How to fix Find My not working on iPhone, iPad, or Mac
Try these troubleshooting steps to fix Find My issues on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac affecting location tracking, wiping devices remotely and other functions.
The Find My app may be plagued with the following issues:
- Device locations not showing or updating.
- People’s locations not showing or updating.
- Trackers like AirTag not updating their whereabouts.
- AirTag sharing and other features won’t work.
The following solutions should help you fix your Find My woes.
General troubleshooting fixes to solve all Find My issues
Try these general fixes first.
Check your Internet connection
Fin My requires an Internet connection. Check that Wi-Fi and cellular data are functioning correctly on your iPhone.
Set the correct date and time
If the device doesn’t show correct date and time, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. You may need to turn off your Screen Time restrictions first. If the problem persists, turn off the Screen Time passcode.
Check that you’re signed into your Apple account
Find My requires signing in with an Apple account, whether you use the service on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, or the web at icloud.com/find. Launch the Find My app and you’ll see a sign-in prompt if you’re not already signed.
Or, open the Settings app (iPhone, iPad) or the System Settings app (Mac) and tap the banner at the top. If there’s already a sign-in prompt at the top of Settings, re-authenticate by entering your Apple ID password. Signing in will let you use all services requiring an Apple account, including Find My.
Give Find My location permission
Find My needs to know your whereabouts. Launch Settings (iPhone, iPad) or System Settings (Mac), navigate to Privacy & Security > Location Services, and check that Find My is permitted to use your precise location. If so, revoke permission, wait for 15 seconds, and then grant it again.
Restart the device
Software glitches may cause Find My to fail to update locations of your devices or use other features. Try turning your iPhone, iPad or Mac off and then back on.
Install the latest OS updates
Complaints on Apple Communities and Reddit reveal that many people experience Find My issues on particular iOS versions. Update the operating systems on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro to squish old Find My bugs.
Find My now showing the locations of your other devices
If you see “No location found” or device location was last updated a few weeks, months or even a year ago, this is what may be causing it:
- Device is turned off, or the battery is dead.
- Device isn’t connected to the Internet.
- There are no any Apple devices nearby to update this device’s location.
- Your Mac isn’t allowed to wake up for network access.
- Location services are turned off.
- Find My is turned off.
- Software bugs prevent the device from communicating with iCloud.
Here are some usual solutions to address these issues.
Keep your devices turned on
Be sure your devices are turned on and charged. When I shut down my Mac mini, Find My stops updating its location. Similarly, I can’t see the location of my Apple Watch when its battery is discharged.
Keep the device connected to the internet
The device must be connected to the Internet via cellular data, Wi-Fi, or Ethernet, and be at a place frequented by other people, so that Find My can leverage the power of crowdsourcing to report its location to the Find My network.
Give necessary location permissions
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Find My and set it to While Using the App, then check that Precise Location is turned on. Now select Apple Watch Find Devices and give it permission to access your location. Repeat this for Apple Watch Find Items and Apple Watch Find People. Lastly, hit System Services at the bottom and make sure Find My iPhone is switched on.
Turn on Find My
Go to Settings > Apple Account > Find My and make sure Find My is switched on.
Wake for network access
If Find My doesn’t see the location of your MacBook, go to System Settings > Battery > Options and turn on “Wake for network access.” This will permit the computer to share its location while sleeping.
Find My not showing or updating people’s locations
If you don’t see people’s locations in Find My, check that location sharing is enabled. Also, tell a friend to connect their device to the Internet. If they’re currently in an area without cellular signal, their reported location may be approximate. Verify with friends and family members that they haven’t stopped sharing their location with you or you won’t see their names under Find My’s People tab.
Find My not showing AirTag location
We have a separate tutorial discussing this at greater lengths, but here’s a recap:
- Check the AirTag battery. Having used a bunch of third-party trackers, I can assure you that Find My doesn’t always display AirTag location accurately. Some of my trackers stopped reporting their location after 3 months even though Find My shows the battery as nearly full. Replacing the battery fixed this.
- Power cycle the tracker by taking out the battery and waiting 30 seconds before re-inserting it.
- Check that your personal item tracker is nearby other people’s Apple devices.
- Update your trackers to the most recent firmware version.
- Turn on Bluetooth on your iPhone.
Find My won’t beep devices remotely
It happens when either your device or the lost device isn’t connected to the Internet. In that case, the sound will be played when both devices come online.
You can share your location with friends and family, preferably using your iPhone as it’s always connected to the Internet via either Wi-Fi or cellular data. If you have multiple devices, go to Settings > Apple Account > Find My on your primary iPhone or cellular iPad and turn on the Use this iPhone/iPad as My Location option so that your family members and friends can track your precise location in Find My.
AirTag sharing not working
You can share your AirTag with up to five other people or airlines to help retrieve your lost luggage. If AirTag sharing isn’t working, follow the tips at the beginning of this guide. Not all airlines support this feature.
False item separation alerts
You may receive a notification warning you that you’ve left an item behind. I’ve received false item separation alerts for my AirTag even though it’s attached to my car keys and I’m currently driving. I’ve also received alerts about leaving my MacBook behind, but it was in my backpack right next to me all the time.
To fix this, add your home, office, and other places you frequent the most to the list of locations that won’t trigger separation alerts. Also, check that Bluetooth is turned on. You can turn off these tracking alerts altogether, but doing so defeats the purpose of the “Notify When Left Behind” alert in the first place.
Also, check out: How to use your friend’s iPhone to find your lost Apple device
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/06/09/fix-find-my-not-working/
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