Fix Location Services Disabled or Not Working in iPhone

Location Services is a default feature in iPhone that allows the apps and device to track your location. This helps apps to serve personalized ads and services using your location. For example, Maps app needs your location for identifying your home or office and food delivery app needs to your address for sending live tracking activities for the delivery. If you face problems with Location Services in iPhone, here is how to fix and make the apps to work properly.

Location Services in iPhone

iPhone will show an arrow symbol in top status bar whenever your location is used by apps. You may face problems like location service is not working or you want to enable/disable the feature for an app but it is greyed out. There are three possibilities to turn on the feature in iPhone – Enable System Level, Individual App Level and For System Services. Depending upon the situation, follow one of the below suggestions.

1. Enable Location Services in iPhone

• Open Settings app and navigate to “Privacy & Security” section.
• Tap on “Location Services” option showing as the first item.
• Turn on “Location Services” option on the next screen to enable the feature at system level.

• Tap on “Share My Location” and enable “Share My Location” option for sharing your iPhone’s location with family and friends. Also, go to “Find My iPhone” and enable the options you need.

2. Turn On Location and Precise Location for an App

If you have problems for a specific app like Maps not showing your house address properly, follow the below steps.

• Go to “Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services” section.
• Scroll down on the page and tap on the app name that you are facing problem.
• You will see list of options and select “While Using the App” or “While Using the App or Widgets” option.
• Some apps like Maps also need your precise location and hence enable “Precise Location” option if it available.

3. Location Tracking for System Activities

As mentioned, iOS features like Find My and Live Activities needs the track our iPhone’s location. If iOS features are not working, then follow the below steps:

• Open Settings app and go to “Privacy & Security > Location Services” section.
• Scroll down to bottom of the page and tap on “System Services” option.
• You will see a huge list of services using your location and make sure to enable required items like Find My iPhone, Location-Based Alerts, Location-Based Suggestions and Networking & Wireless options. If you are in doubt, simply turn on all the items and check your problem is resolved.
• Finally, tap on “Significant Locations” option showing as last in the list. Unlock your screen with Face ID or passcode and turn on “Significant Locations” option. This will allow iPhone to track your important locations like house, office and frequently travelled places and show suggestions accordingly in Maps, Calendars and Photos apps.

4. Location Services Disabled in iPhone Settings

You might have given permission for an app to track your location but wanted to stop this after some time. Or you find the Location Services is disabled when you want to enable it for an app as explained above. If Location Services option is greyed out, follow the below steps to make the screen editable.

• Open Settings app and go to “Screen Time” section.
• Scroll down and tap on “Content & Privacy Restrictions” option.

• On the next scree, tap on “Location Services” option showing under “Privacy” section.
• Tap “Allow Changes” on the next screen to make the Location Services settings editable in iPhone.

From this section also, you can enable the feature, toggle for an app or System Services to on or off.

5. Check Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode in iPhone allows to cave battery by reducing all background activities. This is enabled when the battery level goes below 20% which may stop the location being used by apps in the background.

• Go to “Settings” app and tap on “Battery” section.
• Disable “Low Power Mode” option on the next screen.

6. Disable Low Data Mode

Similar to Low Power Mode, iPhone also has another Low Data Mode setting for wireless networks. This will reduce data usage by preventing background activities and syncing.

• Open Settings and tap on “WLAN” option.
• Tap on the information icon showing next to your Wi-Fi connection.
• Make sure to disable “Low Data Mode” option.

7. Enable Background App Refresh

As mentioned above, apps and system services use Location Services in the background to offer personalized and precise information.

• Go to Settings > General section.
• Tap on “Background App Refresh” option.
• Again, tap on “Background App Refresh” and enable “WLAN & Cellular Data” or “WLAN” option depending upon whether you want the feature to use Cellular data or not.
• Go back to previous screen and enable the switch against individual apps.

8. Shut Down and Restart iPhone

Sometimes all you need is to simply restart the iPhone to fix Location Services related issues.

• Go to “Settings > General” section.
• Scroll down to bottom and tap on “Shut Down” option.
• Slide the button on “Slide to power off” option.
• After that, press and hold the side power button to restart your iPhone.

Now, you can check the Location Services related problems are fixed.

9. Reset Location Settings

If restarting iPhone did not help, then you can reset the location settings in iPhone.

• Go to “Settings > General” section.
• Scroll down to bottom of the page and tap on “Reset” option.
• Select “Reset Location & Privacy” option from the menu that appears.
• Enter your passcode to reset location settings.

10. Reset iPhone to Factory Defaults

This is the final option you should do as resetting iPhone will delete all your custom setting (though no data will be deleted).

• Go to “Settings > General > Reset” option.
• This time select “Reset All Settings”.
• Type your passcode and wait for the iPhone to restart.

Final Words

 In most cases, Location Services problems in iPhone can be fixed by enabling that option for apps and services as explained above. Otherwise, you may need to restart or reset the iPhone and check if that helps to fix your problem. It is also a good idea to update your iOS and app to the latest version before trying to troubleshoot.