MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation() returns "Unknown Location" - ios

Question

Inside my ViewController's class viewDidLoad method I have:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
requestAuthorization()
locationManager.delegate = self
print(MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation())
}
and here is requestAuthorization() function:
private func requestAuthorization(){
if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() == .notDetermined{
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest
locationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
}
else if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() == .denied{
//TODO
}
}
the problem is that forCurrentLocation() function never returns actual user location instead returned coordinates of MKMapItem are: (latitude: 0, longitude: 0). Here is the result of the print function.
MKMapItem: 0x60000014e020
isCurrentLocation = 1;
name = "Unknown Location";
What am I doing wrong?
Edit:
The reason I wanted to use MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation() was that I planned to get user coordinates in prepareForSegue. And I thought it would be easier than using didUpdateLocations delegate method. See the code:
if segue.identifier == "categories",
let destinationVC = segue.destination as? CategoriesGroupViewController{
if let cell = sender as? UICollectionViewCell{
let indexPath = categoriesCollectionView.indexPath(for: cell)
destinationVC.groupOfDestinations = destinationsByCategory[indexPath!.row]
// 0 is index for Near Me cell
if indexPath?.row == 0 {
destinationVC.groupOfDestinations = getNearMeDestinations()
}
}
private func getNearMeDestinations() -> GroupOfDestinations{
let userCoordinates = MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation().placemark.coordinate
let nearMeCircularRegion: CLCircularRegion = CLCircularRegion(center: userCoordinates, radius: 10000, identifier: "nearMe")
...
return nearMeDestinations
}

Answer 1

You´re not doing anything wrong. The MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation() Creates and returns a singleton map item object representing the device’s current location.
MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation().isCurrentLocation is a Boolean value indicating whether the map item represents the user’s current location. In your case true.
MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation().name The descriptive name associated with the map item. If this map item represents the user’s current location, the value in property is set to a localized version of “Current Location”.
And that it returns Unknown Location is weird. But it´s enough for you to keep track of the MKMapItem.forCurrentLocation().isCurrentLocation value.
Update:
To get the user locations coordinate do the following:
var location = CLLocation()
func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
guard let latitude = manager.location?.coordinate.latitude, let longitude = manager.location?.coordinate.longitude else { return }
location = CLLocation(latitude: latitude, longitude: longitude)
}
And then use location which always will be up to date when the user moves.

Answer 2

locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest
Put above line outside if else block, Like
var locationManager: CLLocationManager?
private func requestAuthorization(){
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest
locationManager.delegate = self
if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() == .notDetermined{
locationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
}
else if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() == .denied{
//TODO
}
}
There is delegate method for map, Which gives you current location
// CLLocationManagerDelegate
func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
guard let location = locations.last else {
return
}
Print(location)// This is your current location
}