Location services on smartphones have become much more advanced and precise. You can easily navigate practically any area of the world using the location services on your iPhone. However, sometimes your iPhone won’t update the location, whether in the Maps app or Find My Phone, and there are many reasons behind this problem.
A turned-off location service is the biggest reason your location won’t update on your iPhone. There could also be an issue with your SIM card, or your data plan could have expired. Sometimes, manually refreshing location, updating date and time settings, and updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version can also fix this issue.
Location services on your iPhone and not updating can also risk your security. If your phone is lost, you won’t be able to find it using Find My Phone as it works using location services. This article will enlist all the possible reasons why your location is not updating on your iPhone.
Check the Location Service Status
The first and most obvious reason would be your location turned off. If your location is turned off, no app can retrieve this information. However, your iPhone can automatically refresh the location for its Find My service. Find My is the new service introduced in iOS 15, merging the previous Find My Location and Find My Friends services.
These services have access to your location, so they refresh automatically, but if you can’t see a location icon on your notification bar, there must be a glitch in the Find My app.
The solution to automatically update your location is manually refresh it in the app. Sometimes, the app cannot fetch location info, and this simple fix might help solve the problem. Here’s how you can manually update your location.
1. Search and launch the Find My application on your iPhone.
2. From the bottom tab of its main screen, tap on “People”.
3. Select the location for a single person, so the app has to fetch the information for one contact only.
4. The app will show you that it’s locating the friend and will update the location for the whole contact list in a while.
Check Your SIM Card
If you live in an area with very slow Wi-Fi coverage, you will be fully dependent on your mobile data to access the internet. Your SIM card must function properly to access the location services.
Sometimes, the SIM card gets displaced, and your iPhone cannot detect it. Your SIM card can also get damaged; even a single scratch can render the SIM card useless.
You should thoroughly examine your SIM card for any scuffs or scratches. Make your that you have inserted it in the right direction; otherwise, your iPhone won’t be able to detect it.
If your SIM card is very old, it’s probably time to replace it with a new one. It can also happen that someone has removed your SIM card from your iPhone, so you should always check your SIM tray before jumping to any conclusions.
Check Your Internet Connection
Even if your SIM card is in proper shape and inserted correctly, the speed of your internet connection also matters. If you’re in an area with fewer network towers, you might experience slow internet speeds.
Your iPhone might have difficulty retrieving location information if the signals drop suddenly.
Always check your internet speed before accessing location services. If your iPhone supports 5G and your area is 5G covered, your notification bar should show 5G signals or LTE according to your mobile and area.
You can also use a third-party application to monitor your internet speeds. Finally, you must also confirm if your data plan has not expired. Even if your area has good coverage, your location status cannot update if you don’t have an internet package.
Set the Correct Date and Time
The location services on your iPhone sync with the date and time information. If your iPhone’s date and time are incorrect, your location will not update, especially in Find My app.
Apple servers work best with devices whose date and time information is correct. There are some games and apps where the user can get privileges if they move their time and date forward, but some forget to bring them to the original position.
Ensure your iPhone’s date and time are updated automatically according to your region. Follow the steps to update your date and time.
1. Launch the Settings panel on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and head to the “General” tab.
3. Find and tap on “Set Date and Time”.
4. Turn on the toggle labeled “Set Automatically”.
Now, you won’t have to worry about your date and time settings as they will update automatically and work perfectly fine with your location services.
The Bottom Line
iPhones are known for their best location services, as Apple can easily help you find its devices anywhere in the world. These location services depend upon several factors to work smoothly. If your iPhone’s location isn’t updating, there might be some issues with these factors.
You should always check if your location is on and try to refresh it manually. You can also look for damaged SIM cards or if your data package hasn’t expired. Lastly, updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version can also fix your location problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
The latest iOS updates come with many major bug fixes and issues that help work your iPhone smoothly. If your iPhone cannot update its location, it could be due to a bug. Updating to the latest iOS version might fix the issue.
Apple tracks a certain iPhone and differentiates it using the Apple ID. If you’re not logged in with your Apple ID on your iPhone, it won’t be able to locate your device.
