How to share your location via satellite in the Find My app on iPhone

Take advantage of satellite connectivity to share your exact location via satellite using the Apple Find My app and your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro.

Satellite Location Sharing: How Does It Work?

With the iPhone 14, Apple brought satellite connectivity to its smartphone for the first time. This feature will not allow you to check email or read the news using satellite data. Instead, satellite connectivity on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro is limited to sending text messages to emergency services and reporting your location to the Find My app.

Apple introduced emergency SOS via satellite as a handy feature for iPhone 14 users “who are offline but not facing an emergency.”

The ability to update your location in areas without Wi-Fi and cell coverage allows you to keep your friends and family up to date on your location. Read: How to find a lost device using a friend’s iPhone

Follow us as we show you how to share your iPhone location via satellite in the Find My app on your iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, or iPhone 14 Pro Max.

How to share your location via satellite in the Find My app

If you have an iPhone 14 with iOS 16.1 or later, just open the Find My app to share your current location via satellite if you don’t have Wi-Fi or cellular coverage.

You must be outside and have a clear view of the sky and horizon for the satellite radio in your iPhone to establish an unobstructed line-of-sight to the orbiting satellite. “If you’re under heavy foliage or surrounded by other obstructions, you won’t be able to connect to the satellite,”notes an Apple support document.

1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro.
2. Tap the Me tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the Share My Location option under My Location via Satellite.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to establish a satellite connection.

Friends with whom you share your location see a message in the Find My app saying that you have updated your location via satellite “because there is no other network available.”When you send your location via satellite to a friend, you won’t see their location in Find My.

Satellite connection is slow – updating your location can take several minutes and you can only do it once every fifteen minutes. You won’t be able to share your location via satellite with friends unless you’ve already shared your location with them before you’re out of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.

So add the contacts you want to share your location with in the Find My app in advance. Also, don’t forget to set your iPhone 14 as your location sharing device in Latitude → Me, then tap Use this iPhone as my location.

Location information transmitted via satellite is encrypted end-to-end and is not available to Apple or other parties. If you’re in an area with cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, Find My will update your location using your iPhone’s GPS.

How to see a friend’s location updated via satellite

If a friend shares their location with you via satellite, you’ll receive a notification in the Find My app. A satellite icon will appear next to their image in the Find My app, and “Satellite Location”will appear in the text. For privacy reasons, you can view a friend’s last shared location for up to seven days.

Emergency SOS via satellite availability and requirements

SOS satellite and Find My satellite emergency services are available in the US and Canada. The service will launch in France, Germany, Ireland and the UK in December. As mentioned earlier, you need an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16.1 or later to share your location via satellite.

From the Apple website:

• You must also be in a location where there is no cell service or Wi-Fi.
• Emergency SOS via satellite is only available in the US (including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) and Canada.
• International travelers who visit the United States and Canada can use Emergency SOS via satellite, unless they bought their phone in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau. Satellite SOS is not available on iPhone models purchased in Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau.
• Satellite SOS is not available in Guam and American Samoa.
• The satellite connection may not work in places above 62° latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska.

Emergency SOS via satellite is available free of charge for two years, starting from the activation of the new iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Read: How to set up and use Emergency SOS via satellite

A life-saving feature that you hopefully never need

Updating and sharing your location with loved ones via satellite in the Find My app is one of those features that we hope you never need.

But you can get lost while mountain biking. Or maybe you’re stuck at the North Pole or the Sahara Desert with absolutely no coverage. Either way, you’ll be grateful as this feature can be your lifeline. Read: How to Find GPS Coordinates of Any Place on iPhone

The use of satellite communications for such situations used to be a difficult task that required a heavy satellite phone with a bulky antenna. Thanks to Apple, this has become a reality for everyone who has an iPhone 14 in their pocket.