Find My is a great way to keep track of all your connected devices and share your location with friends. However, you may not always be able to use this feature due to various issues. For example, you could encounter the “Share My Location Unavailable” error.
If you can’t share your location of the location of your devices due to this problem, keep reading this article. Hopefully, we’ll find the solution.
Table of contents:
“Share My Location Unavailable” error on iPhone: Here’s what to do
Some of the reasons why the “Share My Location Unavailable” error may appear are a poor internet connection, disabled Location Services, or a bug caused by an iOS update. We’re going to explore all these cases here.
Check your internet connection
You may think that Find My only uses GPS to locate your devices and people, but that’s not true. Find My requires a stable internet connection to work without any interferences. So, make sure you’re either properly connected to a Wi-Fi network or you have enough data in your plan for the cellular connection.
If you notice any issues with your internet connection, check out this article for additional solutions.
Enable Location Services
Find My requires Location Services to share your location with other people and show their location to you. So, we’re going to make sure Location Servies are enabled. Here’s how to do that:
- Go to Settings.
- Head over to Privacy > Location Services.
- First, make sure to enable Location Services.
- Now, scroll down and tap Find My.
- Choose While using the App under Allow Location Access.
Re-add devices
If you’re having problems with locating your other devices (like an AirTag or a MagSafe accessory), some users on the forums have found that re-adding those devices to Find My resolves the problem. Here’s how to re-add a device in Find My:
- Open the Find My app.
- Head over to Devices.
- Tap the device you’re unable to locate.
- Tap Erase This Device.
- Now, tap the + icon next to Devices.
- Choose the type of device you want to add.
- Follow further instructions.
Make sure Find My uses cellular data
If you’re not at home or you’re somewhere with no Wi-Fi connection around, you’ll have to use cellular data to share your location with Find My. However, there’s a chance Find My isn’t allowed to use cellular data, which would render the whole service unusable. Here’s how to make sure Find My can use cellular data:
- Go to Settings.
- Go to Mobile Data.
- Scroll down and make sure Find My is enabled.
Update iOS
iOS updates are a strange bunch. Most of them bring new features and improve the overall stability and security of the operating system. However, some updates may contain bugs that will disrupt various iOS features. So, it’s possible that you’re unable to share your location due to a bug inside the latest iOS release.
If that’s indeed the case, there’s probably not much you can do about it. Except waiting for Apple to deliver a fix in some of the future iOS releases. To check for new iOS updates, head over to Settings > General > Software Update. If the new update is available, install it and check if the problem still occurs.
That’s about it. I hope at least one of these solutions helped you resolve the problem with the “Share My Location Unavailable” error on your iPhone. In case you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to write them down in the comments below.
