Cannot enable location settings

[Xiphan]

I created a modified Windows install using NTLite that originally disabled the location services under the settings tab, but I now need to re-enable that setting only I can't because the option in the Settings app is greyed out:



There is no Group Policy objects set on the machine and I have checked the following items for issues:

• The Geolocation service (lfsvc) is not disabled.
• I deleted the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lfsvc\TriggerInfo\3 as per this support document.

What else does NTLite do that disables Location services and what else can I try to re-enable it? I know NT Lite can do direct image editing on a deployed image but that is a premium feature and I'm reluctant to purchase a license out of fear that it may not actually resolve the issue.

 

[Hellbovine]

As far as I know that red text "hidden by administrator" always means a GPO has been set. NTLite does set some policies when various things are tweaked, so that's probably the cause, even if you weren't notified that a GPO was being enabled. You can still use GPO even on Home edition simply by adding reg keys, even though you don't have the actual GPO page to manage.

Check these places and see if there's any keys there:

Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppPrivacy

It wouldn't hurt to check both the HKCU and HKLM for the keys (4 places in total).

 

[garlin]

Did you remove Location Services component instead of changing the Privacy setting? You can't reinstall missing components on a live system without using NTLite's licensed feature.

For the Privacy setting, NTLite disables AllowLocation in the System group policy.

If you don't see that policy, then you probably removed the component. Always make sure to keep the preset around to remind you what changes were made.