Whether you want to hide your location from your cell phone provider or from a government agency with a warrant, there are ways to do so.
One of these methods is to turn off Find My iPhone. Fortunately, it’s easy to do.
1. Turn on Airplane Mode
Airplane Mode is a handy way to disable your iPhone’s phone service and cellular data, especially if you’re traveling for an extended period of time. It can also be useful if you want to avoid a particular situation, such as being forced to answer an incoming call in a restaurant or social gathering.
You can enable and disable Airplane Mode on an iPhone in Settings or the Control Center. The former can be accessed by swiping up on the home screen and tapping the airplane icon, while the latter is a toggle in the Quick Settings panel.
Once you tap the toggle, your phone enters airplane mode and switches off Wi-Fi, cellular data, and all other wireless functions. When you toggle back on, your phone will automatically reconnect to Wi-Fi and cellular data.
Most airlines have rules about using cellular devices during flights, which are designed to prevent radio interference from a plane’s cell towers that can cause problems for air traffic control. Some airlines also have in-flight WiFi capabilities that allow you to connect to the internet, send email, browse the web, or stream entertainment.
If you’re flying, turn on Airplane Mode to comply with airline regulations. You’ll find the toggle in the Quick Settings panel, which you can access by swiping down from the top of your screen two times.
You can also toggle airplane mode from the Control Center by swiping down from the upper right corner of your screen and selecting the Airplane Mode icon. Note that it may take your phone a few moments to re-connect to Wi-Fi and cellular data after you leave airplane mode.
2. Turn off Location Services
If you’re concerned about someone tracking your location via Find My iPhone, there are a few ways to turn it off without them knowing. These methods include turning on Airplane Mode or using a third-party app.
You can also turn off the “Location Services” option in the Privacy settings of your iPhone, which will prevent any apps that you install from accessing your iPhone’s GPS. However, this method can be a temporary solution, and it does not completely hide your location from others, which means that your cell phone service provider or government agencies could still know where you are.
Some apps rely on Location Services to function, but this is a good thing, as it allows them to provide you with accurate information and personalized communications. If you disable Location Services, though, your experience of these apps will be diminished, and they may even stop working altogether.
The most common way to prevent an app from accessing your location is by disabling it in the app’s settings. To do this, open the app’s Settings menu and tap on the Location Services option.
This will display all the different apps on your device that rely on Location Services and allow you to toggle their access for or against each one. Some will only need Precise Location to work, while others need Full Access.
For most apps, you’ll want to choose the latter, which disables location services completely but allows them to prompt you on a case-by-case basis to grant permission. You can also choose Never, which disables them completely when the app is running, or While Using, which lets you enable Location Services for the app while it’s running and then turns them off when it closes.
3. Turn off Wi-Fi
There are a few ways to turn off Wi-Fi on an iPhone, but you might want to take one step further and disable Find My iPhone too. Not only will this help you keep your device safe, but it also prevents others from tracking your phone using your Apple ID username and password.
You can disable Find My iPhone from the Settings app or by adding a shortcut to the Shortcuts menu. However, you will need your Apple ID username and password to turn Find My iPhone off.
Another way to prevent Find My iPhone from showing up is to turn off Wi-Fi Calling, which will stop your phone from making or receiving phone calls over a Wi-Fi network. This is useful if you are on a data plan that limits the amount of time you can use your data or if you want to save money on your cellular bill.
To disable Wi-Fi Calling, head to the Settings app and tap on Cellular/Mobile Data. In the next screen, you can change the toggle to Off/Green.
In addition, you can also use Airplane Mode to disconnect from your cellular data. While in Airplane Mode, your iPhone will fully disconnect from cellular data.
If you still have problems, it may be because of an issue with the router or iPhone itself. If that is the case, try power cycling or updating firmware to see if it fixes your problem.
You can also check the signal strength of the network you’re trying to connect to by examining the status bar in the Settings app. The three lines should be black if the connection is strong enough to hold out.
4. Turn off Bluetooth
If you want to avoid having your phone’s location reported to others, turning off find my iphone without notification is a great way to do it. However, there are a few things you’ll need to do first.
First, you’ll need to turn off Bluetooth. It’s a standard feature on most Apple devices, and it can drain the battery when turned on. You can turn it off easily by opening the Settings menu and choosing “Bluetooth.”
While you’re there, you can also unpair any devices that are connected to your iPhone. That includes AirPods, speakers, keyboards, and other Bluetooth devices.
You can also use the Control Center to quickly enable or disable Bluetooth, as well as scan and connect to new devices. To do this, open the Control Center by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen (iPhones without Face ID) or down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen (iPhones with Face ID).
Then, you’ll need to open Settings and choose “Bluetooth.” You’ll see a list of apps that are using Bluetooth, and you can disable each one by tapping its toggle switch, which is grayed out and positioned to the left.
Depending on which app is using Bluetooth, you may be prompted to confirm that you want to disable it. Once you’ve done that, you can then return to the Settings menu and toggle Bluetooth back on.