FAQ & troubleshooting
Common questions and fixes
Three usual causes:
(1) The other phone doesn’t have Locator installed — the SMS arrives but isn’t auto-routed.
(2) Carrier rate limiting — some carriers throttle bulk-pattern SMS. Wait a minute and retry.
(3) The other phone’s default messaging app is intercepting the SMS before Locator. On the other phone: Settings → Apps → Locator → Set as default SMS app (optional but improves reliability).
(1) The other phone doesn’t have Locator installed — the SMS arrives but isn’t auto-routed.
(2) Carrier rate limiting — some carriers throttle bulk-pattern SMS. Wait a minute and retry.
(3) The other phone’s default messaging app is intercepting the SMS before Locator. On the other phone: Settings → Apps → Locator → Set as default SMS app (optional but improves reliability).
The most common cause on Xiaomi / Realme / OnePlus / Samsung is aggressive battery saver killing background services. Fix:
1. Settings → Apps → Locator → Battery → Unrestricted / No restrictions.
2. Settings → Apps → Locator → Auto-launch / Autostart → ON (Xiaomi/Realme).
3. Disable any “deep cleaner” or “battery optimiser” on the device.
Also verify the contact has policy Always allow or Family, not Ask each time.
1. Settings → Apps → Locator → Battery → Unrestricted / No restrictions.
2. Settings → Apps → Locator → Auto-launch / Autostart → ON (Xiaomi/Realme).
3. Disable any “deep cleaner” or “battery optimiser” on the device.
Also verify the contact has policy Always allow or Family, not Ask each time.
Android 11+ “auto-revokes” permissions for apps it considers unused. Fix:
Settings → Apps → Locator → Pause app activity if unused → Off.
You may also need to re-grant Background location as it’s the most aggressively revoked permission.
Settings → Apps → Locator → Pause app activity if unused → Off.
You may also need to re-grant Background location as it’s the most aggressively revoked permission.
The phone returned a cached location instead of a fresh GPS fix. Causes:
(1) GPS off — toggle Location services to High accuracy mode.
(2) Indoor — GPS can’t see satellites; coarse fallback returns the last known fix.
(3) Location accuracy mode in Locator Settings is set to Battery saver — switch to Best (GPS).
(1) GPS off — toggle Location services to High accuracy mode.
(2) Indoor — GPS can’t see satellites; coarse fallback returns the last known fix.
(3) Location accuracy mode in Locator Settings is set to Battery saver — switch to Best (GPS).
Locator plays the SOS on the system alarm stream (the same one your morning alarm uses). It bypasses ringer/notification volume but follows alarm volume. Fix: Settings → Sound → Alarm volume → max it out.
Yes — Locator is currently sideload-only and doesn’t require Google Play Services for any feature. Reverse-geocoding (lat/long → address) uses an open-source endpoint, not Google’s.
Make sure the Read contacts permission is granted (not just “Allow once” or “While using the app” — for the picker, “While using” is enough). The picker also filters out contacts without phone numbers (e.g., email-only ones).
For now: re-download the APK from the same link and install over the existing version. Your trust list, block list, and policies are preserved — data is not wiped.
Lifetime license is $11 one-time via Paddle (secure payment processor). 3-day no-questions-asked refund — email [email protected] with your order ID. Within 7 days we review case-by-case.
Email us at [email protected]. Include your Android version (Settings → About → Android version) and a description of the issue. Average reply: under 24 hours.