The Prey agent is designed to provide continuous, reliable device tracking. When configured correctly, location reporting is highly accurate. If a device's location appears imprecise, shows a different city, or fails to update, it is typically due to environmental data variables (such as limited Wi-Fi visibility) or OS permission restrictions, rather than a software failure.
Inaccurate location, different city, or missing location data
If your computer shows a wide accuracy radius or appears in a completely different city, it is generally due to Wi-Fi triangulation data discrepancies. Prey calculates location by scanning nearby Wi-Fi routers and matching them against global databases. If a router was recently relocated to a new city, or if the database has it registered away from its actual physical spot, Prey's location estimate will reflect this environmental data limitation.
If the device reports no location at all, check if:
- The Wi-Fi adapter is turned off.
- The device is detecting fewer than 3 Wi-Fi networks (or only 1 network with a weak signal).
- The networks detected are mobile hotspots, which lack fixed geographic coordinates.
Solutions:
- Ensure the Wi-Fi adapter is turned ON. Accuracy will automatically improve once the device moves to a densely populated area with more visible Wi-Fi networks.
- Verify your device is online and connected to our servers. Refer to our guide on how to whitelist Prey in your security solution to rule out network blocks.
Reset OS permissions
OS updates (especially on Windows) can silently freeze background location access, even if the privacy toggle still appears as "ON" in your settings.
- Toggle the permission: Navigate to your system's privacy settings, disable location permissions for Prey, and immediately re-enable them. This forces the OS to refresh its internal privacy rules and clear the silent block.
- Restart the device: Reboot the machine to apply these changes to background services. This restarts the core OS location framework and allows Prey to make a clean tracking request upon startup.
Still need help?
If you need further assistance, reach out to our Support team directly via the Help widget in your Prey panel. To expedite your request, please provide your Device Key (found in the URL address bar when viewing the device).