Linux: geolocation fails despite granted permission #2522

Summary

On Linux, navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition always fails with code: 2 (POSITION_UNAVAILABLE) and the message:

Failed to query location from network service. Check the DevTools console for more information.

This happens even when the site is served over HTTPS, the browser is a secure context, and the permission state is granted. Any website that relies on HTML5 Geolocation (login flows with location verification, maps, delivery apps, etc.) breaks.

Environment

• OS: Linux (kernel 7.0.0-30-generic)
• BrowserOS: latest build as of 2026-09-02
• Reproduces on any HTTPS site that calls the Geolocation API

Reproduction

1. Open any HTTPS site that requests geolocation, or paste this in DevTools console on any HTTPS page:

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(
  p => console.log('ok', p.coords),
  e => console.error('err', e.code, e.message)
);

2. Grant the permission prompt.
3. Observe the error callback fires with code 2 and message "Failed to query location from network service".

Diagnostic output

protocol: "https:"
isSecureContext: true
hasGeolocationAPI: true
geolocationPermissionState: "granted"
geoTest: { error: "Failed to query location from network service. Check the DevTools console for more information.", code: 2, codeName: "POSITION_UNAVAILABLE" }

Likely cause

Chromium delegates geolocation to a network provider (Google Geolocation API at https://www.googleapis.com/geolocation/v1/geolocate). Custom Chromium builds on Linux often ship without a valid GOOGLE_API_KEY / GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_ID / GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_SECRET baked in, so the network lookup returns 400/403 and Chromium surfaces it as POSITION_UNAVAILABLE. Linux has no fallback provider.

Requested fix

Either:

• Ship BrowserOS with a working geolocation API key, or
• Integrate an alternate provider (e.g. IP-based fallback like Mozilla Location Service equivalent), or
• Document how users can set their own API key via environment variables/build flags.

Impact

Any site requiring location verification is unusable on BrowserOS for Linux. Workaround is per-site monkey-patching of navigator.geolocation, which isn't viable for end users.