5 ways to troubleshoot if a friend or family member's location is not available on your iPhone

May 2024 · 5 minute read
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  • It's probably a problem with your friend's phone
  • Toggle Airplane mode on and off
  • Restart the Find My app
  • Restart your iPhone
  • Check for updates
  • Redeem now

    Thanks to your iPhone's location services, you can track the location of friends and family from your iPhone. Whether you're checking to see a friend's ETA on the way to dinner or where your kids are after school, the Find My app makes it easy to see anyone who has opted into sharing their location with you. Sometimes, though, instead of a location, you see an error message, noting their location is not available. Here's how to troubleshoot and solve the dreaded location-not-available problem on your iPhone. 

    It's probably a problem with your friend's phone

    If your friend's location isn't available on your iPhone, it's most likely that the problem is on your friend's phone. The most likely problem, for example, is that the other iPhone might not have cellular or WiFi reception. In addition, that other phone could be turned off, or your friend might have turned off location services in Settings. Here is a list of all the most likely problems — if possible, you can ask your friend to check each of these issues on their phone:

    It's possible that your friend's location sharing expired. They should share their location again. Dave Johnson

    Toggle Airplane mode on and off

    If your friend's phone appears to be properly configured for sharing their location, you might be the one with  a connectivity problem. Check the status at the top of your Home screen to see if you have a solid WiFi or cellular signal. Often, you can resolve a small connectivity glitch by toggling Airplane mode – pull the Control Center down from the top right of the screen and then tap the Airplane mode icon. Wait a moment and tap it again. After your phone reconnects, check the Find My app. 

    You might be having trouble with your wireless connectivity. One easy fix is to toggle Airplane mode on and off. Dave Johnson

    Restart the Find My app

    A lot of problems can often be resolved simply by restarting software, which can flush out errors when the app is closed and then reopened. Close the Find My app by starting the iPhone's app switcher and then swiping up on the Find My app. Then start the app again and see if that solved the problem. 

    Restart your iPhone

    Another common troubleshooting strategy is to restart your entire device. If you're still having no luck seeing your friend's location, turn your iPhone off and then back on again. After the phone reboots, any temporary glitches should be resolved, so check the Find My app again. 

    Check for updates

    While relatively unlikely to resolve your issue, it's always possible that there's a bug or incompatibility with your current version of the Find My app or some other software on your iPhone. It's a good idea to always keep the software on your phone up to date. To see if this is the issue, update any apps which have available updates. Start the App Store app and tap your account icon at the top right. In the Upcoming Automatic Updates section, tap Update All.

    Install any app updates that are waiting. Dave Johnson
    Freelance Writer Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider. Read more Read less

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