MICROSOFT DEVICES SHOW LOCATION DISABLED ON FIND MY....NEED HELP TO RECTIFY

Mo Mijindadi 0 Reputation points
2026-09-30T15:12:49.4166667+00:00

i have a few Microsoft surface laptops within my family network including my device. i have tried to utilize the find my device prompt but it keeps showing up as location disabled.

i have tried multiple trouble shooting procedures including updating my devices but it still shows location disabled when i use the find my devices under accounts.

need some help to rectify as i recently had a scare looking for my laptop and was able to locate it through the service.

Surface | Surface Laptop | Safety and security
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-30T15:13:13.2733333+00:00

    If Find my device shows Location disabled, the required Windows location setting is not enabled on that device, or Find my device is not enabled for that device account.

    Use this checklist on each Surface laptop that should be locatable:

    1. Turn on Location services
      • Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Location.
      • Turn on Location services.
      • If the device is managed by multiple family members, this setting must be enabled on the device by an administrator.
    2. Allow location for the signed-in account
      • In the same Location page, make sure Let apps access your location is turned On.
      • If Location services is off appears, the per-user setting cannot be enabled until the device-wide location setting is turned on.
    3. Turn on Find my device
      • Go to Settings > Update & security > Find My Device on Windows 10, or use the device’s Find my device settings page.
      • This feature must be turned on before it can be used.
      • The account type on the device must be Administrator.
    4. Confirm the device is using a Microsoft personal account
      • Find my device works when signed in to the device with a Microsoft personal account.
    5. Check the device online
      • Sign in at https://account.microsoft.com/devices.
      • Open the Find My Device tab and select Find.
      • If location is enabled and the device is online, the map should show the device location.
    6. If the device was recently changed or reset
      • After enabling Location services and Find my device, the device may take some time to appear correctly in the Microsoft account devices list.
    7. If location history needs to be cleared and reset
      • Cloud-stored location activity can be cleared from the Microsoft account privacy area by selecting Clear location activity and then Clear.

    Important details:

    • Find my device only works if location was enabled beforehand.
    • The device location updates when the device can determine its location and is connected to the internet.
    • When a device is located, users on that device will see a notification.

    If the setting still shows Location disabled after enabling both Location services and Find my device on the laptop, use the Microsoft Sign-in helper or Contact Support from the support options for account/device issues.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Clary-N 16,995 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-01T06:42:57.83+00:00

    Hi Mo Mijindadi,

    Thanks for trying all of those steps already. I can understand why you’d want to get this working reliably, especially after recently needing Find my device to locate your laptop.

    Since the basic location and Find my device settings have already been covered, I’d like to narrow down whether the issue is with Windows detecting the location or with the device reporting it back to your Microsoft account.

    As a quick test, could you open Maps or another location-aware app on one of the affected Surface laptops and see if it can detect your current location?

    If it can’t, press Win+R, enter services.msc and check whether Geolocation Service is running and isn’t disabled. Windows location features rely on the Windows location service.

    If Maps can find your location normally but Find my device still says Location disabled, try connecting that Surface to a different network, such as a mobile hotspot and test Find my device again.

    It would also help if you could let me know whether all of your Surface laptops are affected or only certain ones and what Windows version/build is shown when you press Win+R and enter winver.

    Hopefully that helps us narrow down where things are getting stuck.

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    1 person found this answer helpful.

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