(Answered) Why Does Life360 Show the Wrong Location?

The only way that Life360 can be useful to you and the members of your circle is by providing you with an accurate location.

But sometimes, this is not the case and the location displayed may be the wrong location. This can be a problem if you are a parent and you’re using Life360 to make sure that your children are where they say they will be.

If Life360 is not showing the accurate location or you see “Life360 not tracking” or “Life360 cannot locate” there are several things you can do to resolve this problem.

The most effective solutions are outlined here. But before we get to the solutions, let’s take you through the reasons this may be happening in the first place.

Why is Life360 Not Showing the Correct Location?

The following are the most common reasons why Life360 may not be showing the correct location:

Problems with Location Services

One of the biggest causes of this issue is a problem with the location services on the device you want to track.

More specifically, if location services on the device have been deactivated or incorrectly configured, you will not be able to get Life360 to display the actual location of the device.

Network Issues

If Cellular Data or Wi-Fi is not connected or not strong enough, then you may find that Life360 is unable to update the current location of the device.

This can also happen if Airplane Mode has been enabled on the device you are trying to track. Life360 needs a connection to the cellular network or Wi-Fi to detect the correct location of the device.

Poor Signal

This problem can also occur if the device you are trying to track is in an area with a poor signal. If you have less than 2 bars, Life360 will have a hard time pinpointing the actual location of the device and may therefore show the incorrect location.

Interference from VPNs or GPS Spoofing Tools

Certain apps, particularly VPN and GPS spoofing tools can affect the location of the device, thereby making it difficult for Life360 to detect the actual location of the device.

You may therefore want to check if these apps are installed on the device and if they are, turning them off or using a reliable iOS location changer would get Life360 to work normally.

How to Fix Life360 Wrong Location Problem

Once you have determined what is causing the problem, you are better placed to implement a solution that will fix the problem once and for all. The following are the most suitable solution to try:

Turn on Wi-Fi

It is important to note that the location accuracy of any device will improve dramatically once Wi-Fi is turned on.

So, if you find that you are unable to locate a certain device using Life360, ask the device’s owner to turn on Wi-Fi on the device and then try again.

The reason simply turning in Wi-Fi will work is because the device will use the Wi-Fi sensors to detect nearby Wi-Fi base stations, giving the device a fairly accurate prediction of the exact location based on this information.

With Wi-Fi turned on, the device has a better chance of determining where it is more accurately than when you’re relying on other parameters such as cell phone towers which can be off by a mile or so.

Check the Phone’s Settings for Better Accuracy

Improperly configured settings can also interfere with how Life360 works, the following are all the settings you need to check to ensure that everything works as it should:

• As we have seen VPN can interfere with location accuracy. Don’t use VPN while using Life360.
• Ensure that Wi-Fi remains turned on even when you are not connected. Wi-Fi gives you the most accurate location reading.
• Avoid using mobile hotspots. These can affect the location readings as the location information you get is not based on a fixed location.
• Life360 must be allowed to use Cellular data to function properly. So, ensure that Cellular data is enabled on your device.
• To ensure even more accuracy, ensure that “Data Saver” is disabled and for Android devices, ensure that “Limit Mobile Data Usage” is turned off.
• The Location permissions settings on the device should be set to “Always” to ensure an accurate reading.
• You must also ensure that the Physical Activity permissions are set to “Allowed.”
• Precise Location should also be enabled on the device to make sure that Life360 is getting the actual and correct location of the device.
• Life360 will not be able to update the location of the device that has been turned off or out of battery. So, ensure that the device you want to track is adequately charged.
• There are some parental control apps that will interfere with Life360’s function, preventing it from displaying the accurate location. So, if you are using any other parental control app, you may want to disable it to see if this fixes the problem with Life360.
• If you fail to open the App on Android devices for three or more days, it may go into “sleep mode” and therefore be unable to detect the actual location of the device.
• You can also try to log out of Life360, and force close it from the background, before attempting to use it again. This can refresh the app in the background and remove any bugs in the system that may be causing the issue.

Update Life360 to the Latest Version

You may also want to make sure that you are running the latest version of Life360 on your device.

Compatibility issues when running an older version can cause the app to malfunction. Here’s how to update the app on your device:

On Android:

• Step 1: Open the Google Play Store on your device and choose the Life360 app. It will be under the “My Apps & Games” section.
• Step 2: Tap on the “Update” button right next to the app and wait while the app is updated in the background.

On iOS:

For iOS devices, the best way to make sure that all your apps are updated to the latest version is to turn on the automatic update setting.

To do that, open the “Settings” on your device and then tap on your name at the top. Tap on “iTunes & App Store” and then enable “App Updates.”

You can also manually update the Life360 app. Just open the App Store on your device, tap on “Updates” and select Life360 to update it.

One Device at a Time

Life360 will only work accurately you are logged in on a single device. If you are logged in on more than one device at the same time, you will find that Life360 will begin to exhibit issues including the inability to detect the actual location.

Therefore, we recommend that if you have ever logged into Life360 on any other device, log out of all devices and then log in to the app on a single, primary device.

This along with the other solutions that we have outlined above should be able to help you fix the problem and get an accurate reading from the device.

Contact Life360 Support

But if you try everything that we have outlined above and you’re still having a hard time getting Life360 to work properly, you may want to contact Life360 support to get additional assistance.

You can find the contact information you need and the various ways that you can contact them on the Life360 main websites. The support team will come up with solutions that may be able to help.

While you may expect an app like Life360 to work most of the time, sometimes things just don’t go according to plan.

If you find that Life360 is not showing an accurate location, the solutions we have outlined above should be able to help.

Try implementing each solution to find one that will work best for you. And if all else fails, you can always contact Life360 support for additional guidance.