Find My is a great feature that can help you locate your Apple device if you have lost or misplaced it. But what do you do if Find My says Offline, No location found, No location available or Location Services Off? in Find My when your iPhone isn’t lost, or if you know it is around somewhere, you will want to know how to fix the problem. it is offline in Find My.
What does it mean when Find My says Offline?
When you are looking at Find My, either through iCloud.com or using the Find My app on another device, and your iPhone shows as Offline, this means that your iPhone is unable to communicate with Find My.Reasons why your
iPhone is offline in Find My may vary depending on which iOS version your phone is running. Find My was improved with iOS 15 (which became available in late 2021). Starting with iOS 15, Find My can still locate your device even if it ran out of battery or was turned off. It can also use Bluetooth or NFC to communicate with other Apple devices nearby to transmit its location. With iOS 14 and earlier, Find My might say Offline when out of battery or turned off.
Why Find My says Offline
Here are some of the reasons Find My may say Offline:
The device is turned off or has run out of battery.
The device is not connected to the internet.
Airplane Mode may be on, cutting off Wi-Fi and cell signals.
The SIM card may have been removed, cutting off cell signals.
There are incorrect date and time settings.
The device has a weak internet connection.
There is no Find My support in the area (country).
Can I still find my iPhone?
If your iPhone says Offline in Find My and you still have your phone with you, there are things you should do to make sure Find My will be able to help you locate your iPhone in case you lose it in the future.
If you don’t still have your iPhone, there are a few things you can try to locate it.
What to do when Find My says Offline (and you know where your iPhone is)
Update your iPhone to the latest iOS. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install any available updates.
find my settings on iPhone
Share the device location with Find My. Go to Settings > [your Apple ID name] > Find My. Tap on Find My iPhone. Make sure Find My iPhone, Find My network and Send Last Location are on. For older iOS, go to Settings > Find My > Find My iPhone and Share My Location.
Turn on Location Services. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
Turn off Airplane Mode.
Make sure the date and time are set correctly. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time.
If possible, switch to a more stable Wi-Fi or cellular data connection.
Enable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Go to Settings > Bluetooth and Settings > Wi-Fi.
How to locate your offline iPhone
So the obvious strategies include looking for it in the real world:
Retrace your steps.
Contact the locations you have been to.Contact local police if you are afraid someone may have taken it.There are still a few steps you take to find your iPhone, even if it is offline in Find My:Check Find My periodically to see if it shows up. If you are running iOS 15 or later, your offline iPhone can still communicate with other Apple devices, and so if there are any nearby, you may be able to track the phone in Find My Also, if someone picked up your iPhone that had run out of battery or been turned off, they may charge it.Call your iPhone.If you use Google Maps on your iPhone, check Google Maps Timeline.Call your cell carrier. They may be able to help locate your phone.What to do if you can’t locate your iPhoneFinally, if you are unable to locate your iPhone, there are steps you should take to protect your data. The Find My app is a part of iCloud that enables you to track the locations of iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, AirPods and AirTags.
It used to be called Find My iPhone or Find My Friends, but now it is called Find My to indicate that it can be used with other Apple devices, also. The Find My app replaced Find My iPhone and Find My Friends.A common question we often get is how accurately the Find My app shows the device or item location.It can be very critical that Find My locates your device so that you can find, lock or erase it in case your device is lost or stolen. Find My can be accessed via the app or the iCloud.com website. For this to work, you will need to turn on Find My and Location Services.
How accurate is Find My?
It depends on a lot of factors. Depending on the type of the device and other external factors, it can be very accurate or not accurate at all. For example, as you can see below, I have five devices located right here with me, but iCloud Find My shows them in different places:Find My location mapAs you can also see, the accuracy of Find My is spotty. All five of my devices are all together and next to each other, but Find My shows two of them across the street.With regard to the original question of the accuracy of Find My, it is difficult to provide a numeric answer.There are some scientific studies that attempted to answer this question.For example, a study done in 2009 showed that the accuracy of the location of the device within around 8 meters (around 26 feet).
Two years later, another study also found similar results showing that the accuracy ranged from 5 to 8 meters (around 16 to 26 feet). was within 10 meters (around 32 feet).Of course, we can say that these studies were done a long time ago, and there are probably a lot of improvements to this technology since then.A newer study in 2019 found the accuracy was between 7-13 meters (around 22 to 42 feet).
Why does Find My sometimes show devices in the wrong place?
A lot of factors can degrade the accuracy of Find My. Find My uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cell towers. The accuracy with which it can pinpoint the location depends on many factors. accuracy, such as:Poorsmartphone signalAvailability of nearby cell towersWeak GPS signals due to blockage, eg, buildings may block GPS signalsLandscape characteristics, such as trees, mountains, etc.Availability of Wi-FiAvailability of other nearby Apple devicesNearby Bluetooth devicesRadio interferenceAtmospheric conditions affecting GPSFind My is designed to work even if your device is offline or turned off.