Where is my iDevice?

[Bob Coxner]

Twerppoet thanks for the link, good explanation. I am in a very rural area in MT and our options for internet are limited. I am at the end of the line for Qwest Internet service and my neighbor, where I "appear" to be in the garage, is on a different ISP altogether. I am not techie at all, but I don't understand why my iPad would not find my ISP over his, and locate me correctly. Is one ISP stronger than another, or am I just not understanding the whole process at all?

Sent from my 16GB wifi iPad using iPF

Their database uses IP addresses, not ISP's.

The database is built essentially by war driving. Cars drive around with devices listening for IP addresses being broadcast by routers. When it picks up address XXX.XXX it uses a GPS in the car to note the approximate location of that signal and stores it in the database.

In your situation, your signal may be so strong that the car picked it up near your neighbor's house and logged it into the database for that location.

Note that these database entries are static and based solely on the location at the time the car drove by. You're in Montana. If your neighbor moves his router (and associated IP address) to Arizona, then if his new neighbor (in Arizona) uses MobileMe solely with IP (not GPS) it will show that he's in Montana if the only nearby IP his iPad can pick up is your old neighbor.

The database Apple uses is maintained by a company called Skyhook. Here is their page explaining how it works. Skyhook: How It Works > Coverage

You can submit your IP to make the database more accurate.

 

[graywolf]

Their database uses IP addresses, not ISP's.

The database is built essentially by war driving. Cars drive around with devices listening for IP addresses being broadcast by routers. When it picks up address XXX.XXX it uses a GPS in the car to note the approximate location of that signal and stores it in the database.

In your situation, your signal may be so strong that the car picked it up near your neighbor's house and logged it into the database for that location.

Note that these database entries are static and based solely on the location at the time the car drove by. You're in Montana. If your neighbor moves his router (and associated IP address) to Arizona, then if his new neighbor (in Arizona) uses MobileMe solely with IP (not GPS) it will show that he's in Montana if the only nearby IP his iPad can pick up is your old neighbor.

The database Apple uses is maintained by a company called Skyhook. Here is their page explaining how it works. Skyhook: How It Works > Coverage

You can submit your IP to make the database more accurate.

How would the car get an ip if the network is encrypted?

 

[twerppoet]

Finally located one of the articles I remember. Apple no longer uses Google or Skyhook, and haven't for some time.

In April, Apple Ditched Google And Skyhook In Favor Of Its Own Location Databases

 

[Bob Coxner]

Regardless of whether Apple still uses Skyhook the basic concept remains the same. Cars drive around acquiring IP addresses.

If you're in an urban area this method will work pretty well to locate your WiFi iPad. Rural areas not so well.

 

[twerppoet]

From the wording of the article and user agreement I suspect that most of the people driving around are iPhone owners. Apple is collecting the GPS and internet data, anonymizing it, and using it to create, or at least heavily supplement the database.

And other than catering to my inner pedantic, do I care? Not really.