Bug? All SABs are showing pins in the knowledge panel view

[JS Girard]

Right now every single SAB I look at in Knowledge Panel mode is showing a pin at the service area centroid, even though the maps version actually displays properly.

One random example:

 

[rustybrick]

Keep me posted, if it is not fixed Monday, let me know.

 

[JS Girard]

Still ongoing for me: Plombier Ahuntsic - Google Search

 

[Brian - TGL]

Same with a couple that I checked just now.

 

[JS Girard]

On Twitter, @JoyHawkins said she had noticed it back in December.

 

[Tony Wang]

I just noticed it last week and assumed it was a new "feature".

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

Right now every single SAB I look at in Knowledge Panel mode is showing a pin at the service area centroid, even though the maps version actually displays properly.

One random example:

I've also had this since December.
Check if on Maps, even though you can see the area, try zooming in and out, then the pin often appears too.

 

[JS Girard]

I've also had this since December.
Check if on Maps, even though you can see the area, try zooming in and out, then the pin often appears too.

pin showing on maps for a SAB is usually because the service area is too large (I think it's basically because you can't show a service are past a certain degree of zoom out?). It's a separate thing that's been going on since at least summer 2023.

More rarely there's a bug when hiding the address that causes the address to be hidden in the dashboard with a service area that can't be defined, but it still shows an address on the profile:

 

[Positiveim]

I've seen this as well for a client's SAB. Some searches at a zoom in out show a pin. It's very random and difficult to replicate.

More importantly my clients PIN is outside his service area by several miles.

 

[JS Girard]

I've seen this as well for a client's SAB. Some searches at a zoom in out show a pin. It's very random and difficult to replicate.

More importantly my clients PIN is outside his service area by several miles.

The service area being replaced by a pin when you zoom out enough is 100% normal, as annoying as it may be. Without seeing the area itself, I cannot confirm what's going on with the placement outside the area, though there are possible reasons.

The problem I reported above is that if your zone is large enough, the zoom required to show it will cause it to always start with a pin.