iOS 26 Find My Issue

[TFrank2]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone else is running into a small bug (maybe?) in Find My I've stumbled upon within iOS 26 (26.0.1 currently). Precision Finding will stop working after a particular period of time (not exactly sure of cadence) when trying to locate AirTags or my AirPods Pro 2 from my iPhone 15 Pro or my 15 Pro from my Apple Watch (Series 10). However, "Play Sound" and "Notify When Left Behind" alerts still work. A restart of the iPhone will clear things up and I can use Precision Finding once again but then it will stop working at some point.

 

[andrewlt]

Yeah, I think it's a bug that, for some reason, only affects iPhone 15 (maybe even only the pro/pro max) models. Considering that the 15's were the first models with the U2 chip, and that the iPhone 17's have a newer U2 chip, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple forgot to support the iPhone 15's U2 chips. It is really annoying, especially since Apple won't let us find AirTags from the watches, even though they have the "same" precision finding chip as iPhones.

 

[CecilTWashington]

Same exact issue! Exactly as you described. I’ve tried:

1. Resetting my phone
2. Factory resetting and restoring from backup
3. Removing and re-adding the device in question (the issue exists across all devices including multiple AirTags and my AirPods)
4. Resetting network settings

Every single time it starts working for maybe a day or two before stopping again. I had hoped 26.1 would clear this up but based on the release notes it doesn’t look promising from what I can see.

 

[andrewlt]

Same exact issue! Exactly as you described. I’ve tried:

1. Resetting my phone
2. Factory resetting and restoring from backup
3. Removing and re-adding the device in question (the issue exists across all devices including multiple AirTags and my AirPods)
4. Resetting network settings

Every single time it starts working for maybe a day or two before stopping again. I had hoped 26.1 would clear this up but based on the release notes it doesn’t look promising from what I can see.

I was hoping for the exact same thing. On a totally unrelated and not at all relevant topic, did you know you can launch the feedback app, even if you don't have a beta by typing in "applefeedback://" to safari?

 

[webbga]

I have been fighting this issue ever since updating to ios 26. I was hoping 26.1 would fix it , but it did not. i share these same air tags with my wife who has an iPhone 13 and they work fine under ios 26 for her. I called tech support and after running through all the suggested fixes got bumped up to a more senior associate. She confirmed the bug and said it would be addressed in an update. Disappointed this update did not do it!

 

[TFrank2]

I have been fighting this issue ever since updating to ios 26. I was hoping 26.1 would fix it , but it did not. i share these same air tags with my wife who has an iPhone 13 and they work fine under ios 26 for her. I called tech support and after running through all the suggested fixes got bumped up to a more senior associate. She confirmed the bug and said it would be addressed in an update. Disappointed this update did not do it!

Thanks for sharing. I’m glad to hear that it’s on their radar. So far, 26.1 has shown promise. Post-update, precision finding has been operational for me. We’ll see how long it lasts.

EDIT: Spoke too soon. After 4 or 5 hours, it seems to be having issues again. Interestingly, unlike 26.0.1, my 15 Pro will "connect" to the item but will only display the distance as "far" even if it is right next it.

 

[TFrank2]

I was hoping for the exact same thing. On a totally unrelated and not at all relevant topic, did you know you can launch the feedback app, even if you don't have a beta by typing in "applefeedback://" to safari?

I did submit a request within Feedback Assistant as well and it’s been quiet with no similar reports listed. @webbga ‘s response seems like it is a known bug however.

 

[Snord]

I have the same exact problem. I was excited that iOS 26.1 seemed to fix it, but it broke again. I was going to try a DFU restore, not going to bother now though.

 

[venpopov]

infuriating. Same problem with iphone 15 Pro Max and Watch Ultra 2. Both devices are with me, and I can ping them with sound from the ipad, but both show a location from a month ago and I can’t use the location finder to update it.

 

[TFrank2]

infuriating. Same problem with iphone 15 Pro Max and Watch Ultra 2. Both devices are with me, and I can ping them with sound from the ipad, but both show a location from a month ago and I can’t use the location finder to update it.

View attachment 2578319

Very frustrating. With my 15 Pro, it will show all the devices & even recognize that they are with me (and offer left behind notifications), but still not allow precision finding.

 

[venpopov]

I hate this so much. Precision finding has saved me twice in the past year. It's one of the best features of being in the ecosystem. This should be a top priority bug fix.

I know above it said it's already reported, but I reported it again nevertheless.

 

[andrewlt]

Its like the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max users are being targeted specifically by Apple. I know they'll fix it eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

[webbga]

If this issue is only present in the iPhone 15 pro and Max then it seems like there should be an easy way for Apple to isolate what is causing the issue. Especially since it is resolved temporarily by restarting. I am not engineer though. Hoping for a resolution soon!

 

[andrewlt]

Is anyone on the iOS 26.2 betas? If so, can someone check to see if it works?

 

[CecilTWashington]

Update — precision finding features randomly started working for me again as of this morning:

• My watch can once again precision locate my phone
• My phone can once again precision locate devices like AirTags and AirPods

It appears to work flawlessly as it once did — no delay, fast directional indication. I did not restart or reset or remove/re-add anything so this is totally out of nowhere.

 

[andrewlt]

Update — precision finding features randomly started working for me again as of this morning:

• My watch can once again precision locate my phone
• My phone can once again precision locate devices like AirTags and AirPods

It appears to work flawlessly as it once did — no delay, fast directional indication. I did not restart or reset or remove/re-add anything so this is totally out of nowhere.

What software/hardware are you using, and what AirTag firmware are you on?

 

[CecilTWashington]

What software/hardware are you using, and what AirTag firmware are you on?

iPhone 15 pro max. iOS 26.0.1 AirPod case 8A358

 

[webbga]

I have the iPhone 15 Pro, firmware 2.0.73. No such luck here. i am hoping ios 26.2 will address the issue, but none of the beta reports I read mention it.

 

[cynics]

The entire system of offline device location is based around crowdsourcing and it's not very effective without it. If you are at home and in a more rural area just playing with the Find My app, anticipate inconsistent results due to very limited resources.

The Find My Network uses online devices to generate location reports about offline devices (and themselves) and those reports are sent to Apple. They are sent in batches every 20-30 minutes (or longer due to network conditions and low battery mode) and they don't repeat the same device. Multiple online devices expedite this process and are required to increase location accuracy confidence.

If you are sitting right next to your AirPods they might be asleep and might not wake up until a new BT device comes within range and wakes them up. (Try to connect to them in bluetooth settings even if the lid is closed, then go back to the Find My app and try precision location again. This can sometimes wake them up like restarting bluetooth when you restart the phone).

Macs can be the same way if they are asleep with 'wake for network activity' turned off. Another online device can upload its location if it's broadcasting its BT advertisement.

There are some academic papers on how exactly the system works, possibles exploits, etc from researchers. I remember reading one from Sciendo that was pretty interesting a while back.

 

[CecilTWashington]

Update — precision finding features randomly started working for me again as of this morning:

• My watch can once again precision locate my phone
• My phone can once again precision locate devices like AirTags and AirPods

It appears to work flawlessly as it once did — no delay, fast directional indication. I did not restart or reset or remove/re-add anything so this is totally out of nowhere.

Just following up this now no longer works again. I can no longer precision locate phone from watch. And all of my devices just say, “far” with no change no matter how close I get. Womp womp. It does connect to the device and activate precision mode but it’s basically useless again.

 

[webbga]

Just following up this now no longer works again. I can no longer precision locate phone from watch. And all of my devices just say, “far” with no change no matter how close I get. Womp womp. It does connect to the device and activate precision mode but it’s basically useless again.

Hoping ios 26.2 fixes this or there are going to be a lot of unhappy 15 Pro and Max users!

 

[TFrank2]

Hoping ios 26.2 fixes this or there are going to be a lot of unhappy 15 Pro and Max users!

Agreed. Getting quite frustrating at this point. I've had zero luck with Feedback Assistant either.

 

[webbga]

Agreed. Getting quite frustrating at this point. I've had zero luck with Feedback Assistant either.

The only thing I have learned from Apple is that they are aware of the issue and working on a fix. I have stopped looking for a solution since the problem isi n the underlying software. Ironic how the air tags work after restarting, but then revert to not working after a short while. Seems like that would tell them something.