Find My is broken on iOS 16.1.1 (dead Wi-Fi breaks it; reconnecting to working Wi-Fi doesn't fix it. Even a cell-only doesn't fix it)

[gregconquest]

Find My is very broken for me now (iOS 16.1.1). To replicate the problem at its simplest:


1) Connect an iPhone to a disconnected WiFi point (iPhone and Wi-Fi router connects, but no upstream connection to internet (disconnect the cable from the back of your Wi-Fi router, but leave the router on)). Leave the cellular data as is; let it continue working.
2) Check Settings - Cellular - FindMy - should be enabled
3) Check Settings - Cellular - Wi-Fi Assist (near the bottom) - should be enabled
4) Use another device connected to the internet to find your iPhone using Find My. IT WILL NOT CONNECT! I waited 20 minutes for this test this time.

Find My, and any other app cellular enabled, should be able to work around a dead Wi-Fi point. It's a matter of security and is a low data process.

--

I discovered this yesterday when I thought I had dropped my iPhone X while on a hike. Find My on my iPhone 13 could not find the iPhone X. Find My gave the last iPhone X connection as several hours prior in the forest in an area with good cellular coverage.

I tried using Find My from my Wi-Fi only iPad (cellular Pro with no SIM card or account) to compare the Find My map on the iPad and the hiking map on my iPhone 13, and when I looked to select what Wi-Fi point to connect to, my "iPhone X" was listed as an access point. I assumed it was not really available but clicked it anyway, AND IT CONNECTED! Huh!? The iPhone X was actually in my bag a few meters away, but it appeared to have been connected to a dead Wi-Fi router (both nearby Wi-Fi routers available had been having problems). Find My had not been able to find my iPhone X even though it was in the next room, turned on, and in an area with fine cellular coverage.

That was the problem as I saw it yesterday, and when I attempted to replicate this problem this morning, it worked exactly the same, Find My could not connect through a dead Wi-Fi, on both my iPhone X and my iPhone 13, even though the cellular connection was fine on both.

But then I checked when I reconnected the iPhone X to a working Wi-Fi, and the same thing happened! My iPhone X was connected to a working Wi-Fi, but Find My from my iPad and my iPhone 13 could not find it. The last update was several hours old.

I'm not going to try and find all the permutations to this, but Find My is broken on iOS 16.1.1. (My iPhone X currently has Wi-Fi turned off in Settings, it cellular connected only (data connection is working fine in other apps), and still Find My from my iPad can't find it.) You might need to initiate the problem by connecting to a dead Wi-Fi point, but once you do, the problem persists even when a connected Wi-Fi access point is used -- and apparently even when it is cell only.


devices:
- iPad Pro (2018 cellular model with no SIM card or account) running iPadOS 16.1.1
- iPhone X with working cellular, running iOS 16.1.1
- iPhone 13 Pro Max with working cellular, running iOS 16.1.1

Edit: I tried filing a bug report at https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/ but it lists 16.0.2 as the latest iOS version, and I could enter only about 1/3 of the text here. WTH!? Does Apple not want bug reports on current public releases? Is there some other url for filing bug reports that I was unable to find?

Edit 2: Mods deleted this comment and said it was moved, but it was just deleted and an abbreviated version was left up. Please don't delete this thread, mod, whoever you are.

 

[ManuCH]

While I didn't try to replicate that (I didn't encounter the issue so far), you can submit feedback by opening the URL applefeedback:// in Safari.

I assume the problem gets solved by restarting the iPhone? Can you replicate it at will or was it a one-time occurrence?

 

[gregconquest]

Thanks for the reply and suggestion, ManuCH.

I just confirmed the dead Wi-Fi breaking of FindMy using my iPhone 13 Pro Max also. I followed the same procedure as I had wth the iPhone X.
1) My iPhone 13 was connected to a working cell signal and Wi-Fi. FindMy from my iPhone X could find it with no problem.
2) I switched the iPhone 13 to a Wi-Fi router that was not connected upstream to the internet.
3) I tried FindMy from the iPhone X, from my iPad Pro, and from my MacBook. For over an hour FindMy on all devices was unable to connect to the iPhone 13 even though the cell signal was fine and I was walking around with the phone (and the headless mobile Wi-Fi).
4) When I reconnected the iPhone 13 to a working Wi-Fi, FindMy quickly found it.

This is definitely a problem with FindMy on iOS 16.1.1 and is not idiosyncratic to my devices. Even with Wi-Fi Assist turned on, FindMy enabled in cell settings, and a working cell phone signal, if an iPhone running 16.1.1 is connected to a Wi-Fi router that is itself not connected to the internet, FindMy fails. It cannot connect to or find the iPhone. This is confirmed across two of my devices and across multiple days and locations.

---

Regarding the URL applefeedback:// in Safari, it opens Feedback Assistant on my Mac, but I get the error message: "Unable to sign in to Feedback Assistant". I assume this is because I am not in a beta currently (I was before and did submit bug reports).

Edit: I did report this on the official Apple forums: FindMy on iOS 16.1.1 is breaks if Wi-Fi router is not connected to internet (Find My)

 

[ManuCH]

Try applefeedback:// on the iPhone, it should also work while not on the beta.

 

[gregconquest]

Try applefeedback:// on the iPhone, it should also work while not on the beta.

Nope, I get the same error message today on both my iPhone and iPad as I got a few days ago: "Unable to sign in to Feedback Assistant". I still assume this is because I'm not currently enrolled in the beta program.

Edit: Ditto for trying this via Safari on a Mac. Same error (and I also ran a Mac beta before but am not currently enrolled).

 

[gregconquest]

Update on this: I just updated to iOS 16.1.2, and the problem has not changed. An iPhone that is connected to a Wi-Fi router that is not connected to the internet cannot be connected to by Find My even if the phone's cellular signal is working fine.

The images below walk through the process. In the end, when I turned off the malfunctioning mobile Wi-Fi router, Find My immediately connected. However, if you have a mobile Wi-Fi router in a bag with your iPhone and you drop them in a location with cellular service but no coverage for your mobile Wi-Fi device (a common situation for me), then you're out of luck. You'd better hope you mobile Wi-Fi runs out of battery before your iPhone, otherwise it's gone. (The images are displaying out of order, but I don't see how to fix this, so I numbered them.)

 

[ManuCH]

OK, you demonstrated clearly that the bug exists. Now I think your only way to get Apple's attention is to make the feedback assistant work (I don't think it has anything to do with being enrolled in the beta, but in case that's it, just do it, and don't install the beta - the feedback assistant definitely also works without beta, I used it myself).

Or else open a case with Apple support and escalate it to some manager. If you're lucky it will be fixed in a year or so. Those things take forever if it's "edge case bugs".

What about changing your workflow so that you don't connect to dead wifis? Would that be hard to achieve? It will obviously not be fixed fast so it's about finding other solutions.

 

[gregconquest]

OK, you demonstrated clearly that the bug exists. Now I think your only way to get Apple's attention is to make the feedback assistant work (I don't think it has anything to do with being enrolled in the beta, but in case that's it, just do it, and don't install the beta - the feedback assistant definitely also works without beta, I used it myself).

Or else open a case with Apple support and escalate it to some manager. If you're lucky it will be fixed in a year or so. Those things take forever if it's "edge case bugs".

What about changing your workflow so that you don't connect to dead wifis? Would that be hard to achieve? It will obviously not be fixed fast so it's about finding other solutions.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, ManuCH. Yes, I might enroll in the beta again just to submit the bug. I'll check other support as well . . .

I don't particularly need this bug fixed for me. I was just astounded when I discovered it and think it will be affecting other people. Since I rely heavily on mobile Wi-Fi, it is a danger for me, though one I can mitigate by turning Wi-Fi off when I'm out hiking (I largely already do this as an easy way to stop photo uploads while out; I'll contemplate this more...) I also already have AirTags on each of my bags, so they're traceable in populated areas.

There is another curious problem that manifests perhaps from the same underlying bug. When my mobile Wi-Fi is spotty, I'll often get a notice on my phone that a message has arrived, but opening the app shows no message body -- until Wi-Fi gets a good connection. (This happened with LINE today, but I think it happens with Telegram, Signal, etc.) I had thought this was a very low bandwidth signal coming in but insufficient bandwidtch to deliver the full message. Now I'm wondering if the message arrival notification comes via cellular but the full message won't come until the mobile Wi-Fi gets a good signal. So, iOS is failing on multiple fronts when connected to spotty Wi-Fi even though the cellular connection is there.

 

[ManuCH]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, ManuCH. Yes, I might enroll in the beta again just to submit the bug. I'll check other support as well . . .

I don't particularly need this bug fixed for me. I was just astounded when I discovered it and think it will be affecting other people. Since I rely heavily on mobile Wi-Fi, it is a danger for me, though one I can mitigate by turning Wi-Fi off when I'm out hiking (I largely already do this as an easy way to stop photo uploads while out; I'll contemplate this more...) I also already have AirTags on each of my bags, so they're traceable in populated areas.

There is another curious problem that manifests perhaps from the same underlying bug. When my mobile Wi-Fi is spotty, I'll often get a notice on my phone that a message has arrived, but opening the app shows no message body -- until Wi-Fi gets a good connection. (This happened with LINE today, but I think it happens with Telegram, Signal, etc.) I had thought this was a very low bandwidth signal coming in but insufficient bandwidtch to deliver the full message. Now I'm wondering if the message arrival notification comes via cellular but the full message won't come until the mobile Wi-Fi gets a good signal. So, iOS is failing on multiple fronts when connected to spotty Wi-Fi even though the cellular connection is there.

I'm starting to suspect your mobile wifi device might not be in the best shape. I actually use mobile wifi a lot myself, especially when abroad, and never had such issues.

Can you try to go under Settings -> Cellular, and on the bottom (after the whole app list) enable "Wifi Assist"? That uses cellular data if wifi is bad (while it usually doesn't do that).

 

[JapanApple]

I use to find my all during the day. The update works better.

 

[Corgirat]

I don’t have exact same problem as yours, but I did notice find my background activity appears every hour in my battery usage. It started happening after 16.2. I wiped all of my devices, signed out of iCloud, but I haven’t been able to fix it.