On supported models, the Find My app can share your location via satellite when you’re outside cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Most Find My features need a cellular or Wi-Fi network, though, so there’s some preparation before you leave coverage, and it requires an active SIM.
Note: Sharing your location via satellite isn’t available in all countries or regions and requires an active SIM.
Before you disconnect from cellular and Wi-Fi coverage
Without a cellular or Wi-Fi network, most Find My features aren’t available. If you want to send your location via satellite to friends, do the following before you head outside cellular or Wi-Fi coverage:
- Set the iPhone you’re bringing with you as the iPhone that shares your location. On your iPhone 14 or later open the Find My app, tap Me , then make sure Share My Location is turned on. If your iPhone isn’t currently sharing your location, tap Use This iPhone as My Location.
- Add the contacts you want to share your location with.
Send your location via satellite
If you’re not connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network, you can still use the Find My app to share your location via satellite. To share your location with a friend via satellite, though, you’ll need to be sharing your location with that friend in Find My first.
- Start the Find My app on your iPhone.
- Make sure that you’re outside with a clear view of the sky and the horizon. If you’re under heavy foliage or surrounded by other obstructions, you might not be able to connect to a satellite.
- Tap Me.
- Tap Send My Location (below My Location via Satellite) and then follow the onscreen instructions.
Your iPhone provides guidance if connecting to a satellite means turning left or right. Just follow the onscreen instructions.
Note: Expect it to take a few minutes to send your location via satellite, and keep following the onscreen instructions until the message is sent.
There’s a limit, though: you can send your location once every 15 minutes. And when you send your location via satellite, you won’t see your friend’s location in the Find My app.
See a friend’s location sent via satellite
To see a friend’s location sent via satellite, your iPhone needs iOS 16.1 or later installed. An iPhone 14 or later isn’t required. A satellite icon appears next to a contact’s picture when they send you their location via satellite, and Satellite Location shows up in the text in the Find My app. For up to 7 days, you can view their most recent location.
