Google Latitude – Cannot accept a friend request

Cyber Security 1 Minute

I had a problem accepting a friend request to my Google Latitude app on an iPhone. It seems this is a common issue, especially with Nexus users. I found a work around…

UPDATE: May 2013

A new issues has recently occurred: see Google Latitude – Lost Location

END UPDATE

The issue is discussed on a quite a few forums, dating back to 2009, and the answer that worked for me is buried in the long histories.

It seems the issue is Google address searching where users have multiple email addresses fails. Google appear to have stopped supporting Latitude, so there is unlikely to be a fix.

A common symptom is you get a Friend request in Latitude on your mobile device. You hit accept, and nothing happens. A few moments later you see the friend request again. You now get into a non stop loop.

Below is what is what fixed it for me. If it helps you, please ‘like’ this article.

  1. Delete the previous request.
  2. Ask the send to re-send the request to your …@gmail.com address (you must have a gmail.com address otherwise you can’t logon to Latitude
  3. Make sure you are in your friend google email contact list (different to circles), with ONLY you …@gmail.com email address
  4. Make sure you friend is in your google email contact list (different to circles) with only their …@gmail.com address
  5. Go to a PC (not a mobile device), and log into your …@gmail.com account
  6. Wait for the email request from Latitude – DO NOT hit accept
  7. Instead, click the link ‘manage in Latitude’ instead
  8. A new browser window/tab will open, and take you to Latitude
  9. Select accept within Latitude – nothing will happen!
  10. Return to the email – now hit accept from the email
  11. Return to the Latitude window, and refresh the window – it should have now accepted the friend request

A strange process, but seems to work around a bug in Google.

To summarise, this process resolves the issue where you get into a loop of “accepting” a friend request in Latitude on device such as iPhone or Nexus, accepting, and then being asked to accept again and again.

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6 thoughts on “Google Latitude – Cannot accept a friend request”

  1. Pingback: LOCATION APPS » Google Latitude – Cannot accept a friend request | Once Upon a …

  3. Thank you, but I am unable to finish the steps as indicated. After I click on the “manage your friends” link in the invitation in gmail, I do get taken to Latitude, but there is no indication there that there is any request to accept several hours after receiving the email. Where can I find the “accept” button for step 9?

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    1. I had this problem a few times, the issue seems to be random.
      For some reason the request sometimes does not seem to get through. Having the address in your google address book seems to be an important factor.
      I found deleting the request on both sides, and trying again (several times) worked.
      I don’t think waiting a few hours is needed, a minute or so worked for me.
      Sorry I can’t be more precise, it’s a case of trial and error.

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  4. Pingback: Google Latitude – Lost Location | Once Upon a Camayoc

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