Full Solutions to Find My iPhone Problems

'Find My iPhone' not working

The most common cause of this problem is improper setup of Find My iPhone on your device. Moreover, some settings may be prohibiting the app from fetching important data hence resulting in its inability to work.

Solution:

• • Go to Settings -> General -> Location Services and make sure that they are enabled.
• • Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Your Mobile Me account and set "Find My iPhone" to ON.
• • Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Fetch New Data and enable push or set fetch to every 15 or 30 minutes or as per your desire. Setting fetch to manual however, will result in Find My iPhone's inability to work.

'Find My iPhone' is greyed out

This is a direct result of the privacy settings on your device. Go to settings->general->restrictions->Privacy, select Location Services and if you see "Don't Allow changes" options ticked on the screen that appears next, that is what has caused your Find My iPhone option to appear greyed out.

Solution:

• • Go to settings>general>restrictions>Privacy, select Location Services and untick "Don't Allow changes" from the screen that appears next. You'll need to provide your restrictions passwords as well.
• • On iOS version 15 and above however, the privacy settings have little to do with the greying out of the Find My iPhone option. To fix it, simply tap on it, you'll be prompted for your iCloud id and password after providing which you can easily get rid of the problem.

'Find My iPhone' is not accurate

Inaccurate results from Find My iPhone can be caused either due to the fact that the device being tracked is not currently connected to the internet. In this case, Find My iPhone will be displaying its last recorded location resulting in inaccuracy. Other causes may include weak or no GPS signals owing to week network connection or simply, not having turned on the location services.

'Find My iPhone' is saying offline

This problem can be the result of incorrect date and time settings on the device that you are trying to locate. Also, if the concerned device has been turned off or is not connected to an internet connection, it will result in the same problem. Weak internet connection can also be a reason for Find My iPhone to believe that your device is offline.

Solution:

• • Go to Settings > General > Date & Time to correct the date if it is wrong.
• • Try switching from your Wi-Fi to cellular data on the device that you're trying to locate if it is with you.
• • Turn Location on.

'Find My iPhone' is unavailable due to a server error

Server errors can be caused due to a wide range of errors. Sometimes, the server unavailability is caused due to a simple software glitch. Sometimes it is due to a weak Wi-Fi connection. Other cases include app incompatibility with the browser that you are using.

Solution:

• • Go to Settings > General > Date & Time to correct the date if it is wrong.
• • Try switching from your Wi-Fi to cellular data on the device that you're trying to locate if it is with you.
• • Try switching browsers.

'Find My iPhone' is not locating

Weak or no network connectivity can result in rendering Find My iPhone to get GPS data from your phone. It is one of the main reasons why it cannot locate a device. Also, Find My iPhone requires that the app be installed and configured on the device that you are trying to locate. Moreover, the device that you are trying to locate should be connected to a network i.e. it should be online. The inability to locate can also be caused if your device doesn't have the correct date and time or if it is turned off. 

Solution:

• • Go to Settings > General > Date & Time to correct the date if it is wrong.
• • Try switching from your Wi-Fi to cellular data on the device that you're trying to locate if it is with you.
• • Turn Location on.

Tips for using Find My iPhone

• • To turn on Find My iPhone on your iPhone, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services and turn location services on. Go to System Services and tap Find my iPhone option to turn it on.
• • Go to Settings->iCloud->Find My iPhone and set "Send last location" to on. This will make sure that even if you lose your device and it runs out of battery you can still get an idea about its whereabouts by checking the last location.
• • To locate your device within your home or office go to iCloud.com and log in using your valid iCloud id and password. Then go to find my iPhone->All devices and select Play sound. 
• • Similarly, there is a Lost mode which allows you to enter a phone number that is displayed on the screen of your lost device. That number can be dialed by the person who finds that iPhone to make you aware of its location.
• • There is an erase mode right after Play Sound and Lost Mode which is for use in events when you think that the iPhone will no longer be found. You can erase all your data distantly at least making sure that your privacy remains intact.