Facebook Marketplace: Can’t select location: GPS is on, but app permissions are restricted

It feels like a high-tech standoff: your phone’s GPS is beaming your coordinates, but Facebook Marketplace is acting like you’re completely off the grid. 🛰️ When your GPS is on but permissions are restricted, you are likely facing a Permission Sandboxing issue. In 2026, mobile operating systems (especially Android 14+ and iOS 18+) have introduced “Approximate vs. Precise” location toggles and background refresh blocks that can prevent Facebook from pulling a real-time lock even if the general “Location” switch is active. 🛑

This creates a communication gap where the app sees that “Location” is enabled on the phone, but the “Precise” data packet is blocked by a security layer, causing the Marketplace location selector to freeze or default to a major city thousands of miles away. 🗺️

The Fix: Breaking the Permission Sandbox 🛠️

To get Marketplace to recognize your actual coordinates, you need to manually “whitelabel” the app’s access beyond the standard toggle.

The “Precise Location” Reset Workflow 📊

1. Grant “Precise” Access (The Most Common Culprit):

   • Android: Settings > Apps > Facebook > Permissions > Location. Ensure “Use precise location” is toggled ON. 🎯

   • iOS: Settings > Facebook > Location. Select “While Using the App” and verify that “Precise Location” is green. 🟢

2. The “Information Use” Internal Toggle: Facebook has an internal setting that overrides phone permissions.

   • In the Facebook app, go to Menu > Settings & Privacy > Settings.

   • Scroll to “Your Activity and Permissions” and find “Information use for Facebook experiences.”

   • Next to Marketplace, tap Update and select “Personalized.” This grants the app internal permission to use your GPS for local listings. 🔄

3. Clear the Location Cache (Android Only): If the app is stuck on an old city, the internal database is likely “stale.”

   • Settings > Apps > Facebook > Storage > Clear Cache. 🧹

4. The “Manual Pivot” Force: Open Marketplace, tap the current (wrong) location in the top right, type your Zip Code manually, and hit Apply. Once you do this manually once, the GPS permission usually “wakes up” and asks to follow you for future searches. 📍

Comparison: General vs. Precise Location 📋

Pro Tip: The “Airplane Mode” Refresh 💡

If you’ve granted all permissions and it still won’t sync, your phone’s A-GPS (Assisted GPS) might be holding onto a cached tower location. 🗼 Toggle Airplane Mode ON for 10 seconds, then OFF. This forces the phone to re-scan the nearest towers and satellites, sending a fresh, high-accuracy coordinate packet to the Facebook API. ✈️✨

10 FAQ: Location Permission Glitches ❓

1. Does “Low Power Mode” block Marketplace location? Yes, it often restricts “Background App Refresh,” which stops the GPS from updating the map. 🔋

2. Why does it say I’m in London when I’m in New York? Check if you have a VPN active; Marketplace prioritizes the VPN’s IP address over your phone’s GPS. 🌐

3. Can I use Marketplace without giving GPS access? Yes, but you must manually type your Zip Code every time you search. ⌨️

4. Is “Allow Always” better than “While Using App”? “While Using App” is sufficient and better for your battery. 🔋

5. What if the “Location” button is missing entirely? You may have a Marketplace Restriction on your account; check your “Support Inbox.” 🕵️‍♂️

6. Does “Find My Phone” interfere with Facebook GPS? No, they use the same antenna but different software channels. 🛰️

7. Why can’t I select a radius larger than 100 miles? This is a Meta-wide cap to prevent “Drop-shipping” spam. 📉

8. Will a “Factory Reset” fix this? That’s too extreme! Reinstalling the Facebook app is enough to reset all permission handshakes. 🔄

9. Why does it keep defaulting to my “Home” city? Update your “Current City” in your Facebook Profile “About” section to align your account with your GPS. 🏠

10. Does Wi-Fi help GPS accuracy? Yes! Keeping Wi-Fi ON (even if not connected) helps your phone use “Wi-Fi Scanning” to pinpoint your location faster. 📶