f.lux UI appears on login even though location is set

alex.

I use f.lux on a desktop computer, which doesn't move around; its location does not change. It doesn't matter that automatic location detection might not work very well; the manually-entered location values get written to the Registry, which suggests a persistent memory.

The f.lux UI pops up every time I sign in, asking me for my location, which contradicts the information in the FAQ.

The FAQ says:

The Windows f.lux UI now shows everytime I reboot. How do I make it hide again?
We made f.lux do this when you haven't set your location yet. Our automatic setting is pretty bad (especially if you don't live in the USA.) Click on the location button and set things up, and f.lux will auto-hide again.

I have set my location, and it is saved in the Registry; the UI should not appear on login ("We made f.lux do this when you haven't set your location yet.").

As a test, I checked the Registry immediately after login, before typing my location, and the attached screenshot shows what I saw: the latitude and longitude values are present and correct: latitude 51, longitude 0.

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So, why does the f.lux UI appear every time I sign in?

alex.

I just did a bit more testing. It appears that the f.lux developers believe that no-one could ever possibly use a computer while on the Greenwich Meridian.

I settled on latitude 51 and longitude 0 because:

those coordinates are close enough to my real location that there's no practical difference in the sunrise and sunset times;
if I have to provide a location every time I sign in then I want it to be as quick and easy as possible to type, and;
typing "51" into the f.lux UI is sufficient to set my desired location:

alt text

In the course of this testing, I have also discovered that the triggering of the f.lux UI on login is a red herring - I can safely cancel the location prompt and my location is remembered and used by the program:

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Lastly, if the longitude is set to anything other than 0 (e.g. 0x00000001 or 0xffffffff) then the UI does not appear on login.

So, if the location is remembered and used by the program anyway, even if the location prompt is cancelled, why does a longitude of 0 trigger the request for the user to provide a location?

Tungsten_smooth

@alex. that is odd. The default is 0:0 I believe, so this is actually a bug. I'm not sure how they'll allow 0 longitude, but I'm sure they'll come up with a way to dismiss it. It's already set so they should just make it stop asking to set location, instead of looking for a number.

alex.

Stumbled across this video today, which both amused and reminded me of my original query above:

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/null-island-the-busiest-place-that-doesnt-exist/ar-BBv4btL