How to Enable or Disable Location Services in Windows

Use PowerShell for deployment

Automate location settings with PowerShell for efficient enterprise management or scripting.

1. Open PowerShell as administrator:
   • Right-click Start or press Win + X, then select Windows Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
   • If Windows Terminal does not have PowerShell as the default command-line tool (check the tabs above the window), click the dropdown arrow in the tab area, then select PowerShell.
2. Disable location services:
   • Paste these commands:
     New-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors” -Force
     
     New-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors” `
     -Name “DisableLocation” -Value 1 -PropertyType DWord -ForceThe results should show that the location services option in Windows Settings is greyed out for all users.
3. Enable location services:
   • Run this command:
     Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors” `
     -Name “DisableLocation” -Value 0
4. Apply changes:
   • Restart devices or force policy update with gpupdate /force.

💡Note: These PowerShell commands work identically in Windows 10 and 11.