Why Is Find My Friends Not Updating Location
I’ve run into this issue more times than I can count — opening Find My Friends (or Find My on newer iPhones) only to see that someone’s location hasn’t updated in hours or even days. The short answer? It usually comes down to one of three things: connectivity problems, permissions or settings being off, or the other person’s device being unavailable. In most cases, the issue isn’t the app itself but something simple like a lost signal or a background refresh being disabled.
1. Connectivity Issues
The most common reason Find My Friends stops updating is poor or no internet connection. The app relies heavily on Wi-Fi or cellular data to transmit and receive live location data. If either your phone or your friend’s phone doesn’t have a stable connection, the location can freeze at the last known spot.
Even temporary drops in signal can make it look like someone hasn’t moved for a while. The fix? Make sure both devices are connected to the internet, and if one is using mobile data, check that “Find My” is allowed to use cellular data under Settings → Cellular.
2. Location Services Are Turned Off
Another major culprit is when Location Services are disabled. If you or your friend accidentally turned off location sharing or restricted it for the Find My app, the system can’t send updates. To check this, go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services, and ensure both Location Services and Find My have permission set to “While Using the App” or “Always.”
It’s also possible for someone to intentionally stop sharing their location. In that case, you’ll see “Location not available,” which doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong — it might just be a privacy choice.
3. Background App Refresh Disabled
iPhones use Background App Refresh to keep certain apps updated even when they’re not open. If this feature is off, Find My Friends can’t regularly refresh the location in the background. You can fix this by going to Settings → General → Background App Refresh, and making sure it’s turned on globally and for the Find My app specifically.
This small setting is easy to overlook, especially for people trying to save battery life — but it can completely stop updates from showing up.
4. The Device Is Powered Off or in Low Power Mode
If someone’s phone is dead or turned off, their last known location will stay on the map until it powers back on and reconnects. Similarly, when a device is in Low Power Mode, location updates can pause to conserve battery.
If you notice that a friend’s location hasn’t updated in hours and it says “Last seen,” their battery might have died. Once they charge and reopen their phone, their location will update automatically.
5. Time and Date Settings Are Wrong
An overlooked reason Find My Friends doesn’t refresh location is incorrect date or time settings. iPhones use these to coordinate updates with Apple’s servers. If the time zone is off, updates may lag or fail altogether. The solution: go to Settings → General → Date & Time, and toggle on “Set Automatically.”
This ensures your device always uses the correct time zone, especially if you’ve recently traveled or switched SIM cards.
6. Software or App Glitches
Sometimes, the issue isn’t you or your friend — it’s the app or iOS itself. Bugs and temporary glitches can cause the Find My app to freeze, fail to load locations, or display outdated information.
Restarting the app, signing out and back into your Apple ID, or even restarting your iPhone can clear up many of these issues. If that doesn’t help, check for updates under Settings → General → Software Update, since Apple frequently patches bugs that affect Find My functionality.
7. Privacy Restrictions or Parental Controls
If Screen Time or parental controls are set up, they can block location sharing features. This often happens on family accounts where restrictions were once applied and then forgotten about. Go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Location Services to confirm that Find My is allowed to share location data.
8. iCloud Account Issues
Find My Friends works through iCloud, so if either user is signed out, has a syncing problem, or switched Apple IDs, location sharing stops working. Make sure both devices are signed in to iCloud using the same Apple ID used to share locations originally.
You can verify this under Settings → [Your Name] → Find My → Find My iPhone. If you see an error or it’s toggled off, that’s a likely cause.
9. Airplane Mode or Do Not Disturb
Airplane Mode cuts off all network communication, so any device in that mode won’t update its location until it’s turned off. Similarly, while Do Not Disturb itself doesn’t stop location sharing, it can sometimes interfere with notifications or background updates depending on settings. Always double-check that neither feature is accidentally left on.
10. Apple’s Servers or Temporary Outages
Lastly, it’s possible that the issue isn’t on your end at all. Occasionally, Apple’s iCloud or Find My services experience temporary downtime. You can visit Apple’s System Status page to see if Find My is affected. If it is, all you can do is wait until it’s back online.
When Find My Friends stops updating, it can be frustrating — especially when you rely on it to meet up with people or make sure someone got home safely. But nine times out of ten, the cause is something small and fixable within minutes: a setting toggled off, a dead battery, or a spotty connection. Checking through these steps usually brings everything back to normal quickly.
- IOS