How to Fix It When Your iPhone GPS Isn’t Working (2024)

FAQs

How to Fix It When Your iPhone GPS Isn’t Working? ›

If you can't find your current location on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Turn on Location Services and Location Access for Maps

Causes of iPhone GPS Not Working. Some settings on the iPhone intentionally prevent GPS from working. Other causes for GPS not working are a weak signal, outdated maps data, or hardware failure. Although iPhone GPS issues are not common, they can occur after you update the iOS.

Android devices

Go to "Settings" > "Location Data". Check that "Location information access" is on — the button must be blue. Go to "Settings" > "Location Data" > "App permission" — it may also be called “Location” depending on your device.

Walls, vehicle roofs, tall buildings, mountains, and other obstructions can block line of sight to GPS satellites. NOTE: A GPS signal is strongest under the clear sky. If you can't see the sky, you'll have a weak GPS signal and your position on the map might not be correct.

Navigate to Settings > Location > and make sure Location is ON. Navigate to Settings > Loction > Sources Mode and tap High Accuracy. Connect to a Wi-Fi network and see if location accuracy improves. NOTE: Your phone may need a data connection to retrieve location data.

You can turn Location Services on or off at Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You can turn Location Services on either during the Setup Assistant process or later through the Location Services setting. You can individually control which apps and system services have access to Location Services data.

Resetting the device helps if your device stops responding, can't find a GPS signal, or if it doesn't start up correctly. Resetting your device won't remove any of your saved settings such as favorites or recent destinations, but the clocks time zone may need to be set again.

Common causes include: Satellite signal blockage due to buildings, bridges, trees, etc. Indoor or underground use. Signals reflected off buildings or walls ("multipath")

With no GPS, emergency services would start struggling: operators wouldn't be able to locate callers from their phone signal, or identify the nearest ambulance or police car. There would be snarl-ups at ports: container cranes need GPS to unload ships.

How do I fix my GPS tracking? ›

There is always the option to restart your device and/or turn GPS on/off several times. This helps more often than not. The reboot helps the GPS system to recalibrate, which can lead to better signal reception.

Turn on Location Services and Location Access for Maps. In the Settings app, tap Privacy & Security, then tap Location Services. Make sure Location Services is on, and Maps is set to While Using the App or Widgets. Set the date, time, and time zone correctly on your device.

Sometimes, the cache files and data files that build up on your device for Maps may have been corrupted. This can cause a problem for your GPS and it may begin behaving abnormally. To solve this problem, you must delete the cache and data for Maps and check if the problem is fixed.

Make sure that Location Services are enabled on your iPhone and for these specific apps that you're trying to share your location with. For this go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and here ensure that it's turned on.

If you set up location sharing and others still can't see your location, make sure Location Services is on in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Find My. See Control the location information you share on iPhone.