many problems.

tidbits.com

 

[till]

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.

 

[Bustycat]

It may be a feature for Apple so you're using it wrong

 

[AppleTO]

Ah okay, so it’s not just me.

 

[katbel]

Ah okay, so it’s not just me.

No, a lot of people have been complaining about this issue since day 1

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/13-5-location-privacy-broken.2396788/

 

[MonkeySpank158]

I understand this can be problematic for some users. In my own case though, id rather have apps be denied access than granted access if I am unable to change it. I usually deny access for most things anyways.

 

[AMacisforlife]

Is it present in the latest Sonoma beta?

 

[winxmac]

One example of a good reason not to go with the latest and greatest in terms of software... You are either secured but with software bugs or out of date but stable...

I'm waiting for the final update to Big Sur before I upgrade from Catalina... Same with iPhone 14 Pro Max, waiting for the final update to iOS 16 before upgrading from iOS 16.2 although these days only a handful of people are after older software versions since we barely hear news about jailbreaking...

 

[lovehateapple]

Sounds like someone dropped the ball on this at apple.

 

[lovehateapple]

Is it present in the latest Sonoma beta?

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

 

[McWetty]

This is why we should move to a Tick-tock software development cycle where the first year as a feature rich release and the second year is a bug fix release. Gives more time for developers to sus out these types of bugs.

 

[Simos.805]

I have this problem too both with my iMac 5K 2017 and my M1 MacBook Pro.

 

[Cham2000]

They get adding more bugs for all bugs fixing updates. Come on Apple, what a deception! I miss the good'old Snow Leopard days.

 

[ELman]

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.

How do you handle security fixes/patches? Having a feature not work properly is better than having a insecure system?

 

[chucker23n1]

This is why we should move to a Tick-tock software development cycle where the first year as a feature rich release and the second year is a bug fix release. Gives more time for developers to sus out these types of bugs.

Given that this bug appeared in 13.5, I don’t see how that would help.

 

[snow755]

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

Article Link: macOS Ventura 13.5 Breaks Location Services Permissions for Apps

Aren’t we a bit late with reporting this we all ready new about this weeks ago

 

[benwiggy]

I miss the good'old Snow Leopard days.

Snow Leopard had two points updates pulled and re-released because of critical bugs. Plus another one that broke OpenType fonts. Networking to Windows wasn't fixed until .8.

Good times!

 

[Naraxus]

Another day, another Craig Fedherigi & Team screwup that breaks something. What else is new?

 

[luckman212]

Finally this makes it to the front page. Maybe Apple will see it now. 👋

 

[Naraxus]

Sounds like someone dropped the ball on this at apple.

Look no further than Fedherigi. Ever since he got handed the reigns of Mac OS/iOS developement the quality of the software has gone down, meanwhile the number of bugs/glitches/crit-errors (that never get fixed until Apple can't kick the can down the road anymore) etc has gone up.

Craig has never earned his paycheck from Apple.

 

[goonie4life9]

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.

 

[n-evo]

They get adding more bugs for all bugs fixing updates. Come on Apple, what a deception! I miss the good'old Snow Leopard days.

Good ol’ days.

Snow Leopard bug deletes all user data

Snow Leopard bug deletes all user data

www.computerworld.com

 

[SilvioInfante]

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.