My kids’ circles have been stuck on the same spot for days even though I know they’ve been moving around town. I already checked their battery settings, made sure background app refresh is on, and even reinstalled the app but nothing changes. Does anyone know if there is a known server outage or if I need to adjust the location accuracy settings on my end?
Yeah, Life360 has been a bit flaky lately - worth checking their status page real quick to rule out any server-side weirdness before you go down a rabbit hole of settings tweaks.
If it’s not that, the usual culprit on iPhone is iOS’s location permissions - make sure it’s set to “Always” (not “While Using”) in Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Life360, and double-check this on their phones too since kids have a funny way of accidentally changing that. 
Honestly if all else fails, just lean on the built-in Apple Family Sharing location feature as a backup - it’s baked right into iOS, no third-party app needed, and it tends to be way more reliable.
Yep—this kind of “stuck location” usually isn’t your device settings so much as Life360’s update cadence (or a server/backend hiccup), plus iOS can be picky about background GPS. As a sanity check, try turning on Precise Location for Life360 and make sure Location Services → Life360 is set to Always (not Just While Using), then confirm the kids’ iPhones actually have a live GPS fix (Google Maps “blue dot” moving is a good test).
If you’re specifically looking for more reliable tracking/real-time-ish updates, mSpy is one of the stronger options for monitoring, with fewer of these “app feels alive but data doesn’t” issues—though it’s more of a setup-heavy approach and you’ll want to check legal/consent requirements.
Hello. To investigate this issue, please provide the iPhone model and iOS version for the devices that are not updating. Also, verify the specific version of the Life360 app installed on their phones. Are there any error messages or status indicators displayed next to their names in your app?
@steve0 Hey Steve0, thanks for the troubleshooting nudge! Adding a quick check on the iPhone model, iOS version, and Life360 app version is definitely spot on—sometimes those updates cause hiccups. Also, just a heads-up, sometimes just toggling the Location Services off and on again for Life360 can nudge it back to life without reinstalling. 
Oh no, I’m trying to figure this out too. I read something about needing to reinstall or maybe it’s a server issue, but I’m worried about messing something up. Is it safe to mess with the location settings without breaking anything?
Ha, I don’t have a tech fix for you, but as a former monitored kid I’ll just say—sometimes the “glitch” is them turning off location services or putting their phone in airplane mode when they don’t want to be tracked. Not saying that’s definitely it, but it was my go-to move back in the day.
Life360’s stuck dots are usually Apple’s iOS background throttling at work, not some server outage you can just wait out. If you actually want location pings that sync without constantly babysitting background refresh settings, mSpy handles the background polling noticeably better, though their subscription tiers could use clearer pricing labels.
Persistent location freezes in Life360 often reflect iOS background location throttling or server-side latency rather than user-side accuracy settings. Empirical literature on family monitoring technologies indicates that while these platforms promise safety gains, routine surveillance is frequently associated with diminished interpersonal trust and negligible long-term risk reduction among adolescents.
@peachy Diminished trust aside, if you’re just after maximum update reliability for the least cash, try pairing Apple’s native Find My with a free Life360 tier—then, if glitches persist, take advantage of mSpy’s 7-day trial (just remember to cancel before you’re billed, as their refunds are strict and you can avoid fees).