SOLVING ACTIVE GEOLOCATION ICON PROBLEM IN iOS 7.1

Apple released iOS 7.1 for iPhone and iPad couple of days ago and since then the Internet was bombarded with this peculiar problem of geolocation/geofencing icon staying in the status bar despite closing all active apps that might be using location services.

After updating my iPhone 5S to iOS 7.1, I found that the geolocation icon in the status bar would just not go despite closing all apps that used location services. Though not causing any serious usage issues, seeing that tiny arrow was very irritating.

Turning to the Reliable MacRumors forum for all Apple related queries, two gentlemen, legacyb4 (Unfortunately no profile link) and C DM from the forum helped me resolve the issue.

To solve the problem, the trick is, first you need to identify the apps causing the problem. To do this, close all the applications from the multitasking screen and go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Here, you’ll find a complete list of applications that ask for permission to access your location. Typically, there will be some apps that you have allowed the access and some that that are already off. You need not bother with the apps that are already off.

To identify the apps, you will need to turn each app off and on to check the apps causing the issue. Once you’ve identified the apps, head over to Background App Refresh (Settings > General > Background App Refresh) and switch off Background Refresh for those particular apps.

Summary:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services

2. Identify Apps causing geolocation icon to stay in the status bar by switching each app off and on.

3. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh

4. Switch off Apps identified in step 2.

While you might not be using the app and its closed from your multitasking screen, the App is refreshing in the background and actively using your location to provide updates from your local area. However, following the above steps should solve the issue.