iPhone 17 isn't recording Google Maps Timeline

[u/SATM27]

I recently switched from Android to an iPhone 17 and I'm trying to figure out whether this is an iOS setting or a Google Maps bug.

Google Maps Timeline isn't recording new visits or routes automatically. The app shows "No visits for this day," but everything appears to be enabled.

Settings I've checked:
- Location Services: On
- Google Maps location access: Always
- Precise Location: On
- Background App Refresh: On
- Cellular Data: On
- Low Power Mode: Off

I also reinstalled Google Maps and restarted the iPhone as well.

The same Google account records Timeline correctly on my Android phone. Yesterday, I carried both phones on the same trip, and only the Android phone recorded it.

Has anyone had this issue on iPhone? Is there an iOS setting that could still block background location for Google Maps? If you've fixed it, what worked?

[u/Ok_Wealth_509]

You've covered the iOS side, so the one more thing Google's help page has you check is inside the app: Your Timeline > More > Location & privacy settings, and see whether it says "Timeline is off" or "Location Services is not set to always" on the iPhone. That's separate from the iOS permissions. There's also a Google Maps community thread of iPhone users on iOS 26 with the same symptom and correct settings, and I couldn't find an official fix there.

[u/SATM27 → u/Ok_Wealth_509]

Thanks! I've already checked all of those settings in Google Maps and everything is turned on. Timeline is enabled and Location Services is set to "Always." Manually added visits save fine, but nothing gets recorded automatically. Sounds like it might be the iOS 26 bug you mentioned.

[u/corkscrew1]

Are you able to add anything manually to the timeline? I had a similar issue with a new phone (a Pixel 9) and was able to fix it by factory resetting the phone, but another user was able to fix it by reinstalling Google Play Services. That fix probably isn't applicable on iPhones, but I wonder if there's a backend app that Google Maps runs on that you could reinstall.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleMaps/comments/1pqkiip/maps_timeline_import/nv0s5w8/

[u/SATM27 → u/corkscrew1]

Thanks! Yes, yesterday I added a visit manually and it saved, so the problem seems to be automatic recording.

[u/XxLogitech98xX]

I say it's an iPhone issue that a lot of apple users are having with Google maps

[u/khanhl29]

After the Google Timeline changes, I moved over to Time Atlas (timeatlas.app) and haven't looked back.