why can't i always view the last known location of my stolen iPhone

Well that changes the calculus.

You will NEVER EVER see that phone again or even get a “sniff” on FindMy.

Continue to be wary of “We found your phone” messages. They might come in for months.

Rest assured that if you do nothing … your phone remains VERY SECURELY protected by it’s passcode.

Do NOT remove it from your iCloud account … EVER … doing so will make it “resettable” by the thieves who can then use it or sell it.

If the battery has run down or the phone does not have a good Internet connection at its current location, the phone cannot report information about where it is located. Apple has no control over the battery or the availability of a good Internet signa where the phone might be located.

In this case, the best that Find My can do is show a last known location for the phone. If he battery continues to decline, it is not possible to report another "last known location".

If the phone has a decent battery charge and a good connection to the Internet, it will appear on the Find My map.

If Apple cannot control the battery state on the phone or the availability of a good Internet signal where the phone is located, what are you proposing that Apple can do to improve these things? Showing the same "last known location" when you already know what that was is not going to provide much help.

In any event, if you want to suggest something to Apple, you need to contact them directly.

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

You have posted to a user-to-user site. We are all users here......just like you. Apple is not here.

I’ve always thought that the 24-hr limit seemed a bit short as well.

Depending on the circumstances, it could easily be > 24 Hrs before one even “misses” their device. (e.g. backwoods camping)

The feedback mechanism to Apple - albeit without a specific section for “FindMy” - is available here:

Product Feedback - Apple

The last known location of a stolen iPhone is useless information. What are you going to do? Go confront the thief? People have been murdered doing so. And most likely it will be in that location for only a few minutes or a few hours; it will be transported to a fence, who will probably ship it to Shenzhen, China, where there are massive factories that recycle stolen iPhones for resale. There are also businesses there that run worldwide phishing scams: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices→Avoid phishing emails, fake ‘virus‘ alerts, phony support calls, and other scams

If you don’t fall for the scam and give the recycler the means to remove activation lock (and steal your data as a side benefit) they can reuse most of the parts of the phone. So nothing in a stolen phone is wasted.

Hoping than an honest person finds your phone:

Activate “lost mode” and add a message detailing how to reach you for a return.

BUT be wary of ANY messages claiming to be from Apple and requesting you to log-in to your account.

These are ALWAYS from theives attempting to re-use your phone or break-into your iCloud account.

REVEAL NOTHING - No legitamite entity will EVER ask for your credentials … or provide a URL for you to do so.

Unfortunately, you were hit by bad guys who know how to make sure that Find My is unusable. I'm sorry, but there was no chance that you would ever see any hint of the phone again. The last known location was where you were attacked.

When the bad buys stole my wife's phone.....at gunpoint.....they forced her to reveal the passcode, so there went the "protection" on that phone.

“ … stole my wife's phone.....at gunpoint.....they forced her to reveal the passcode …”

Yikes 😳