The iPhone Weather app has no single “default city” setting. What it shows first depends on two things: whether Weather is allowed to use your location, and the order of the cities in your list. If you want your current area first, allow Location Services for Weather so the My Location entry appears at the top. If you want a fixed city first, add that city and drag it to the top of your list, and consider turning off location access for Weather so My Location doesn’t take the top spot.
Home Screen and Lock Screen Weather widgets have their own location setting, so you can set those separately. Below you’ll find steps for each approach, plus fixes for when Weather keeps opening on the wrong city.
Quick Answer
- Open Weather and tap the list button in the bottom-right corner.
- Search for your city and tap Add if it isn’t already in the list.
- Tap the More button (three dots), then Edit List.
- Drag your city to the top of the list and tap Done.
- For your current location instead, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Weather and allow access.
In This Guide
- Before you start: how Weather picks a city
- Set a fixed city at the top of your list
- Use your current location as the default
- Set the city for Weather widgets
- Which option should you use?
- Troubleshooting
- Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Start: How Weather Picks a City
This guide covers the built-in Apple Weather app on iPhone with current iOS versions (iOS 26 era), as of September 2026. Button names and icons can shift slightly between iOS versions, so if something looks a little different on your phone, look for the closest match.
Here’s what you need to know about how the app decides what to show:
- My Location is a special entry that shows the forecast for wherever your iPhone is right now. It only appears when Weather has permission to use Location Services, which is the iPhone feature that lets apps use your position from GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data.
- Your saved cities are the places you’ve added by searching. You can reorder them, but in current versions My Location stays pinned above them and can’t be moved down.
- Widgets on the Home Screen or Lock Screen have their own location choice. Changing your list order doesn’t change a widget that’s set to a specific city.
So “setting a default city” really means choosing one of two setups: My Location first (the forecast follows you), or a saved city first (the forecast stays put).
You’ll need your iPhone, the Weather app (it comes preinstalled; if you deleted it, you can reinstall it free from the App Store), and an internet connection to download forecasts.
How to Set a Fixed City at the Top of Your List
Use this method if you want Weather to lead with a specific place, such as your hometown, your office city, or a place you’re traveling to.
Step 1: Add the city
- Open the Weather app.
- Tap the list button in the bottom-right corner. It looks like a small bulleted list. Expected result: You see your saved locations, with a search field at the top.
- Tap the search field and type a city name, ZIP code, or airport code.
- Tap the correct result. Check the state or country so you don’t pick the wrong Springfield. Expected result: A preview of that city’s forecast opens.
- Tap Add in the top-right corner of the preview. Expected result: The city now appears in your list.
Step 2: Move the city to the top
- Return to the list view by tapping the list button again if needed.
- Tap the More button (three dots inside a circle) in the top-right corner.
- Tap Edit List. Expected result: Each saved city shows a drag handle (three horizontal lines) on the right side.
- Touch and hold the drag handle next to your city, then drag it to the top of your saved cities.
- Tap Done. Expected result: Your city is now the first saved location.
In some versions, you can also touch and hold a city in the list and drag it without tapping Edit List first.
Step 3 (optional): Keep My Location from taking the top spot
If Weather has location access, My Location will still sit above your chosen city. If you’d rather your chosen city come first every time, you can turn off location access for Weather only. This doesn’t affect Maps, Find My, or any other app.
Keep in mind before you do this: without location access, Weather can’t show the forecast for where you are, and Weather notifications or widgets that depend on your current location may stop updating for your area.
- Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Location Services, then scroll down and tap Weather.
- Select Never. Expected result: When you reopen Weather, My Location typically no longer appears, and your saved city at the top of the list is shown first.
Remove cities you don’t need
A shorter list makes it easier to see your main city. In the list view, swipe left on a city and tap the red trash button to delete it. You can also delete from the Edit List screen if your version shows a delete option there.
How to Use Your Current Location as the Default
If you want Weather to always open with the forecast for wherever you are, the answer is to let Weather use Location Services. Apple’s guide to controlling the location information you share explains each permission option.
- Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Make sure Location Services is turned on at the top of the screen. Our guide to turning on location on iPhone walks through this switch in detail.
- Scroll down and tap Weather.
- Choose an access level. Apple lists these options: Never, Ask Next Time Or When I Share, While Using the App, and Always. If you see While Using the App or Widgets, that option lets widgets update your local forecast too. If you want weather notifications for your current location, the app will typically ask for Always, because those alerts check your position in the background.
- Turn on Precise Location if you want the forecast for your exact neighborhood. With it off, apps get only an approximate area. Expected result: Open Weather, and My Location appears at the top of your list with your area’s forecast.
Want to go the other way and limit location use across the phone? See our guide to turning off location on iPhone.
How to Set the City for Weather Widgets
A Weather widget can show a different city than the app opens to. That’s useful if you want your home city on the Home Screen but your current location in the app, or the other way around. Apple’s article on adding and editing widgets on iPhone notes that you can edit the Weather widget to show your current location or a different location.
Change the city on an existing Home Screen widget
- Touch and hold the Weather widget until the quick actions menu opens.
- Tap Edit Widget.
- Tap the Location field and choose My Location or one of your saved cities. Only cities you’ve added in the Weather app are usually offered, so add the city first if it’s missing.
- Tap outside the widget to close the editor. Expected result: The widget shows the city you picked.
Add a new Weather widget
- Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle.
- Tap Edit in the upper-left corner, then Add Widget.
- Find Weather, pick a size, and tap Add Widget.
- Edit the widget as described above to set its city.
For the Lock Screen, see our guide to adding weather to the iPhone Lock Screen. Lock Screen weather widgets can also be edited to use a specific location.
Which Option Should You Use?
| What you want | Best setup | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Forecast for wherever you are | Allow Location Services for Weather; My Location shows first | Uses location access; My Location always stays on top |
| One fixed city every time | Drag that city to the top and set Weather’s location access to Never | No automatic local forecast when you travel |
| Local forecast in the app, home city at a glance | Allow location access, and set a Home Screen widget to your home city | Two places to check, but both are always visible |
| Keep an eye on family in another state | Add their city to your list and add a second widget for it | Takes a little Home Screen space |
For most people, the third option works best: the app follows you, and the widget keeps your main city one glance away.
Troubleshooting
Weather opens on a different city than the one at the top
Weather often reopens on the last location you viewed instead of the first one in your list, and some people report it jumping to another saved city. Swipe back to your main city before closing the app, or swipe up from the bottom of the screen and remove Weather from the app switcher, then reopen it. Trimming your list to only the cities you need also helps. If you want a guaranteed view of one city, a widget set to that city is the most reliable option.
My Location is missing
Check Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Location Services must be on, and Weather must be set to something other than Never. If the settings are grayed out, check Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, where location changes can be restricted.
My Location shows the wrong town
Turn on Precise Location for Weather. Wi-Fi also helps your iPhone find its position, so connecting to Wi-Fi can improve accuracy. Restarting your iPhone can also help Weather pick up a fresh location.
I can’t drag My Location down the list
That’s expected. In current versions, My Location stays at the top. To put a saved city first, turn off location access for Weather as described in Step 3.
The widget isn’t showing my current location
Edit the widget and choose My Location. Then check Weather’s location setting: widget updates for your current location need an option such as While Using the App or Widgets or Always.
My list changed on its own
Your Weather locations sync through iCloud. Apple’s guide for editing your Weather location list on Mac notes the list stays up to date across devices signed in with the same Apple Account, so a change on your iPad or Mac shows up on your iPhone too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a “default city” setting in iPhone Weather?
No. There’s no single setting for it. You control what shows first with Location Services and the order of your saved list.
Why does New York or Cupertino keep showing up?
If Weather has no location access, it may open on a preset or previously saved city instead of where you are. Add your city, move it to the top, and delete cities you don’t want.
Does turning off location for Weather affect other apps?
No. The setting under Location Services > Weather only applies to the Weather app. Maps, Find My, and other apps keep their own settings.
How many cities can I save?
Apple doesn’t publish a clear limit for the iPhone app, and most people never hit one. A short list is easier to manage anyway.
Will my list be the same on my iPad and Mac?
Yes, when you’re signed in with the same Apple Account, your Weather location list stays in sync across devices.
Can I make Weather show a city I’m not in as “My Location”?
No, and you don’t need to. Just add that city to your list and put it at the top. Avoid third-party apps that claim to fake your phone’s location, since they can affect other apps and your privacy.
Can the widget and the app show different cities?
Yes. Each widget has its own location setting, separate from the app’s list order.
Summary
- Weather has no single default city setting; list order and location access decide what shows first.
- For your current area, allow Location Services for Weather so My Location appears at the top.
- For a fixed city, add it, then use More > Edit List to drag it to the top.
- To stop My Location from coming first, set Weather’s location access to Never.
- Use Edit Widget to give widgets their own city.
Next step: open Weather now, tap the list button, and put the city you check most at the top, then add a widget for it so you can see the forecast without opening the app.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.