iOS 17 Location Sharing Not Working: You are not alone if accessing your location via iOS 17 proves to be problematic. iOS 17 does indeed affect a subset of users, but the problem can be resolved with a few straightforward steps.
This article will provide an overview of the prevailing resolutions for location-sharing issues in iOS 17. If difficulties persist, we will also offer further guidance and troubleshooting procedures.
14 methods to iOS 17 Location Sharing Not Working
Having reviewed the various methods for sharing your location with others, the following are all the possible solutions should it cease to function. It is advisable to commence with the initial solution and proceed incrementally through the list until the desired issue is resolved.
Fix 1: Reset location and privacy settings
We advise you to begin by resetting your Location and Privacy settings. This option is iOS-specific and is intended to assist you in diagnosing and resolving transient bugs, cache issues, and other problems that may be occurring on your iPhone. In the event that, despite performing every step accurately, your location remains undisclosed to a recipient or you are unable to access a shared location, the following instructions will assist you in resolving such concerns. We advise that you begin by resetting your privacy and location settings.
Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy to accomplish this. Enter the passcode and select Reset Settings. Upon selecting the final option, an iPhone restart will occur, during which all essential settings will be reset. Upon the conclusion of this procedure, you may re-access the shared location or your own shared location. Regardless of whether your iPhone was experiencing transient bugs or not, they should be resolved at this time.
Fix 2: Log out and re-enter your Apple ID credentials.
Should you continue to encounter challenges with location sharing, we advise you to re-authenticate to your iCloud account. When sharing your location through Find My or Messages, your iCloud account is of the utmost importance. It facilitates message transmission and reception on the designated iMessage account, which is additionally employed for location sharing and other iMessage functionalities.
The Find My features are similarly dependent on your iCloud account. Resolving any challenges encountered with location sharing can be achieved by logging out and re-logging into one’s iCloud account. Navigate to Settings > Apple ID > Sign Out > Your Apple ID Password > Turn Off > Select the data you wish to retain > Sign Out > Sign Out to opt out of your iCloud account. This will sign you out of your Apple ID on your iPhone and retain a copy of the data you have selected.
To power off, navigate to Settings > General > Shut Down > Slide after you are finished. Your iPhone will then be turned off. After turning it off, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few minutes to restart it. After powering on your device, you are able to re-enter your Apple ID. Navigate to Settings > Sign in on your iPhone to accomplish this.
After that, you can re-enter your credentials to access your Apple ID. Once you have done so, you may request that another user share their location or attempt to share your own. iCloud account issues that previously prevented you from utilizing location sharing should be resolved.
Fix 3: Re-disclose your location to an individual, or conversely.
We now advise you to attempt again to request or share the location of another individual. Bugs may occasionally give rise to complications that hinder individuals or themselves from initially disclosing their location, even if they or someone else so chooses. Attempting again after canceling your initial request should resolve this issue in the majority of cases.
We advise you to rescind your request, wait a few minutes, and then retry without utilizing location sharing through a third-party application, Messages, Check In, or Apple Maps. If you encountered difficulties with location-sharing as a result of flaws or glitches, attempting location-sharing again should resolve the issues.
Fix 4: Confirm that the recipient is also operating iOS 17.
AppStore-exclusive features such as Check In and location sharing via the Messages application are among those unveiled with the release of iOS 17. Nevertheless, this also necessitates that both devices be equipped with iOS 17 to utilize these functionalities. Therefore, if you have been using either of these new features to share your location with another user, you should verify that their device is also running iOS 17.
The iOS version currently installed on their iPhone can be viewed by navigating to Settings > General > About > iOS Version. Users whose devices are running iOS 16.7.1 or earlier are required to update their devices in order to enable location sharing. To apply software updates to their device, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update. iOS 17 has been released globally; therefore, the update should be promptly available for download and installation on the user’s device; to do so, select Update Now. You should then be able to utilize location sharing without any issues on both devices.
Fix 5: Verify that the date and time on your device are accurate.
Additionally, many functions may be disrupted by an inaccurate time and date, particularly those that depend on synchronization with specific servers, such as location sharing. If the time on your device does not correspond to the current time, then the server time will also not be accurate. When this occurs, the misalignment of time on both ends will impede the updating of information or completely disrupt location sharing. Therefore, we now advise you to ensure that your device’s date and time settings are accurate. To accomplish this, navigate to Settings > General > Date & Time and toggle the Set Automatically switch to the on position.
The date and time of the device will now be set automatically in accordance with the user’s present region. This will assist in resolving mismatched times, thereby resolving the issue with location sharing on your iPhone. If the recent time change does not appear to have affected the initial request or instance, we advise you to attempt sharing your location once more. This may be necessary under certain circumstances, particularly if you marked your location in Apple Maps, Google Maps, or comparable applications on your iPhone for the sole purpose of sharing it.
Fix 6: Enable Check In and configure Data to Full
iOS 17 introduces the Check In feature, which enables the creation of location-based or time-based Check Ins that provide users with your current whereabouts and warn them if the check-in is not completed within the specified time or location. This can contribute to your safety in a variety of situations, particularly when you are traveling alone.
Regrettably, Check In has been identified to experience errors when limited data is shared; therefore, we advise you to change data sharing to Full and attempt to generate a new Check In. This will enable you to effortlessly communicate your current location to the relevant individual. Select Full by navigating to Settings > Messages > Data. It should now be possible to establish a new Check In and communicate your location to a contact without encountering any complications.
Fix 7: Reset network configuration
Location sharing may also be rendered ineffective by network issues. There are numerous potential causes for network issues, including your DNS, ISP, IP address, Mac address, cache, and more. In order to resolve the majority of these issues that could be causing location sharing errors, simply reset your network settings. Bear in mind that doing so will result in the removal of all saved Wi-Fi networks and custom DNS configurations from your device.
Therefore, we advise you to create a backup of either of these settings prior to resetting your network settings. Proceed to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings > Enter passcode > Reset Network Settings once the necessary data has been backed up. This should restore location sharing functionality to your iPhone.
Fix 8: Share your location using an alternative interface.
We now advise that you attempt to share your location or request the location of another user through an alternative method. Features may encounter transient bugs on occasion as a result of issues on the server side. While these issues are resolved automatically with time, you may utilize alternative methods to share your location or that of another individual. Therefore, if you were utilizing iMessage, we advise you to switch to Apple Maps, Find My, or Check In.
Similarly, in the event that you or someone else shared their location with you via either of these methods, you may consider utilizing an alternative method to convey your location. Let’s take a short look at each of these iOS 17 methods for sharing your location.
Let’s begin with standard Messages location sharing. Navigate to Messages > Concerned conversation > Plus () > Location to utilize this function. Choose Live Location or Pin > Request or Share.
To share your location using Check In, navigate to Messages > Concerned conversation > Plus () > Share Location. More > Access the Edit menu Upon arrival, select Change > Search the desired location. Choose the location and click “Done.” Choose ETA > Completed > Send.
Conversely, you can also share your location with others using Apple Maps. To accomplish this, navigate to Messages (or another preferable app) from Maps > Share My Location > Enter contact > Send.
Fix 9: Restart by force
We now advise that you attempt to reset your iPhone by force. Force restarting the iPhone has been proven to resolve the majority of OS and application-related issues. It assists in clearing the cache of your device, restarting background services, and starting everything from the beginning. Therefore, if the location-sharing service is experiencing cache or background glitch issues, a force restart will assist in resolving the matter. To initiate a hard restart of your iPhone, hold and release the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons simultaneously.
When finished, click and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears on your iPhone. You may then proceed with a standard restart of your iPhone once the Apple logo appears on the screen. You may then attempt to utilize location sharing on your iPhone once it has booted up. Using it again should not present any challenges, provided that the error was not triggered by the cache or background services.
Fix 10 Ensure location is enabled on your iPhone
Although this may seem obvious, we now advise you to verify that Location Services are activated on your iPhone. There is a possibility that disabling location could impede the relevant service’s ability to access and utilize your location, thereby disrupting location sharing. We therefore advise you to verify that Location Services are activated on your iPhone.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to accomplish this. If the toggle for Location Services at the top is disabled, verify and enable it. Once reactivated, location sharing on your iPhone should resume functioning.
Fix 11: Confirm that location permission is granted for the applicable application.
We now advise that you verify the location permissions of the application that you are attempting to use to share your location. Verify the permissions for Messages and Apple Maps if you intend to share your location via Messages, as Messages utilizes Maps to perform all location-related operations. Alternatively, if you are utilizing a third-party application, you may verify and grant its pertinent location permission.
Access Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Select app > Choose an option other than ‘Never’ to verify and enable location permissions for an application. You may subsequently attempt to utilize location sharing once more; it should function as intended now that the app has been deactivated of any required permissions.
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Fix 12: Attempt to share your location at all times instead
Apps that attempt to process and filter location requests in accordance with the permission options in iOS 17 may encounter complications. Although it is unlikely, given that this feature has been available for several years, such issues may be caused by transient bugs or glitches. Therefore, we advise you to choose to share your location with the relevant app at all times to determine whether or not that resolves the issue with location sharing.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to accomplish this. Choose application > Always (if available). Sharing your location should no longer be problematic if it was broken due to location permission problems.
Fix 13: Verify that the background app refresh is enabled for the app in question.
In order to share location data in real-time, the relevant app must be intermittently active in the background. This is because location sharing is an ongoing process. iOS employs background app refresh to govern the background activity of an application. This feature enables the application to periodically retrieve and transmit data in the background, facilitating functions such as push notifications, location sharing, background services, and more.
However, in the case where background app refresh is disallowed for a location-sharing application (e.g., an app used to exchange coordinates), the data may be postponed until the application is reopened. This may result in the appearance of an issue with location sharing on your iPhone. As a result, we advise you to enable background app refresh for the affected application in order to resolve this issue on your iPhone.
Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Background App Refresh to accomplish this. Choose Wireless and Cellular. This will activate the iPhone’s Background App Refresh feature.
When finished, touch “Back” in the upper left corner. Turn on the corresponding app’s toggle. Having disabled the background app refresh that was causing problems with location sharing should now enable you to share your location without incident.
Fix 14: Guarantee Share Enabling My Location for Find My
You must enable Share My Location in your Find My settings if you intend to share your location via Find My. It may prevent you from sharing your location with family and acquaintances if this option is deactivated.
Navigate to Settings > Apple ID > Find My > Enable Share My Location to access it. Should you have deactivated this switch, then the inability to communicate your location via Find My was the cause.
