The Location Services bug that has been bothering Mac users since the end of July has been taken care of with the release of macOS 13.5.1.
It is the only change in the update, but the problem being fixed is fairly serious.
Location Services go AWOL
Mac users are supposed to be able to prevent applications — both Apple’s own and third-party ones — from knowing where the computer is. Conversely, users need to be able to turn the feature on for some apps. This is controlled by Location Services in System Settings.
But a bug discovered in macOS Ventura 13.5 shortly after it was released in late July prevents users from giving or denying applications permission to gather and use information based on the current location of the Mac.
To see if your Mac is affected, go to Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy and Security > Location Services. There should be a list of applications here, and users can toggle permission on or off. If it’s missing, your Mac has the bug.
The fix is in an update released Thursday. Apple’s official release notes state, “macOS Ventura 13.5.1 fixes an issue in System Settings that prevents location permissions from appearing.”
Releasing a fix took more than three weeks, which caused some consternation among Mac users.
How to install macOS Ventura 13.5.1
To download the new macOS Ventura update, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. Then click Software Update. Alternatively, you can install the new version from the App Store. (Note: At the time of this writing, Apple had not yet updated the version of macOS Monterey in the App Store. But it should happen soon.)
