The Uncomfortable Truth About the Restrictions on Apple's Find My and Location Sharing Services in South Korea.
In 2010, and even 14 years later in 2024, it's still impossible to track the location of a lost iPhone.
Now, they have changed their stance to say that it's due to 'internal policies.' I have explained this in my previous post, and you all might be well aware of it.
- The 'Find My' and location sharing services are completely blocked on iPhones for the Korean model (with 'KH' in the model name). These services cannot be activated anywhere in the world.
Not all iPhones are the same. Each country gets slightly different versions of the iPhone, with the Korean version also being released with specific customizations, like the availability of a physical SIM. However, did you know that these changes completely restrict the 'Find My' location sharing service?
Specifically, this location service is restricted only on iPhones for the domestic Korean market (KH stands for Korean model iPhone). Our proud K!
In iPhones specifically for Korea, the location services that do not work include:
• Sending your location via iMessage to someone else
• Seeing the location on a Korean model iPhone when it's sent from an international model
• Especially, the 'Find My' 'People' tab that helps families check each other's location
• A function that alerts when other Apple devices move away from the iPhone
These location sharing features are completely unavailable in Korean model iPhones, meaning 'anywhere in the world,' you cannot send your location or see locations sent by others! Fortunately, the device location tracking function is available when abroad due to it being based on the specific carrier.
However, international model iPhones (which worked well in experiments between directly purchased models) have the 'People' tab activated even when in Korea, and once registered, they can track each other's location in Korea if they are international models (domestic <-> international doesn't work) and can send their location to each other via iMessage even in Korea!
(On the left is the Korean model and on the right is the international model iPhone. Both are in Texas, USA. You can see that the People tab is missing on the Korean model.)
Although the location can be sent from international iPhones to Korean iPhones, the location cannot be seen at all on the Korean iPhones. The People tab is also useless in Korea.
On the Restrictions of Apple's "Find My" … - Apple Community
Ironically, according to that post's comments, even when using a Korean iPhone abroad with a U.S. account and U.S. SIM card on a U.S. carrier, the People tab is not activated, nor can other Apple devices' locations be seen, nor can others see the location of your device.
- Apple's device location tracking is primarily blocked by the cellular carrier's nationality, and secondarily by a designated dead zone in Korea.
Outside this dead zone in Korea, all Apple devices except iPhones and cellular Apple Watches can be tracked.
However, no one has tested whether international model iPhones can be tracked outside this dead zone, so it is uncertain.
You might wonder, 'If all Apple devices should be trackable outside this dead zone, why are iPhones and cellular Apple Watches excluded?' You're right to ask.
Mobile phones generally determine the country and location of each device through the cellular network. Thus, in large countries like the U.S., the time zone changes depending on the location. Also, based on the nationality of the connected carrier, you can precisely know in which country the iPhone is located. Therefore, tracking is not possible outside the dead zone because it's connected to a domestic carrier, and only when going abroad can the iPhone's location be tracked. It's similar to how the camera shutter sound option is activated when traveling abroad.
However, since devices like AirTags, AirPods, MacBooks, and iPads do not have cellular connectivity, Apple had to block location tracking for these 'internal reasons' within that pathetic square range. Therefore, tracking becomes possible outside this range.
The experiment results showed that domestically sold Apple Watches with cellular connectivity could not be tracked outside this range, while Wi-Fi models could be tracked.
In summary:
iPhones for the Korean market (model name includes KH) do not allow location sharing services anywhere in the world, not even sending or receiving locations.
Apple's device location tracking is blocked firstly by the cellular carrier's nationality, and secondly by a designated dead zone.
Therefore, the statement that 'Location sharing isn't supported in South Korea and might be unavailable in other regions due to local laws.' is an outright lie. The accurate statement is, 'Location sharing is not supported on Korean model iPhones, and it cannot be used anywhere in the world.'
Apple, what have you been doing to Korean Apple users for 14 years?
Apple should promptly address and resolve the limitations of the Find My service in South Korea as soos as possible!
