The most common reasons Find My stops working
Find My — Apple's location-sharing feature on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch — stops working most often because location services are turned off, your device lost internet connection, or you are not signed into the same iCloud account on both devices. Less commonly, the person you are trying to locate has disabled sharing, turned off their device, or their battery is too low for location to transmit.
The first thing to check is whether location services are on at all. If you just turned them off following the previous guide, that is your answer. But even if you thought they were on, they may have been disabled by a system update, a settings change you do not remember making, or an app that requested permission and you declined.
The second thing to check is internet. Find My needs either Wi-Fi or cellular data to work — it cannot locate a device with location services on but no way to send that location to Apple's servers. If your device is in airplane mode, or connected to a network with no actual internet, Find My will show the last known location but not update it.
Key Takeaways
- Location services must be on for the device you are trying to locate, and you must be signed into the same iCloud account on both your device and the one you are tracking.
- Both devices need an active internet connection — Wi-Fi or cellular data — for Find My to send and receive location updates in real time.
- If the device you are looking for is off, in low-power mode, or has a dead battery, Find My will show only the last location it reported before going offline.
- Turning location services back on takes seconds, but it can take a few minutes for Find My to start showing an updated location after you do.
How to turn location services back on for Find My
On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, tap Privacy, then tap Location Services. The toggle at the top should be green. If it is gray, tap it to turn it on. Then scroll down and make sure Find My is in the list and has a purple arrow next to it — that arrow means the app has permission to use your location.
On Mac, go to System Settings, click Privacy & Security in the sidebar, then click Location Services. Check the box next to Location Services. Then look for Find My in the list below and make sure it is checked.
On Apple Watch, location services are controlled from the paired iPhone. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Privacy, then tap Location Services and turn it on. The watch itself does not have a separate location services toggle.
After you turn location services back on, wait two to three minutes before checking Find My again. The device needs time to calculate its location and send it to Apple's servers, especially if it has been offline for a while.
Check that you are signed into the same iCloud account
Find My only works between devices signed into the same iCloud account. If you are trying to locate someone else's device, they must have added you to their Find My contacts, or you must be a family member in their Family Sharing group.
On the device you are using to search, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, and look at which iCloud account is signed in. On the device you are trying to locate, do the same. If the accounts are different, that is why Find My is not working.
If you are trying to locate a family member's device, make sure you are both in the same Family Sharing group. On your device, go to Settings, tap your name, then tap Family Sharing. You should see the other person listed. If they are not there, you will need to add them first before Find My will work.
Confirm the other device has an internet connection
A device with location services on but no internet cannot send its location to Find My. Check whether the device you are trying to locate is connected to Wi-Fi or has cellular service. If it is in airplane mode, that is the problem — airplane mode turns off both Wi-Fi and cellular.
If the device is on but showing no Wi-Fi or cellular signal, it may be in a location with no coverage, or it may have been turned off and back on recently and is still connecting. Wait a few minutes and check again.
If the device is completely off or the battery is dead, Find My will show the last location it reported before it went offline. There is no way to get a real-time location from a device that is not powered on.
Check whether the person has disabled sharing with you
If you are trying to locate someone else, they may have turned off location sharing specifically for you. In Find My on your device, look at the People tab. If the person you are looking for is not listed, or if their name appears but shows "No location available," they have either disabled sharing or their device is offline.
The only way to know which one is true is to ask them directly. If they have disabled sharing, they can turn it back on by opening Find My on their device, tapping the People tab, tapping their own name, and toggling Share My Location back on.
If they have removed you from their sharing list entirely, you will not see them in the People tab at all. They would need to add you back manually.
Restart the device and the Find My app
If location services are on, you are on the same iCloud account, and you have internet, but Find My is still not working, try closing and reopening the Find My app. On iPhone or iPad, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or swipe down from the top right on newer models) to open the app switcher, find Find My, and swipe it up to close it. Then open Find My again from your home screen.
If that does not work, restart your device entirely. On iPhone or iPad, hold down the power button and one of the volume buttons until the power-off slider appears, then slide to power off. Wait ten seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on.
On Mac, click the Apple menu, then click Shut Down. Wait a few seconds, then press the power button to turn it back on.
What to do if Find My still is not working
If you have turned on location services, confirmed you are on the same iCloud account, checked that both devices have internet, and restarted everything, the problem may be with Apple's servers or a deeper issue with your iCloud account. Sign out of iCloud and sign back in: on iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, scroll down, and tap Sign Out. You will be asked for your password. After signing back in, wait a few minutes and check Find My again.
If Find My still does not work after that, the issue may require help from Apple Support. You can reach them through the Apple Support app on your device, or visit support.apple.com and start a chat or schedule a call. Have ready the names of the devices you are trying to use, which iCloud account you are signed into, and whether you have tried the steps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Find My work if the other person's phone is off?
No. Find My shows only the last location the device reported before it turned off. If you need to locate someone in an emergency and their phone is off, that information is not available through Find My. Contact local emergency services if you have safety concerns.
Why does Find My show an old location that has not updated?
The device may have no internet connection, or location services may have been turned off since the last update. Check whether the device is connected to Wi-Fi or has cellular service. If it does, wait a few minutes for the location to refresh. If it does not, the device is offline and Find My cannot update the location until it reconnects.
Does the other person know when I am looking at their location?
No. Find My does not send a notification when someone views your location. However, they can see in the Find My app that you have access to their location, and they can remove you from sharing at any time.
What if I turned off location services by accident and now I cannot find my own device?
If your device is off or has no internet, you cannot turn location services back on remotely. If it is on and has internet but location services are off, you can use iCloud.com on another device: go to iCloud.com, sign in, click Find My, and select your device. You can see the last known location and send a sound to help you locate it physically.
Can I use Find My if I do not have cellular service, only Wi-Fi?
Yes. Find My works on Wi-Fi alone. Both the device you are using to search and the device you are trying to locate need to be connected to Wi-Fi with an active internet connection.