There are a few potential reasons why you may not be able to see your girlfriend’s location on her iPhone. Let’s explore the most common causes and solutions so you can troubleshoot this issue.
She Doesn’t Have Location Sharing Enabled
The most obvious reason you can’t view your girlfriend’s location is because she hasn’t turned on location sharing with you. On iPhones, location sharing is an opt-in feature that requires both people to enable it in order to see each other’s locations.
To check if your girlfriend has enabled location sharing with you:
– Open the Find My app on your iPhone
– Select the People tab at the bottom
– Look for your girlfriend’s name in the list of people sharing their location
– If she’s not listed here, then she hasn’t turned on location sharing for you
To enable location sharing on her end, your girlfriend needs to:
– Open the Find My app on her iPhone
– Tap the Share My Location button
– Select your name to share with you
– Choose to share indefinitely or for a specific amount of time
Once she has location sharing enabled for you, you’ll be able to see her location on the Find My map and get notifications when she arrives or leaves certain places.
Her Location Services Are Disabled
For the Find My app to determine your girlfriend’s location, her iPhone needs to have Location Services enabled. This allows the device to access data from GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks to pinpoint its location.
If your girlfriend has previously disabled Location Services on her device entirely, her iPhone won’t be able to share its location at all. Here’s how to check if Location Services are turned off:
– Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services on her iPhone
– Check if the switch at the top is turned off (grayed out)
To re-enable Location Services:
– Open Settings > Privacy > Location Services
– Turn on the switch at the top so it is green
This will allow apps like Find My to start accessing her iPhone’s location data again. Just make sure the Find My app specifically also has location access enabled here.
Find My App Lacks Location Permissions
Even if Location Services are enabled on your girlfriend’s iPhone, the Find My app still needs specific permission to access the device’s location.
Check if Find My has location permissions:
– Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services
– Scroll down and check if Find My has location access set to Never or While Using the App
To grant Find My location access:
– Open Settings > Privacy > Location Services
– Select Find My
– Choose Always so it can access the iPhone’s location at all times
This will allow Find My to continuously update and share her real-time location for location sharing purposes.
Her iPhone’s Location Accuracy is Reduced
The iPhone has different location accuracy modes that can affect how precisely it pinpoints its location. If your girlfriend has enabled a reduced location accuracy mode, it could be hampering the Find My app’s location sharing abilities.
Here are the different location accuracy modes and their effects:
- Precise Location – Uses GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular and iBeacon data for maximum accuracy of location sharing. This is the ideal setting.
- Approximate Location – Only uses cellular data, resulting in less precise location data.
- Only While Using the App – Limits location data to when the Find My app is actively in use, impacting background location sharing.
Check her current location accuracy setting:
– Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services
– Look at the setting for Location Accuracy
To set it back to Precise Location for optimal Find My performance:
– Open Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services
– Tap Location Accuracy
– Select Precise Location
Outdated Software Version
Using an older version of iOS could also be the culprit. Apple is constantly improving the Find My app and location services in new iOS updates.
Check what iOS version your girlfriend is running:
– Go to Settings > General > Software Update
– Look at the number next to iOS version
You’ll want to make sure she’s running the latest version of iOS for the best location sharing experience. Have her update to the newest iOS release through the Software Update section.
iPhone Model Doesn’t Support Find My
The Find My app requires an iPhone model capable of running at least iOS 13 or higher. If your girlfriend is using an older iPhone that can’t update past an earlier iOS version, it won’t be able to use Find My.
Here are the minimum iPhone models required for Find My:
- iPhone 6s or newer
- iPhone SE (1st generation) or newer
If she’s using an iPhone 5s or earlier model, she will need to upgrade her device to take advantage of Find My location sharing.
Interference from Case or Cover
Certain iPhone cases and covers can inadvertently block the device’s GPS signals, Wi-Fi and cellular transmissions, negatively impacting location accuracy.
Have your girlfriend try removing any case, cover or metal attachments from her iPhone to see if it improves location performance for Find My. Thick cases in particular can hamper signal reception.
You can also try having her toggle Airplane mode on and off to reset the iPhone’s connections. This may resolve any temporary wireless interference.
Out of Cellular or Wi-Fi Range
If your girlfriend’s iPhone loses its cellular or Wi-Fi connection, Find My may have trouble pinpointing and sharing its location until it gets back in range. Places like remote wilderness areas without any cell tower or wireless internet access can cause connection issues.
Make sure she hasn’t recently been somewhere with limited cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. The Find My location updating should resume once she’s back in an area with normal cell and wireless signal again.
Incorrect Date and Time
Outdated or inaccurate date and time settings on your girlfriend’s iPhone can interfere with Find My’s ability to properly share locations. It relies on precise time data from the device.
To check her date and time settings:
– Go to Settings > General > Date & Time
– Make sure Set Automatically is enabled so the time stays correct
If needed, manually adjust the date and time or zone to fix any inaccuracies. This can help get Find My working again.
Restarting Device
As a last resort, you can recommend your girlfriend restart her iPhone. This resets all network connections and services, including Find My. Rebooting the device essentially provides a fresh slate for location sharing.
To restart an iPhone 8 or earlier, hold down the Power button until the Slide to Power Off prompt appears. For iPhone X or later, hold the Side and Volume Down buttons simultaneously until the slider shows up.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting location sharing problems with Find My revolves around checking for issues with permissions, network connections, software updates and hardware limitations. Following the tips in this guide should help you identify and resolve the cause of your girlfriend’s iPhone not sharing its location.
Enabling precise location access in Settings, switching off any potentially interfering case or cover, and making sure she’s running the latest iOS version are good places to start. With a combination of software settings checks and connection resets, you should get Find My working properly again.