Remotely erase a lost device
Overview
Erasing a lost or stolen device protects the data on it. It removes all content and settings, returns the device to factory settings, and makes the data unrecoverable.
A user who has signed in to an unmanaged (personal) Apple Account on the device and turned on Find My can erase it remotely, either in the Find My app on another device or on iCloud.com/find. An organization erases a device it manages through its device management service.
Note: If you have the device, erase it using Erase All Content and Settings. For more information, see Restore an iPhone or iPad, or, for a Mac, Erase Assistant.
Erasing a device remotely doesn’t turn off Activation Lock. Because the device stays linked to the user’s unmanaged Apple Account, reactivating it after the erase requires signing in to that Apple Account. For more information, see Protect a device with Activation Lock.
Requirements and expected behavior
Erasing a lost device using the Find My app requires two-factor authentication on the user’s unmanaged Apple Account. If two-factor authentication isn’t turned on, the user can erase the device on iCloud.com/find instead, or turn on two-factor authentication first.
In the Find My app, the user chooses Devices, selects the lost device, then chooses Erase and follows the onscreen steps. On iCloud.com/find, the user signs in, selects the device, chooses Erase, then confirms.
If the device is offline, the erase begins the next time the device connects to the internet. On a device with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 or later, Find My can still locate the device after an erase. On earlier versions, Find My can’t locate the device after it’s erased, though it may still find a Mac or Apple Watch near a previously used Wi-Fi network.
Reported behavior
If Activation Lock was on, it remains on after a remote erase. Setting up or using the device requires signing in to the linked unmanaged Apple Account.
On iPhone or iPad, an “iPhone Locked to Owner” or “iPad Locked to Owner” screen appears when the device is turned on or wakes.
On a Mac, the Activation Lock screen usually appears at startup. In some cases, the Mac instead starts up to macOS Recovery and requires reinstalling macOS.
A user might report a device that shows an activation screen after it was erased remotely without their knowledge. A secondhand device might show this screen and ask for the previous owner’s Apple Account.
Isolating the issue
Either the user or an organization that manages the device can erase it remotely.
If the user still has the device they erased, they can reactivate it by signing in to their unmanaged Apple Account.
If an organization erased a device it manages, its device management service administrator handles reactivation. For an organization-owned device, the administrator also turns off Activation Lock. A device stopped at activation indicates that Activation Lock is protecting it, not a failed erase.
In an organization, follow its policy for lost or stolen devices. Some organizations remotely erase a device to protect their data, while others might try to locate it first.
If an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch is covered by AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss or AppleCare One, coverage requirements apply. Find My needs to be on when the device was lost or stolen and throughout the claim. Have the user mark the device as lost. A remote erase wipes the data but keeps the device linked to the Apple Account, so Find My and Activation Lock stay on. Don’t remove it from the Apple Account until the claim is fully approved, because that turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
Troubleshooting
If an erase command hasn’t been received, verify that the device is turned on and connected to the internet. Find My and device management services keep trying to send the command until the device connects.
If the user can’t reactivate a recovered device because they’ve forgotten their unmanaged Apple Account password, help them reset it at iforgot.apple.com.
If a device is linked to a previous owner’s Apple Account, only that owner can unlock it. Have them sign in to their Apple Account on the device, or remove it from their account at account.apple.com.
Managed environments
An organization erases a managed device using its device management service, not Find My. The device needs to be enrolled through Automated Device Enrollment or Device Enrollment. The service sends an Erase Device command. If the organization recovers the device later, it can reenroll it.
Erasing renders the data cryptographically inaccessible. On a Mac, the Erase Device command has hardware and configuration requirements. For example, a Mac with Apple silicon needs a bootstrap token from the device management service. If those requirements aren’t met, the Mac falls back to obliteration, which requires reinstalling macOS before the Mac can be used again.
An organization can’t erase a device enrolled through User Enrollment this way. It removes only the data it manages and leaves the user’s personal content in place. For an organization-owned device, erasing doesn’t turn off Activation Lock. If it’s on, an administrator turns it off through Apple School Manager or Apple Business before the device is reused. For more information, see Protect a device with Activation Lock.