Apple Watch/ Family Share location not updating

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Level 1

11 points

Apple Watch/ Family Share location not updating

Hi. I recently added my son’s Apple Watch SE to my phone (he does not have a phone), however the location has not updated in our family sharing for more than a week. On his devices where he is logged in directly (iPad), the location is updated and current, but when I check on my or my wife’s phone, it shows the last update as 28 Dec. Now, in 28 December, I did change his watch from one phone (old nonplused phone I had) to my current (in use) phone, and updated the software on the watch. How do i get his location sharing to work for my wife and I?

Apple Watch SE

Posted on Jan 5, 2022 12:24 PM

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Answer 1

lotus46 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jan 6, 2022 1:56 PM in response to MichelleT18

Thanks for the feedback and support.

I followed the steps in the guide to access the sharing source for his Apple ID, and the Apple Watch is selected. However, I noticed the “share my location” was not turned on, and this is greyed out meaning i am not able to turn it on.

Is there an issue since his watch is connected through my phone? It is using his Apple ID, but we noticed that when he changed his profile image, it also changes the profile image he had setup for me. So maybe our accounts are somehow linked and this is preventing editing and sharing of his individual device location?

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Answer 2

Jan 6, 2022 10:55 AM in response to lotus46

Hello lotus46,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities! We understand your son's location using the Apple Watch SE hasn't been updated but your can see the location from the iPad he's directly logged into. We're happy to assist you with this.

We see you referenced Share your location with your family. As this article states, "By default, the device that you used to sign in to Family Sharing is the one that shares your location."

Check out the section of the article that states "Choose which device to share your location from".

You can also check to see if your son has his Apple Watch set up to see your location:

View a friend’s location with Apple Watch

Best Regards.

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Answer 3

bailier

Community Specialist

Jan 9, 2022 6:44 AM in response to lotus46

Hi lotus46,

Thanks for the additional information. Let's make sure you went through these steps to set up the Apple Watch for your son. Your son should have his own Apple ID. You shouldn't be sharing the same Apple ID:

Set up Apple Watch for a family member

If the issue persists, Contact Apple for support and service.

Take care.

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Apple Watch/ Family Share location not updating

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