Find My Friends stops updating when location services are off, the app lacks permission to use your location, or your device's GPS signal is weak

The most common reason Find My Friends (or the Find My app on newer iPhones) stops showing your location is that location services are disabled either globally or just for that app. The second most common reason is that you turned on location sharing but the other person's device is not receiving the signal — either because their phone is in airplane mode, they have location services off, or they are in a place with no GPS or cellular signal.

If you arrived here from the location services guide, you already know how to turn location services on at the system level. This article covers what to do when location services are on but Find My Friends still is not updating.

Key Takeaways

  • Find My Friends requires location services to be on both for your device and specifically for the Find My app itself — turning on one does not turn on the other.
  • The app must have permission to use your location "Always" rather than "Only While Using the App" to update your location when the app is closed.
  • If you see a gray dot instead of a blue one next to a friend's name, their device has location services off or is in a place with no signal.
  • Restarting your phone clears temporary glitches that prevent location from updating, and should be your first troubleshooting step.
  • Toggling location services off and back on forces your device to reconnect to GPS and often fixes stalled updates.

Check that Find My has permission to use location always, not just while using the app

Even when location services are on at the system level, each app can have its own permission setting. Find My Friends needs the "Always" permission to update your location in the background when you are not actively using the app.

On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Scroll down and tap Find My. You should see "Always" selected. If it says "While Using the App" or "Never", tap it and choose "Always". On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Find My Mobile (or the equivalent app your phone uses for location sharing). Tap Permissions > Location, then choose "Allow all the time" or "Always".

After you change this setting, close the Find My app completely and reopen it. Your location should begin updating within a minute or two.

Restart your phone to clear temporary location glitches

A phone that has been running for days or weeks sometimes stops updating location data even when all settings are correct. This is usually a temporary glitch in the operating system, not a hardware problem.

Restart your phone by powering it off completely, waiting 10 seconds, and powering it back on. On iPhone, hold the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then drag it to turn off. On Android, hold the power button until a menu appears and tap "Power off" or "Restart".

Once your phone restarts, open Find My and check whether your location is updating. If it is, you are done. If it is not, move to the next step.

Toggle location services off and back on to reconnect to GPS

Sometimes your phone loses its GPS connection even though location services are technically on. Turning location services off and back on forces your device to search for a GPS signal again.

On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and toggle it off. Wait 10 seconds, then toggle it back on. On Android, go to Settings > Location and toggle it off, wait 10 seconds, then toggle it back on. You may see a brief notification that location is being set up — this is normal.

Open Find My again and wait 30 seconds to a minute. If your location updates, the reconnection worked. If it does not, check the next section.

Verify the other person's device is not the problem

If your location is updating correctly but you cannot see a friend's location, the issue is on their device, not yours. Look at the dot next to their name in Find My. A blue dot means their location is current. A gray dot means their device is not sending location data — either because location services are off on their phone, they have not given Find My permission, or they are in a place with no GPS or cellular signal.

Ask them to check their own location services settings using the steps above. If they are in a basement, tunnel, or remote area with no signal, their location will not update until they move to a place where their phone can connect to GPS or cellular data.

You can also ask them to open the Find My app on their phone and check whether it shows their own location correctly. If it does not, they need to follow the troubleshooting steps in this article on their device.

Check whether your phone has enough cellular or Wi-Fi signal

Find My can use GPS, cellular data, or Wi-Fi to determine your location. If you are in a place with no signal at all — such as a basement, parking garage, or remote area — your phone cannot send your location to Apple's servers, and your friends will not see an updated location.

Move to a location where your phone shows at least one bar of cellular signal or is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Open Find My and wait 30 seconds. If your location updates, the problem was the lack of signal in your previous location.

If you are in a place with good signal and your location still is not updating, move to the next step.

Sign out and back into your Apple ID in Find My

Occasionally the connection between Find My and your Apple ID becomes corrupted, preventing location updates. Signing out and back in resets this connection.

On iPhone, open Find My and tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Scroll down and tap "Sign Out". You will be asked to confirm. After you sign out, tap "Sign In" and enter your Apple ID and password. Once you are signed back in, wait one minute and check whether your location is updating.

If you use Find My on Android through Samsung's Find My Mobile or another manufacturer's app, the process is similar: look for a settings menu or profile section, find a sign-out option, and sign back in with your account credentials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Find My show my location as "No location available"?

This means your phone has not sent a location update in the last few minutes. Check that location services are on, that Find My has the "Always" permission, and that you have cellular or Wi-Fi signal. If all three are true, wait another minute — sometimes updates take a moment to reach Apple's servers.

Can I share my location without letting someone see my exact address?

Find My shows your exact location on a map, not just your address, so there is no built-in way to hide your precise coordinates. You can turn off location sharing for specific people by opening Find My, tapping their name, and choosing "Stop Sharing My Location".

Does Find My work if my phone is turned off?

No. Your phone must be powered on and connected to a network for Find My to work. If your phone is off or in airplane mode, your location will not update and your friends will see your last known location.

Why does my location update only every few minutes instead of constantly?

Find My does not update continuously — it sends location updates at intervals to save battery. Updates typically happen every few minutes when your phone is moving, and less frequently when you are stationary. This is by design and not a problem.