No Location Found v/s Location Not Available [Difference]

Find My is an in house app functionality on all iOS devices. With the help of Find My you can track locations for not only all your iOS devices, but also stay connected to your friends and family. Find My helps you access locations of all your belongings and people that have allowed you access to their locations. However, sometimes while trying to track locations with Find My, you may receive errors like “No Location Found” or “Location Not Available”.

“No location found” and “Location not available” are two of the most common errors. Both of them are resulted as an aftermath of the iPhone not being able to find the location. However, the reason location tracing fails is different for both of them. We are going to discuss in detail the difference between “No Location Found” & “Location Not Available”.

What Does “No Location Found” Mean?

In simple terms, “No Location Found” means that Find My app made an attempt to trace the location of the said device, but couldn’t successfully locate it.

This can be because of poor network connection issue at the end of the device you are trying to locate. Switched off device will also result in a “No Location Found” error. Or any other reason that can possibly hinder the connection of target device. Similarly, any network connection issue on your phone will also prompt a “No Location Found” error.

What Does “Location Not Available” mean?

“Location Not Available” means that Find My app made an attempt to trace the location of the said device, but was denied a location by the device.

There is a simple reason to this. The device you are trying to locate has denied their location to you. Which means, they have most definitely turned off location sharing on their device. It doesn’t mean that they have stopped sharing location to you specifically. When location sharing is turned off, it makes no exception in denying location to any app on the device including Find My.

Difference Between “No Location Found” & “Location Not Available”

The basic difference between “No Location Found” & “Location Not Available” is that the in the former your device fails to receive the location due to poor network, while in the latter your device is denied the location by their device.

Let me elaborate. It says “No Location Found” for someone, because the location can’t be found at the moment as a network connection can not be established with the device. But there is a possibility that location will be found if you try again after some time. So if you’re trying to locate someone in trouble, keep trying. If even for a micro second the device makes connection, the location will be available.

When it says “Location Not Available” it means that the person on the other end does not want to disclose their location. So it does not matter how many time you try. Until the other person turns ON their location sharing, you will not get a location.

So if you want to know if someone stopped sharing their location, then just try to find their location on Find My app. If you receive the “Location Not Available” error, they have indeed stopped sharing location.

Why Does It Say “No Location Found” On Find My Friends?

Poor Internet Connection

Location services are accessed via Internet data. When your contact has poor internet connection, it gets difficult for Find My app to transmit and receive data to trace its location. Similarly, if your internet connect is weak the same error will displayed. So you can try to change your Internet connection to another WiFi and try again.

Incorrect Date & Time

Incorrect date & time can also result in a “location not found” error. Your contact device & your devices needs to have a correct date & time in order to share location through Find My app successfully. You can go to Settings>>Date & Time and turn on “Auto”. It is pertinent to have correctly configured date & time.

Device Is Switched Off

If the contact device that you are trying to reach is switched off, you will be shown “no location found” error. There is not solution to this, it is absolutely necessary to have a working phone to access location via Find My Friends. This stands true if the phone is off due to insufficient charging. When their phone is on Airplane mode, it will again give a “no location found” error.

Signed Out Of iCloud

iCloud is again an essential part of finding location with Find My app. If the iCloud account of your contact device is not signed in, then you will receive the same error.

These were the basic fundamentals pertaining to the “no location found” & “location not available error”. Location is a matter of utmost privacy. We should be extremely careful about who we share our location with. At the same time it is important to share your location with people who care about you. In times of troubles, they can trace you down with timely action and come to your rescue.

I know friends who use these same tricks to stop sharing their location without letting them know. If you simply turn off “Location Sharing” from settings, it will do the trick. Anyone trying to search your location will receive “No Location Found” error. This way, you do not get to be the person who stopped sharing location. You can make up excuses that your internet was down or anything from the above list.