- Ensure WhatsApp has the necessary permission to use location services on your Android or iPhone.
- Allow WhatsApp to run and use data in the background on your phone so that the live location works flawlessly.
- Ensure your phone is set to the correct date and time and turn off the battery saver mode.
Try Basic Fixes
- Update WhatsApp: An outdated app version can also cause performance issues, especially if you haven’t updated it in a long time. So if nothing else works, update WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store and see if the newer version fixes the issue.
- Do not remove WhatsApp from the recent apps menu: When you remove WhatsApp from the recent apps menu, it prevents the app from working in the background and updating your live location. So, you avoid clearing the WhatsApp card from the app switcher.
- Disable battery saver mode: Enabling battery-saver mode forces your phone to pause or terminate some background app activities to reduce power consumption. As a result, WhatsApp may stop updating your live location. You can disable the battery-saver mode on Android or low power mode on your iPhone to see if that helps.
Fix 1: Restart Location Services
Temporary problems with your phone’s location services may prevent WhatsApp from tracking your location. Most of the time, you can resolve such issues by disabling and re-enabling the location services on your phone. Here’s how to do it.
Android
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone and scroll down to tap on Location .
Step 2: Turn off the Location toggle, wait for a few seconds, and turn it back on.
iPhone
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to Privacy > Location Services .
Step 2: Toggle off the switch next to Location Services . Toggle it back on after a few seconds.
Fix 2: Check Location Permissions for WhatsApp
Next, you need to ensure that WhatsApp has the required permission to track your location at all times. If not, the app will stop updating your live location when you switch to another app. Here’s what you can do to avoid that.
Android
Step 1: Long-press on the WhatsApp icon and tap the info icon from the resulting menu. Then, go to Permissions .
Step 3: Tap on Location and select Allow only while using the app . Then, enable the toggle for Use precise location .
Note: The precise location option will only appear if your phone runs Android 12 or higher.
iPhone
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone, scroll down to WhatsApp and tap on it.
Step 2: Tap on Location and set Allow Location Access to Always . Also, enable the toggle next to Precise Location if it isn’t already.
Fix 3: Enable Background App Refresh for WhatsApp (iPhone)
Background app refresh is a handy feature in iOS that allows apps to update their content even when you’re not using them. If you’ve disabled background app refresh for WhatsApp, the app may stop sending notifications or updating your live location.
To enable background app refresh for WhatsApp, open the Settings app and scroll down to tap on WhatsApp . Then, enable the Background App Refresh toggle.
Fix 4: Allow WhatsApp to Use Data in the Background (Android)
WhatsApp may fail to update your live location if you’ve restricted the app from using mobile data in the background. To change that, long-press on the WhatsApp icon and tap the info icon from the menu that pops open. Go to Mobile data and enable Allow background data usage from the following menu.
Fix 5: Check Date and Time Settings
WhatsApp, or any other app, may have trouble detecting your location if your phone has the wrong date or time. You can set your phone to use the network-provided date and time to avoid discrepancies.
On Android
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone and scroll down to tap on General management .
Step 2: Tap on Date and time and toggle on the switch next to Automatic date and time .
On iPhone
Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to tap on General .
Step 2: Tap on Date & Time and toggle on the switch next to Set Automatically .
