UWB stands for Ultra WideBand technology, controlled by the U-chip (U1 or U2 chip) in your iPhone. This chip continuously track your location so Apple can disable UWB in countries or regions where its use is prohibited, such as near military installations or radio telescopes.

UWB is unavailable is the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
^{(source: Apple)}

When you’re on an airplain, UWB must also be disable by turning on Airplane Mode.

Which devices have the U-chip?

The U-chip is included in all iPhone 11 models and later, except the iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation). The chip also been incorporated into the AirTage, AirPods, HomePod and Apple Watch.

How to disable UWB?

After receiving criticism about constant location tracking, Apple added an option to disable UWB:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
2. Scroll down to System Services.
3. Look for the option Networking & Wireless and toggle it off.

While the description of this option isn’t very clear, disabling it stops your location from being used for WiFi and Bluetooth networks.

If you want to know when your phone is using you location? Scroll down to the bottom of System Services and toggle Status Bar Icon.

Downsides of disabling UWB

UWB is used to optimize WiFi and Bluetooth connections, so turning is off could cause wireless features to work less efficiently. Fortunately, you can always re-enable UWB if needed.

If you’ve ever tried to find an AirTag with your iPhone, you’ll notice that without UWB, it’s less precise. The same goes for finding your AirPods Pro case -something I’ve used multiple times!

Even if you disable location services in iOS, your iPhone may still track your location for certain features.

Does UWB remain active on a powered-off iPhone?

Yes, even when your iPhone is turned off, UWB remains active for about 5 hours. This is essential for features like Find My. After this period, Bluetooth, NFC and UWB will fully shut down.

Conclusion

In my opinion, UWB is incredibly useful. It enhances many processes that we often take for granted. Beyond helping you locate your AirTags or AirPods, UWB enables you music to seamlessly switch to your HomePod when you’re nearby, and you can even control it with your Apple Watch.