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Feb 21, 2025 • Filed to: Virtual Location Solutions • Proven solutions
Having your location turned on on your iPhone isn’t only useful, it’s often necessary for many apps you use. Any time you want to order an Uber, for instance, use Google Maps, access Find My, or even play games like Pokémon Go, you’ll need to have your location on.
So, when your iPhone location services are not working, many of your favorite apps can become unusable.
Check out why your phone might have location errors and learn how to fix this problem below.
If your Find My iPhone is not working or your location services seem to be malfunctioning, there could be various reasons why. As a general rule of thumb, knowing the reason could help you find the most effective solution. So, here’s a quick overview of the most common reasons for location service errors.
If your Find My iPhone does not work or if you’re having problems with your location in different apps, try one of the following solutions.
Though it may sound silly if you’re someone who always keeps their location turned on, it may have been accidentally turned off. Perhaps you wanted to turn it off for a second, or someone else who had access to your phone did it. Whatever the case, this is the number one reason your Find My iPhone address is unavailable or your location doesn’t seem to be working.
Here’s how to enable location services on your device:
If your location services are turned on but not working, you must try one of the following solutions.
Many apps require you to enable your general location services and precise location. Otherwise, they won’t work.
Most commonly, those apps include ride-sharing apps, for instance, maps, location-based games, and the like. Therefore, you’ll need to give these apps permission to use your precise location.
You can do that in a few steps:
You’ll need to repeat these steps for every app requiring your precise location. Moreover, ensure you don’t check Never under Allow Location Access since that will prevent the app from using your location.
Occasionally, inaccurate or manually adjusted date and time settings could interfere with some apps and services, including location services. Even if there’s just a few seconds difference between your iPhone’s time and Apple servers, for instance, you might notice your phone start to misbehave.
To avoid this issue, you’ll want to ensure that your date and time are automatic. Here’s how to do that:
This way, your date and time will automatically adjust to your location (changing every time you change time zones). You won’t have to fiddle with manually adjusting them; hopefully, you won’t have to worry about your iPhone location services not working.
The solutions above will work if you can toggle your location services on and off without issues. However, if this option is grayed out and you can’t toggle the slider, you might have a different issue.
In this instance, the most likely culprit is your privacy restrictions. So, you’ll only be able to fix it if you lift the restrictions. Here’s how:
Once you’ve allowed changes and turned your location services on, check to see if everything is working correctly.
Low data or low power modes can help you prolong battery life and save your mobile data by preventing your apps from using the internet without restrictions. The problem is that these modes can also prevent apps from properly tracking your location.
Therefore, you should disable the low data mode and check whether this fixes your issue. Here’s how to do that when you’re using WiFi:
To turn off the low data mode on your mobile network, follow these steps:
Finally, to turn off low power mode, you’ll need to follow these steps:
Once you’ve completed all of these steps, check whether your issues with location services have been fixed.
If nothing you’ve tried works, there could be a glitch or a bug in your location configurations. In this instance, the only way to fix the problem is by resetting your location and privacy settings.
In a nutshell, this will return your settings to their default, which means you’ll lose all your location preferences. The good news is that if this solution works for you, you can set your preferences once again.
Here’s how to reset your location and privacy settings:
From there, check to see if your location services are working properly. Then, adjust your location settings and preferences and check everything again.
Recommend dr.fone - Virtual Location (Ios) and Add Steps.
If nothing seems to be working, you might have no choice but to use a virtual location app. These apps are most commonly used for spoofing your location in video games, for instance, on social media or even on dating sites. However, there’s stopping you from “spoofing” to your actual current address when your iPhone is misbehaving.
Among the top virtual location tools is Wondershare Dr.Fone. Compatible with all location-based apps like Pokémon Go, Snapchat, and the like, it gives you access to a wide variety of useful features that can make you forget you ever had troubles with your location services in the first place.
With just a few taps, you can set your location to anywhere in the world, create detailed routes, simulate movement when you’re just sitting at home, and bypass geo-restrictions when browsing the web.
To change your location using Dr.Fone, you’ll need to follow these steps:
While this won’t necessarily fix the issues you might have with your location services, it will help you bypass them and continue using your phone and apps as usual.
Sometimes, when your location is buggy, the main culprit is your OS. Outdated iOS can cause various issues – from glitchy apps to an overall laggy phone. It could even put your security at risk, as outdated systems tend to have known vulnerabilities that can be exploited.
So, it’s always in your best interest to install any pending iOS updates you may have:
It could take a moment for your iOS to update. Don’t interrupt the process, and check whether the update has fixed your issues.
Of course, it might not be your iOS that’s causing trouble. It might not even be your location services but a specific app that’s decided to misbehave because it isn’t updated. You can easily test this by using a different app to see if it has problems accessing your location.
If the problem is caused by a single app, updating it should help you overcome it:
Once the update is complete, you can check whether the app can use your location without issues.
In some instances, no specific issue is preventing your location services from working as expected. Your phone might’ve simply gotten its wires crossed, so to speak. A simple solution would be forcing a reboot. That will clear your RAM and help your phone get back to normal.
Here’s how to force a reboot:
Once the system starts back up, check if your location is working.
Finally, if nothing seems to be able to help you, you might need to do a factory reset. As the name suggests, this will return your phone’s software to its original factory condition. That includes erasing your data (so make sure to create backups), resetting configurations, and reinstalling the latest version of iOS.
To perform a factory reset, you’ll want to follow these steps:
Hopefully, if the problem with your location services was caused by software issues, that should be gone now.
Issues with iPhone location services not working are more common than you may think. They could be caused by many things, from outdated apps and iOS to incorrect date and time configurations. Fortunately, they could also be solved in different ways.
Whether you enable precise location, perform a hard reboot, or simply use a virtual location app like Wondershare Dr.Fone, you should be able to bypass location services issues without much fuss.
There are several solutions you could try if your address is unavailable. Make sure to enable location services and precise location first. If that doesn’t work, you can see whether your date and time are set to “automatic”, and whether you’ve accidentally set any privacy restrictions.
Try disabling the low data mode, resetting your location and privacy settings, or updating your iOS or any misbehaving apps. You can also perform a hard reboot or a factory reset or simply start using a virtual location app like Wondershare Dr.Fone to go around your location services issues.
If your phone has suffered physical damage, it could cause software-related issues – such as your location services not working. In this instance, your best course of action would be to send your phone in for professional repairs.
Can I manually change my iPhone’s location using an app?
Yes, you can. An app like Wondershare Dr.Fone allows you to spoof your location to anywhere in the world in just a few simple clicks. You can also use it to simulate movement, create routes, use joystick-like controls to move about any map, and more.
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