{"id":1344,"date":"2025-09-25T08:35:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T05:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2025-12-17T15:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:10:07","slug":"why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/en\/why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child","title":{"rendered":"Findmykids App Showing the Wrong Location? Here\u2019s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Loving the <a href=\"https:\/\/findmykids.onelink.me\/xY6s?pid=content_team&amp;amp;c=en&amp;amp;af_channel=blog&amp;amp;af_adset=article&amp;amp;af_ad=why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child&amp;amp;af_sub1=intro\">Findmykids app<\/a> but concerned about its accuracy? Sometimes we receive complaints that our app determines the coordinates incorrectly. Parents often wonder why they cannot see their child \u201csitting next to them\u201d on the map. Let\u2019s try to find out the ways the Findmykids app determines coordinates, and reasons why these coordinates may be inaccurate.<\/p>\n<h2>How Does Findmykids Determine a Child&#8217;s Location?<\/h2>\n<p>There are three main methods that the app uses to determine location: GPS, WiFi, and LBS. It\u2019s important to note the hierarchy of accuracy: GPS &gt; Wi-Fi &gt; LBS. This means GPS is the most accurate, followed by Wi-Fi, and then LBS.<\/p>\n<p>Typical accuracy ranges are:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left; width: 100%;\">\n<li>GPS: 5\u2013100 meters<\/li>\n<li>Wi-Fi: 100\u2013300 meters<\/li>\n<li>LBS: 300 meters\u20131.5 kilometers in cities, up to 10 kilometers in rural areas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Important:<\/strong> The app itself doesn\u2019t generate location\u2014it simply displays the coordinates received from the child\u2019s device (smartphone, watch, or GPS-tracker). Devices use GPS, Wi-Fi, and LBS together, and each method has its pros and cons.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sun9-57.userapi.com\/ci2wu-jZ0s-SUql1PaoRD6ArPEepYOxJkTr3tA\/n2Nxww3-x_0.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Scheme how the Findmykids app works<\/p>\n<h2>How Location Determination Works<\/h2>\n<h3>Why Are LBS Coordinates the Least Accurate?<\/h3>\n<p>The first step a device takes to determine its location is searching for the nearest cell towers. These towers are united into groups, and each group has its own unique number. Belonging to a group gives the location. According to data received from cell towers, the territory where the device may be located is determined.<\/p>\n<p>This way of determination is suitable if a device needs to determine the city or the district of its location to set the date and time, for example. But the error of this way of determination is pretty high. In small towns, in the countryside, and along highways, the number of cell towers is limited, and the error may be as large as many kilometers.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, when location is determined by LBS, notifications for entering\/exiting places may not be sent.<\/p>\n<h3>Wi-Fi Location: More Accurate, but Still Imperfect<\/h3>\n<p>Determination by Wi-Fi is more accurate than by LBS because there are many more Wi-Fi access points than cell towers. If a device is located in many Wi-Fi hotspots, then the coordinates are pretty accurate.<\/p>\n<p>However, Wi-Fi has its own limitation: the location of the Wi-Fi access point is registered when the point is first created. If the router later moves with its owner (for example, to a new apartment), the data may become outdated\u2014leading to incorrect coordinates.<\/p>\n<h3>GPS: The Most Accurate<\/h3>\n<p>GPS is the system of global positioning, consisting of 31 satellites. Satellites are situated in space and send the coordinates from there. Initially, the GPS system was created for air and sea crafts\u2019 navigation. With the development of navigation services, GPS has become essential for helping other devices determine their location.<\/p>\n<p>GPS works all over the world, 24\/7. A device receives many signals from GPS satellites, and when it receives more than four signals, it searches for their intersection point. This point is the coordinates of this device.<\/p>\n<p class=\"highlight_PastelGreen\">This way of determination gives the most accurate data about location, but it also has its drawbacks. Obstacles such as weak GPS sensors in some devices, signal interference from transport roofs, pockets, or buildings, and being indoors or in narrow streets can affect accuracy.<\/p>\n<h3>What Happens After Coordinates Are Determined?<\/h3>\n<p>Once the device establishes its location (via GPS, Wi-Fi, or LBS), the coordinates are sent to the Findmykids server, where they are processed. This takes a few seconds, after which you see your child\u2019s location on the map.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> This server processing may cause a slight delay in displaying the exact location.<\/p>\n<h2>Other Factors That Affect Accuracy<\/h2>\n<h3>Device-Specific Limitations<\/h3>\n<p>Some models of watches and smartphones may have weaker GPS sensors, which can affect location accuracy. This is an important factor to consider when troubleshooting location issues.<\/p>\n<p>In such cases, it\u2019s especially important to double-check that location sharing is properly enabled so the app can receive accurate data.<\/p>\n<h3>Parental App Features<\/h3>\n<p>The parent app shows how the coordinates are detected (GPS, Wi-Fi, or LBS). This feature helps parents understand the accuracy of the location displayed.<\/p>\n<p>If the signal looks off, reviewing the child\u2019s networking settings (like Wi-Fi or cellular data) can often resolve the issue.<\/p>\n<h3>Privacy and Data Security<\/h3>\n<p>The app ensures the privacy and security of your child\u2019s location data. All data is encrypted and processed securely to protect your family\u2019s information.<\/p>\n<h2>Steps to Troubleshoot Location Issues<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_41798\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/findmykids.onelink.me\/xY6s?pid=content_team&amp;amp;c=en&amp;amp;af_channel=blog&amp;amp;af_adset=article&amp;amp;af_ad=why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child&amp;amp;af_sub1=banner\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41798\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-41798\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-blog.findmykids.org\/2022\/12\/Banner-FMK-Geo-2-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-41798\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Findmykids app<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If the app fails to show your child\u2019s location, try the following steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open the Pingo app on the child\u2019s phone.<\/li>\n<li>Tap the \u201cPhone settings\u201d button to ensure location services are enabled.<\/li>\n<li>Check the network connection and ensure cellular data or Wi-Fi is active.<\/li>\n<li>Re-add the child to the app if necessary.<\/li>\n<li>If the issue persists, try reinstalling the app or checking the device\u2019s GPS tracker settings.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"highlight_PastelGreen\">Still having difficulties? The <a href=\"https:\/\/findmykids.onelink.me\/xY6s?pid=content_team&amp;amp;c=en&amp;amp;af_channel=blog&amp;amp;af_adset=article&amp;amp;af_ad=why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child&amp;amp;af_sub1=icta\">Findmykids<\/a> support team is available 24\/7 and ready to help with any issue.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Contact Support<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left; width: 100%;\">\n<li>On iOS:<br \/>\nOpen the parent app \u2192 tap \u201cSettings\u201d in the lower right corner \u2192 scroll down to \u201cSupport\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>On Android:<br \/>\nOpen the parent app \u2192 tap the menu icon (\u2261) \u2192 select \u201cHelp &amp; feedback\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or connect with our support via email: support@findmykids.org.<\/p>\n<p>No matter the problem, specialists will guide you step by step until it\u2019s solved.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<h3>Why is my kid\u2019s iPhone location not updating in Findmykids?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the <a href=\"https:\/\/findmykids.onelink.me\/xY6s?pid=content_team&amp;amp;c=en&amp;amp;af_channel=blog&amp;amp;af_adset=article&amp;amp;af_ad=why-the-app-shows-wrong-location-of-your-child&amp;amp;af_sub1=faq\">Findmykids app<\/a> is not updating your child\u2019s location, the most common causes are a weak internet connection, disabled location services, or the child\u2019s device being offline. To fix it, make sure the device is connected to stable Wi-Fi or cellular data, location access is set to \u201cAlways\u201d with \u201cPrecise Location\u201d turned on, and that Background App Refresh is enabled. Restarting the device, disabling any VPN or spoofing apps, and checking for Airplane Mode can also help. Finally, update the app and OS, or contact support if issues persist.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Why does someone&#8217;s location say 2 days ago?<\/h3>\n<p>If the location shows as 2 days old, it means the device hasn\u2019t sent a new location update. Possible reasons include no internet connection or cellular data for the past two days, or the person may have turned off Share My Location. If the device hasn\u2019t been used or moved, it may not send updated location data, either. In some cases, the Find My iPhone or GPS tracker app may just need to be restarted or reinstalled to refresh the location history.<\/p>\n\t\t<div class=\"wpulike wpulike-default \" ><div class=\"wp_ulike_general_class wp_ulike_is_not_liked\"><button type=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Like Button\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-id=\"1344\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-nonce=\"80e30e30fb\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-type=\"likeThis\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-template=\"wpulike-default\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-display-likers=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-ulike-disable-pophover=\"0\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"wp_ulike_btn wp_ulike_put_image wp_likethis_1344\"><\/button><span class=\"count-box\">3<\/span>\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Loving the Findmykids app but concerned about its accuracy? Sometimes we receive complaints that our&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":41793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"lang-ru":["918"],"_xl_translation_state":["initial ru"],"_edit_lock":["1765973367:1"],"_edit_last":["1"],"_wp_old_date":["2018-07-09","2018-08-03"],"_wp_old_slug":["the-app-determines-the-coordinates-incorrectly-the-reasons-why-the-app-can-determine-the-location-not-so-accurate"],"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"hide-in-popular":["a:1:{i:0;s:4:\"true\";}"],"_hide-in-popular":["field_5d0c8a5b4fde2"],"_liked":["1"],"\u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440":["Find My Kids"],"_\u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440":["field_5e33cab3984d1"],"\u0444\u043e\u0442\u043e":["3272"],"_\u0444\u043e\u0442\u043e":["field_5e33cbc1984d2"],"mpulseenable_meta_value":["no"],"ytrssenabled_meta_value":["no"],"ytremove_meta_value":["yes"],"ytad1meta":["enabled"],"ytad2meta":["enabled"],"ytad3meta":["enabled"],"ytad4meta":["enabled"],"ytad5meta":["enabled"],"template_meta":["no"],"yzcategory_meta_value":["\u0414\u043e\u043c"],"yzrating_meta_value":["\u041d\u0435\u0442 (\u043d\u0435 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0432\u0437\u0440\u043e\u0441\u043b\u044b\u0445)"],"yzrssenabled_meta_value":["yes"],"saswp_custom_schema_field":[""],"amphtml_featured_image_id":["0"],"amphtml-exclude":["0"],"amphtml-override-title":[""],"amphtml-override-content":[""],"_s2mail":["yes"],"ampforwp_custom_content_editor":[""],"ampforwp_custom_content_editor_checkbox":[null],"ampforwp-amp-on-off":["default"],"layf_related_links":[""],"layf_exclude_from_feed":["1"],"_aioseop_description":["Is location shown on your Find My Kids App might incorrect? Learn reasons why and get suggestions for receiving the most accurate GPS location information. "],"_aioseop_title":["Find My Kids App Showing Wrong Location"],"custom_title":[""],"_custom_title":["field_67cfbde67c007"],"custom_image":[""],"_custom_image":["field_67d012de223ac"],"custom_alt":[""],"_custom_alt":["field_67d012f6223ad"],"read_more":["a:3:{i:0;s:5:\"38622\";i:1;s:5:\"47765\";i:2;s:4:\"3948\";}"],"_read_more":["field_67d0130e223ae"],"_aioseo_title":["Findmykids App Not Updating Location? Fix Wrong GPS Data | Findmykids"],"_aioseo_description":["Is your Findmykids app not working or showing the wrong location? Discover why this happens and how to get the most accurate GPS updates on your child\u2019s device."],"_aioseo_keywords":[""],"_aioseo_og_title":[null],"_aioseo_og_description":[null],"_aioseo_og_article_section":[""],"_aioseo_og_article_tags":[""],"_aioseo_twitter_title":[null],"_aioseo_twitter_description":[null],"_thumbnail_id":["41793"]},"categories":[684],"tags":[],"language":[3],"acf":{"custom_title":"","custom_image":"","custom_alt":"","read_more":[38622,47765,3948]},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/cdn-blog.findmykids.org\/2022\/12\/Banner-FMK-Notifications-1-1.png","author_info":{"display_name":"The Findmykids Editorial Team","author_link":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/ru\/author\/find-my-kids"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn-blog.findmykids.org\/2022\/12\/Banner-FMK-Notifications-1-1.png","reading_time":"4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1344"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55356,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions\/55356"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3948"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47765"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findmykids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=1344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}