Needless to say, Find My is useful whether you need to track your Apple devices or share your location with your contacts. However, it gets difficult to do so when Find My iPhone does not work. Thankfully, we'll cover some common problems related to Find My iPhone not working and develop workable solutions for them. Let's take a look.
Common Find My iPhone Not Working Problems and Fixes
When Find My iPhone doesn't work, you may encounter location not sharing, updating, or other common issues. No worries; this section provides targeted solutions for specific issues.
1Find My Stopped Working
Have you ever found after updating your iOS, Find My iPhone stopped working? Because the update sometimes causes incorrect settings for Find My. This time, try the following fixes to make Find My work properly:
Enable Find My iPhone
By default, the Find My feature is on. But if you accidentally turned off it or updated the system recently, Find My iPhone stopped working. Here's how to turn on Find My iPhone.
Step 1.Navigate to "Settings" and tap on your Apple account.
Step 2.Select "Find My."
Step 3.Ensure the "Find My iPhone" option is showing "On."
Activate Location Services
When Find My iPhone stops working to determine your location, it may be a problem with the location tracking system of your phone. So turning on the location services is necessary.
Step 1.In the "Settings" app, search for "Location" and tap on it.
Step 2.Make sure the "Location Services" toggle is green.
Step 3.Scroll down to tap "Find My."
Step 4.Check the "While Using the App" box.
2Can't Click on Find My in Settings
Experiencing the "Find My" option is greyed out in Settings, and the feature doesn't work?
This is because your iCloud service is not connected with your iPhone or your location service changes are restricted. To troubleshoot this, do the following:
Sign into iCloud
If you haven't signed in, just open "Settings" and then tap on "Sign into your iPhone."
If you have signed in, please tap on your name in the "Settings" app. Select "Sign Out" to log out of your iCloud entirely. Then, sign in again.
Allow Location Services Changes
When you apply restrictions on location settings changes, you also cannot click on or sign in Find My in Settings. Here's how to get it back on track.
Step 1.Go to "Settings" and search for "Content."
Step 2.Tap on "Content & Privacy Restrictions."
Step 3.Select "Location Services" and choose "Allow Changes."
3Location Not Sharing
When researching the "Find My iPhone not working" topic, there are a large number of users complained that they could not share their location on Find My. This problem might be the iPhone itself or wrong settings, and you can resolve it by:
Turn on Find My Network
Indeed, I also encountered this trouble when my iPhone 14 couldn't share location with my iPhone 11. But the situation changed after I turned on Find My Network. And this solution was shared by an Apple user who solved this problem. Here's how to troubleshoot Find My iPhone not sharing location:
Step 1.Open "Settings" > Apple ID > "Find My." Please make sure the "Share My Location" is on.
Step 2.Tap on "Find My iPhone" to turn on "Find My Network."
Step 3.Then, restart your iPhone. You'll be able to share your location with others.
Check Family Sharing Settings
If you are not able to see your family devices in the Find My "Device" tab or the location of your current device cannot be shared, you'd better make the family sharing correct with steps below.
Step 1.Tap on your Apple ID in iPhone "Settings"
Step 2.Go to "Family Sharing" and then "Location Sharing."
Step 3.Choose a family member to share your location.
4Location Not Updating
When Find My doesn't work, Find My iPhone not updating location is common. This happens when you connected to a weak wireless network, someone stopped location-sharing, or the device was offline, etc. To solve it, follow the steps below:
Reconnect the Network
Find My iPhone not updating location happens mostly due to being out of WiFi range, enabling Airplane Mode, or turning off cellular networks. Without a stable internet connection, Find My cannot determine the location. So, to resolve this, it would be best to connect to a strong WiFi network or ensure the cellular connection for Find My iPhone.
Enable Location Sharing on the Target Device
To view the updated and live location of your own or your friend's device in Find My, you should check if the location sharing setting for Find My is activated on the target device.
For your friend's device, open "Settings" > Apple ID > "Find My." Then, turn on "Share My Location."
Ensure the Target Device Is On
When the target device was powered off, and simultaneously, it didn't turn on "Find My Network," you can only see the last location instead of the updated location. Therefore, to stop Find My iPhone not updating its location, please make sure the target device is online.
General Steps to Fix Find My iPhone Not Working
In case the Find My not working issue persists, the following common ways can troubleshoot it. Please note that the success rate of these general methods is not as high as the above ones.
Offload the Find My App
This method comes from a successful solution shared by an Apple user in the Apple Community.
Step 1.Locate "General" > "iPhone Storage."
Step 2.Scroll down to tap on "Find My."
Step 3.Choose "Offload App."
Step 4.Tap on "Reinstall Find My" and open it to see if the Find My iPhone not working issue persists.
Update Your iPhone
When working with Find My, it is essential to use the latest iOS or iPhone. Many people overlook this, including me. Therefore, when sharing the location, make sure the models or versions of the two phones are not too different. To update the iOS:
Step 1.Open "Settings" and then "General."
Step 2.Select "Software Update."
Step 3.If the latest version is available, tap "Update Now."
Restart Your Device
Rebooting your iPhone may solve this problem if it is caused by temporary glitches. Now, press and hold the power and volume up buttons on your iPhone. Slide right to power off and then press the power button to restart it.
Contact Apple Support
If the above steps are to no avail, please contact Apple Support for specialized assistance as soon as possible. They can guide you through more advanced troubleshooting steps and help identify any underlying issues.
Best Alternative to Find My When It Doesn't Work
Well, if the above solutions fail to fix Find My not working on your iPhone, the issue might be the Find My app itself. So, why not give up Find My?
With third-party apps like AirDroid Family Locator, you are also able to see your family members' whereabouts with their device info in real-time. Moreover, it not only support binding up to 10 devices but also enables you to check the location history. Now, try it when Find My doesn't work:
Step 1.Install AirDroid Parental Control on your phone and sign in. Or go to its web dashboard.
Step 2.Follow the prompts to bind your family members' devices.
It will soon support binding to iOS devices.
Step 3.Tap on the "location" icon and you can view where your family device is.
Wrapping Up
Read here, hope you have solved the issue of Find My not working. Based on the common Find My problems, we've discussed and shared the specific solutions and general troubleshooting tips above. If the Find My still doesn't work, try contacting Apple Support or using AirDroid Family Locator can also be helpful.
FAQs about Find My Issues
Why is Find My iPhone not working?
Elsa
Here are a few reasons that Find My doesn't work on iPhone properly:
Your iPhone isn't connected with iCloud.
Incorrect settings for Find My or location services.
Your phone has weak connectivity.
Your iPhone or Find My has glitches.
This may be the result of updated iOS.
Why are my AirPods not showing up on Find My?
Elsa
When your AirPods don't show up in Find My, consider these reasons: your AirPods are out of battery, you haven't linked your AirPods, the Find My app has bugs, or your AirPods are broken.
To fix this issue, you can forget your AirPods and reconnect them, get the AirPods fully charged, restart your iPhone, and offload the Find My app.
What does "No location found" mean on Find My?
Elsa
No location found generally means the device is offline or the device doesn't turn on location services or Find My.
Why can't I turn off Find My iPhone?
Elsa
First, you haven't signed into your Apple ID. Secondly, you put restrictions on location settings changes.
Elsa has worked on a number of iOS & Android solutions, she can always find her way around almost any application. She is an accomplished, skilled and versatile writer with more than 7 years of technical article writing experience.
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