If there’s a way for you to know where a person is, his smartphone can easily be the key. Well, it’s all good, but a person’s device is not usually on all day—so now you may be wondering whether you can see someone’s location even when their phone is off.
Seems pretty complicated, right? We’ve got you! In this post, we’ll settle all your doubts and show you everything you need to know when tracking a person using his smartphone, whether it’s an Android or an iPhone.
Can someone see your current location if your phone is turned off?
First, let’s talk about the iPhone’s Find My app, a most sought-after app to locate the device. Indeed, if you’re talking about locating a missing device or item, then the Find My app is the go-to app in the iOS world.
Two essential things are required to see the location of a friend or device connected to the Find My app. First, the device in question has to be turned on so it can use the Find My service to communicate and connect with other devices and users.
Second, the device’s location services and GPS features must be working correctly before it can send and receive location data. Based on the first reason, it’s safe to say that someone can’t see your location if your phone is turned off at the moment.
After all, this only results in one of two location errors that can occur when using the Find My service. With a turned-off phone, anyone trying to track your location will receive the “No Location Found” error message on their device’s Find My app.
This happens because the device in question is unable to share its location data with other Find My devices and users due to being turned off. The device must be turned on first and connected to the Find My service before its location can be seen.
Unless these basic requirements are met, the turned-off device will remain nowhere to be seen. It means that the current whereabouts will be unavailable, and only the last known location sent or shared by the device in question will be shown instead.
The same applies to Android using any location tracker application such as FamiSafe. After all, these tracking apps require your target device to send its location in real time to track its whereabouts, impossible if the device is turned off.
However, if only the device’s location services or GPS feature is turned off, you can continue tracking it if “Bluetooth location” is turned on. Do note that this is used more for locating misplaced devices than tracking someone, as it’s limited to Bluetooth.
What will your location be when your phone is turned off?
As mentioned earlier, the “No Location Found” error message is what your location says when your phone is off. Nobody has a way of knowing your current whereabouts unless you turn your phone back on to share your location on the app.
After all, the “No Location Found” message is an error due to the device’s inability to share its location with the Find My service. This is often associated with an iPhone currently turned off by its user or running out of battery charges.
However, other reasons can cause this error message to appear on the Find My app. For example, if your phone dies, this is what your location says when someone tries to track you using the Find My app.
Below is a rundown of the known causes of the “No Location Found” error message on the Find My app when tracking a device that can’t share its location data.
- The user of the Find My device decided to stop sharing its location data. When this happens, the device in question cannot send its location to other Find My devices, which is why it can’t be found.
- The device in question is turned off or out of battery. As mentioned, a turned-off device can’t access the Find My service or share its location data with other users.
- The iCloud account of the Find My user has been removed, which will terminate the service as a result. It means the user can no longer access the Find My app and cannot send or share location data with other users anymore.
- The user’s Find My app is experiencing software-related issues that are preventing location data from being shared with others. Unless the error is fixed, the device can’t share its whereabouts, so its location can’t be found.
Anything that can cause the device’s whereabouts to be located by the Find My service will result in the “No Location Found” error message. If the issue prevents the device from sharing its correct location, another error message appears.
Can you see someone’s current location if their phone is dead?
Since a third party can’t see your location in Find My when your phone is turned off, the same applies to you when looking up someone’s whereabouts. Thus, you can’t see someone’s location if their phone is dead after running low on battery charges.
In such case, all you’ll see on your Find My app is the “No Location Found” error message under your target device’s saved name. Since this is out of your control, what happens will depend on how the other person makes their next move.
Your only hope is that the person you’re trying to track recharges their iPhone and activates the device’s services so they can start sharing their data location. Otherwise, their device’s last known location is the only Find My data to access.
Once the target device starts sharing its location with you, that’s the only time you can see its whereabouts. Speaking of which, you can share your location on your Find My app using the instructions we’ve prepared for you below.
Use the Find My feature to share your iPhone’s location
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 2 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 5 seconds |
| Things Needed | • An Android phone |
Step 1: Open your iPhone’s Find My app.
Step 2: Click Start Sharing Location.
Step 3: Enter the name of the Find My user you want to send your location to or select one from the
Step 4: Select how long you want the location sharing to last.
Step 5: Click OK to continue.
Please note that if the user you’re trying to track is purposely not sharing his or her location on the Find My app, it will result in a different location error. You can find out more about this in the section that will be discussed below.
Can I see someone’s current location if their phone is set to Airplane Mode?
Sometimes, the location error you’ll encounter on your Find My app will show the “Location Not Available” option instead. This message appears when the device tracked is intentionally not sharing its location data by cutting off communication.
One example is when your friends and family set their phones to Airplane Mode during a trip. Since the device in question isn’t sharing its whereabouts, the “Location Not Available” occurs even when it’s still running with sufficient battery levels.
You also won’t be able to see someone else’s location in your Find My app, unless they disable Airplane Mode and reconnect to their communication channels. However, they can still share their whereabouts if sent via satellite location sharing.
This satellite location sharing is only exclusive to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices, which are running the iOS 16.1 version or newer. This Find My feature works alongside the Emergency SOS capabilities included with the iPhone 14 lineup.
It’s all possible due to the satellite connection working independently from the network connection used for WiFi and cellular data. Unfortunately, sharing your location on Find My using a satellite connection comes with some caveats.
First, you need to already be sharing your location with your selected friend beforehand. Second, you can only access this Find My feature in select countries such as the US, Canada, France, the UK, Australia, and Austria for starters.
While it’s a very convenient addition to the Find My service, the satellite connection won’t work if your phone’s location services are turned off. It’s why disabling your device’s GPS feature is the best way to keep your location hidden from third parties.
How to Turn Off the GPS Feature on Your Phone
Below are instructions for turning off GPS and location services on an Android phone and iPhone respectively. You can perform these actions if you don’t want anyone tracking your location behind your back no matter what phone brand you’re using.
Turn off the GPS feature on your Android phone
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 2 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 5 seconds |
| Things Needed | • An Android phone |
The GPS feature on Android devices is a feature that allows its location to be accessed by its installed apps. This way, you can share your whereabouts with people who have access to the same apps you use on your Android phone.
Some good examples of apps like this are social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. Therefore, turning off your Android phone’s GPS will stop the device from sharing your coordinates with these apps and their users.
Step 1: Open your Android phone’s quick settings panel by swiping down the notification bar twice.
Step 2: Click the Location icon to turn off your Android phone’s GPS feature.
Note: The location icon should be white or greyed out when it’s turned off.
Turn off location services on your iPhone
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 15 seconds |
| Things Needed | • An iPhone |
You can disable your device’s location services if you want to stop others from tracking you through the Find My app. Your whereabouts become inaccessible when this service is disabled, the same way your location turns off when your phone dies.
Step 1: Go to the Settings app of your iPhone and open it.
Note: You can also manage the permission on your Android phone so be sure to check your device’s user manual to learn how it’s done.
Step 2: Scroll down and click your iPhone’s Privacy settings.
Step 3: Click Location Services.
Note: On Android devices, this might be called Location or GPS.
Step 4: Toggle the Location Services switch off.
Please note that while the two location errors we’ve discussed have differences, they both make the target device’s location inaccessible. As such, it’s understandable that these location errors in the Find My app might get mistaken for each other at times.
FAQs about Location When Phone is Dead
How do you know if someone has their iPhone turned off?
The “No Location Found” error message on the Find My app is a good indicator that someone has turned off their phone. This error message often occurs when the device is unable to share its location data, like when it’s turned off or dead.
However, this error message may also occur if the user decides to stop sharing the device’s location. As such, this isn’t a guaranteed way of telling that someone’s iPhone is turned off.
What does ‘No Location Found’ mean on the iPhone’s Find My app?
This can mean various things but it’s most commonly associated with an iPhone that’s currently turned off. This may also indicate that the iPhone in question has run out of battery or that it has stopped sharing its location in the Find My app.
It may also happen when the user removes his iCloud account from the iPhone or stops uploading location data there. In some cases, software errors on the Find My app can result in the “No Location Found” message appearing as well.
Can someone tell if your phone died by using Find My Friends?
It’s possible to deduce that your phone died when someone tries tracking your location using Find My Friends. When this happens, only the “No Location Found” error message will show up on their Find My app when searching for your device.
Yet, this doesn’t mean that they can tell for sure that your phone is dead as this can also happen when you simply stopped sharing your location data. The best that anyone can do is assume that your phone is dead but it’s not for certain.
