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How do I switch the Find My app between metric and imperial?

Photo by Jonas Elia on Unsplash

I’ve had an iPhone for years now and, thankfully, haven’t had to use the “Find My” app before. But today, a shiny (for now), new AirTag landed on my doormat. Of course, the first thing I then did was to try it out.

And this is what the app showed me…

I may have to hand in my UK passport for saying this but… I don’t get imperial measurements (except when referring to people’s height, for some bizarre reason). So, I wanted to switch it to metric. It’s not obvious, but I worked it out.

How do I change the units of measurement?

  1. Head into the Find My app.
  2. You’ll see a map dominating the top of the screen, with 2 icons in the very top-right…
  1. Click on the top icon, which is an information symbol.
  2. This shows Map Settings. Scroll down this list and find the category named “DISTANCE”.
  1. You should find this is set to either Metric or Imperial – simply swap it to the one that you prefer.
  2. And you’re done!

It’s not obvious that those precise, short-range directions (which don’t involve a map) are still affected by the map settings, but that’s how Apple has implemented it. And that range finder now? Just right…

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About the author

David Artiss

Works for Automattic Inc., the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr. Tech geek, international speaker and occasional PC Pro podcaster. Lover of Lego and video games.

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  • Thanks David, that’s very helpful. Now, do you know the answer to this one? The location is set to UK and the map units are set to metric. The Health app gives my height in metres but the Medical ID details still gives my height in imperial!