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The Geolocation API is a service that accepts an HTTPS request with the cell tower and Wi-Fi access points that a mobile client can detect. It returns latitude/longitude coordinates and a radius indicating the accuracy of the result for each valid input.
Note: To get device location information using latitude and longitude coordinates, addresses, or Place IDs, go to the Geocoding API. Why use the Geolocation APIUse the Geolocation API to locate mobile devices that do not provide native geolocation features.
For web browsers and mobile devices that already provide geolocation capabilities, use the following instead:For more information on the W3C Geolocation standard, see W3C Geolocation standard.
What you can do with the Geolocation APIWith the Geolocation API, you can use geospatial data from cell towers and WiFi nodes to get the location of a device that does not have native geolocation or GPS.
How the Geolocation API worksThe Geolocation API uses cellular device data fields, cell tower data, and WiFi access point array data to return latitude/longitude coordinates and an accuracy radius. It accepts an HTTPS POST request to its endpoint along with a JSON structured request body. The following example shows the request URL and an example request body:
curl -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/geolocation/v1/geolocate?key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d \
'{ "homeMobileCountryCode":310,
"homeMobileNetworkCode":410,
"radioType":"gsm",
"carrier":"Vodafone",
"considerIp":true
}'
The API can return data for a number of common cellular data fields as indicated below.
ResourcesThe following table summarizes the fields in the request body of the geolocation endpoint call, along with the type of data provided from such queries.
Data resources Data returned Return format Cell device data fields such as carrier, device, and network information. Latitude/longitude coordinates and an accuracy radius JSON Cell tower data, such as location area code and mobile country codes. WiFi access points data, such as MAC address and signal strength. How to use the Geolocation API 1 Get set up Start with Set up your Google Cloud project and complete the setup instructions that follow. 2 Try a geolocation request Once you have an API key, you can start testing out the Geolocation API using cURL or Postman. See Sample requests in the Geolocation requests and response guide for details. 3 Get the cellID from different radio towers See Calculating cellID and Calculating newRadioCellID to get access to older and newer towers, respectively. 4 Understand response basics Explore the geolocation data responses to prepare to use elevation data for your app. See Geolocation responses for details. Available client librariesCall this API in the language of your choice through one of the following client libraries:
The Java Client, Python Client, Go Client and Node.js Client for Google Maps Services are community-supported client libraries, open sourced under the Apache 2.0 License. Download them from GitHub, where you can also find installation instructions and sample code.
What's nextExcept as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-14 UTC.
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